Strano Network text

[tozzi {AT} mailserver.idg.fi.cnr.it (Tommaso Tozzi)]

Hi!
Here you can find an abstract of text that we realized and read to Metaforum 
II meeting in Budapest.
bye
Tommaso Tozzi for Strano Network
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C. Legal issues

A legislation Made-in-Italy: a situation in motion...

Up to the 90's, the Italian legislation did not have any laws covering the 
right to communicate by means of teleinformatcs 
tools.
A never applied rule concerning the protection of the health of Public 
Administration's work force and a law enacted 
during the emergency period of 70's and providing severe sentences for 
people damaging automated devices of the 
Italian State are the only legislative initiatives carried out in Italy 
before the well known Legislative Decree on Software 
Protection and the Conso Law on Computer Crimes.
Just before these two important legislative initiatives, the Italian 
magistratesinvolved in suppressing computer crimes (or 
cyber rights in some cases...) took advantage of old Italian laws such as 
the copyright protection rules provided in the 
1941 or the criminal code concerning wire-tapping.
In the 90's, the Italian ruling class understand the economic importance of 
information technology and, a s a result, in 
1992 the Italian Parliament sow the birth of the Legislative Decree on 
Software Copyright Protection while 1993 sow the 
enactment of the Conso Law on Computer Crimes.
The Legislative Decree on Software Copyright Protection provide severe 
sentences, including criminal sanctions, for 
anyone involved in copying software products protected by copyright measures 
with the aim to make profit for 
her/himself. This Legislative Decree does not take into consideration those 
software product making part of the 
Freeware, Public Domain and Shareware kind supposing to classify, and 
consequently to protect, only the industrial 
products. The way this Legilsative Decree has been interpreted is another 
important contradictory aspect to be faced. 
According to many italian magistrates and lawmakers, having a software 
product without having bought it is to be 
considered a profit action and, as a consequence, also those people or 
public bodies that use a software product for no-
profit goals such as educational courses must buy all the software products 
they need. Otherwise, they will be soon 
persecuted. In this way, thousands of research institutes and schools have 
not been able to carry out their public 
educational or institutional projects, while many others have spent most of 
their economic sources in buying software 
products.
The Conso Law provides severe sanctions for those involved in computer 
crimes such as spreading computer viruses, 
cracking automated security systems, hacking password and protected data. 
The Conso Law may be applied only for 
those criminal activities that has the end to make profit for someone or to 
make damages to someone else.
The Legislative Decree on Software Copyright Protection and the Conso Law 
has been recently applied to persecute 
hundreds of no-profit Italian Bulletin Board Systems and telematics networks 
(such as Fidonet and PeaceLink). This 
huge repressive initiative internationally known as The Italian Crackdown 
has been a great flop as no computer 
criminals have been found but, on the other hand, many young people and 
several no-profit organisations involved in 
social and humanitarian activities have been damaged both in their private 
and public life.
In the meantime, the same ruling class is involved in designing other 
legislative texts concerning the anti-trust on tlc 
market, the personal data protection and the management of no-profit 
teleinformatics networks.
How these future legislative initiatives will infringe or not the civil 
rights of Italian citizens involved in communicating by 
means of teleinformatics systems is a question we are going to answer in the 
next future.

1. Ethical principles.

All should be given access to the global communication.

Nets shouldn't be owned by either private or public monopoly and oligopoly.

Nets management should be checked and approved by users.

Global links should be encouraged. A global atlas of all servers should be 
created and kept updated. Every server 
should be required to give access to the global atlas, thus to any other 
server. 

Privacy ought be protected

Anonymous users should be permitted

Criptography should be permitted

Sysops shouldn't be held responsable for message content.

Regulations shouldn't be decided by owners. They should discussed and 
enacted by the community of users.

Access to information ought be considered a universal right. 

All should have interactive access to the Net.

People should be permitted to copy software, if for no-profit reasons.

Selective access should be forbidden.

Censorship should be outlawed

Protocols should be agreed by users. They shouldn't be owned or imposed by 
private companies

Hardware costs should be kept low.
Governments should provide a national-wide cable networks , as to give every 
citizen a low cost possibility to realize a 
web server at home. 

New tecnologies effects on the job market should be balanced by a 
generalized reduction of hours of work at the same 
real salary.

Privacy on the new work places should be protected

Trade unions activities and workers solidariety should be encouraged and 
protected, even among workmen who are 
not working at the same location. 




How to move the situation in the right direction and in the direction of 
cyber rights !

Waiting for the next future we have been involved in the last years to 
counteract the effect of the Italian Crackdown 
and to create a social, cultural and political movement able to defend the 
cyber rights of Italian citizens.
In the february of 1995 we carried out a national meeting of no-profit BBS 
at the Pecci's Museum of Prato.
A few months later, we get involved in a national debate about the design of 
a bill whose aim is the management and 
organization of no-profit BBS. Outlining how the best environment for the 
activity of a BBS is an envirionment free 
from limits of every kind, even of legal limits, we partecipate at this 
debate as we are sure that a bill concerning this item 
is unaivodable and so, it is important that this kind of bill should be 
designed by someone that cares about civil rights 
rather than from fascist or authoritarian political forces.
As a result, a bill designed by left-wing politicians is now to be put at 
the attention of the Italian Parlaiment. This bill 
provides several articles relating a possible public use of freeware, 
shareware and also old commercial software 
products for social purposes. Some, few, rules concerning the life of a 
no-profit BBS which are the only that can be 
accetped by BBS nowdays as they state the right to communicate of no-profit 
networks (without taxes, controls or limits) 
whose only duties are a self-management rule to adopt and a generical 
committment to collaborate with the judicial 
administration in the case of an investigation for computer crimes.
Althought we are quite sure that the most important thing to carry out 
nowdays is a cultural movement that understand 
the importance of political principles such as, right of access to public 
information, the right to communicate, the right to 
express ideas and so on we are going to be involved in the near future to 
avoid an enactment of italian laws infringing 
civil rights on the field of new information technologies.


G. Strategies for Liberation. Ideas for Global Links. 

A new age means a new worldwide ruling class and its plans.
We must think of a strategy to free our minds from the chain that have been 
forced upon us from above.

We have the energy, the strength, and the creativity to think of a long run 
project to organize new ideas and new 
policies for a peaceful revolution against the ruling class and its interests. 

These are some ideas of what we could realize:

1. Distributed Servers around the world

2. Mailing List

3. Teleconferences.

4. Information Agencies.

5. Networking and exchange of material and experiences 

Unity makes strenght
To connect any single person or small group that is working for a global 
liberation is a basic task. 

Let us produce maps and linkage among alternative servers. Let us make 
available to the general pubblic a bookmark 
of alternative servers and addresses.
 
Against money, we have to produce a stronger, quicker, more effective global 
networking.

Thanks to the richness and the energy that movements have, we may by-pass 
the big, multinational companys efforts to 
create giant monopolies. 

We need to join our efforts. Let us exchange material by opening links among 
servers.
To create alteernative maps is one of our best strategy.


6. International Conventions 

7. International Promo Tours.

8. Advertising the People Net and its Ideas.

9. Protests on the Net

	9.1. Virtual Strikes

To boycott a server for a limited period of time, it is sufficient to 
organize a large group of people and ask them to 
overflow the server by asking to access all together at the same time. 
Boycott should be advertised, made pubblic, and given reasons. They would 
work as sit in's that jam traffic.


10. Specialized group

	10.1. System operators
	10.2. Software
	10.3. Hardware
	10.4. Lawyers
	10.5. Information agencies
	10.6. Productions
	10.7. Retailers

Against all kinds of social barriers, cyber rights now !


StranoNetwork Italy


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For Metaforum II - No borders 6/10/1995

STRANONETWORK - ITALY
info c/o Tommaso Tozzi,
Via XXIV Maggio 14, 50129, Firenze, Italy
phone: +39-55-485996
e-mail: tozzi {AT} mailserver.idg.fi.cnr.it

BBS:
Virtual Town TV (phone +39-55-485997) VTTV e-mail: 
vttv {AT} vttvnet.trident.nettuno.it