Iceland joins forces with Wikileaks to become world hub for media freedom
The country worst hit by the global financial crisis is making a comeback that is certain to get great press. Iceland plans to become the media freedom hub of the world, having received consultation on media law(suits) from the infamous whistleblower website Wikileaks.
A group of opposition MPs suggested the proposal, the Icelandic Modern Media initiative, which will encourage freedom of speech, protect journalistic sources and wage a war against libel tourism-a common practice in the UK, where libel laws are infamously weighted in favour of the plaintiff.
The initiative has widespread backing among all parties, and is due to come before Parliament on 16 February. If it is accepted and made into law, this tiny country of 350,000, known for its fishing and (once-upon-a time) its financial services may have hit upon a new market. Iceland could become the world centre for investigative journalism, which has suffered continuing decline in the face of costly lawsuits.
Co-founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange writes, “I have been in Iceland the past few weeks advising parliamentarians here on a cross-party proposal to turn Iceland into an international ‘journalism haven’ – a jurisdiction designed to attract organisations into publishing online from Iceland, by adopting the strongest press and source protection laws from around the world.”
As Annabel Symington notes in her Wired expose on Wikileaks, the site is a veteran of fighting off sustained legal attacks, and Wikileaks plans to use its vast experience to help Iceland produce fool-proof legislation.
Iceland became a global pity-case when Landsbanki and its online savings bank Icesave crashed and burned during the credit crunch, leaving tax payers responsible to foreign creditors as the government proved unable to pay off the bank’s debts to the UK and the Netherlands.
As mentioned in the Guardian, Wikileaks first became involved in Iceland during this tumultuous period, when a TV broadcaster published a list of bank creditors on the site, after it was prevented from doing so on national television. Afterward, Wikileaks’ founders went to Iceland to discuss the idea of building a journalism haven in Iceland on a talk show.
Icelandic MP Birgitta Jónsdóttir believes that the initiative, which will take a stand on freedom of speech, may help Iceland recreate itself with a positive new image following the country’s economic collapse. “There are still very many Icelanders who feel ashamed. I think it is part of the self-recovery we have to go through,” she told the BBC on Friday.
Supporters of the proposal, which will also protect publishers, internet hosts and other intermediaries, say that it will encourage media outlets to set up shop in Iceland.
“If it then has these additional media and publishing law protections then it is likely to encourage the international press and internet start-ups to locate their services here,” explains Assange.
As a journalist in a country with some of the toughest libel laws, I can certainly see the appeal. Its high time journalism was given some priority over the rights and sensitivities of corporations and politicians. Had the UK acknowledged the need for fair libel legislation, it is unlikely that the Trafigura super injunction debacle would ever have gotten so out of hand. If Assange and his Icelandic compatriots do succeed in getting the proposal passed, my next travel plans just might include a parka, fishing rod, and a brief case full of classified documents.
Tags: Annabel Symington, defamation, financial crisis, Iceland, Icelandic Modern Media initiative, Julian Assange, lawsuits, libel, libel tourism, media freedom, Trafigura, Wikileaks
