Re: [Repo-criteria-discuss] Hello experts!

[Juuso Lapinlampi]

On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 10:32:58PM +0200, Hein-Pieter van Braam wrote:
> document that I can use under a free license and apply to NAB. My goals
> for a ToS are basically just 'anything goes, except things that are
> illegal to host in europe.' I'd like some wording about not wanting to
> host content that endorses sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia etc.
> Again, I have no idea how to word this in a sensible manner. 

This will be off-topic for the list(?), but I don't think it's really
sensible for service providers to start policing and moderating content
and to enforce the law or not-law.

There are many things we can dislike, but different and even offensive
or repulsive thoughts are free speech in most countries, including
Europe (excluding some laws banning agitation against ethnic groups in
many European countries). And that's a democratic thing?

In other words, I'm saying I believe censorship is the misled approach
to problems of the society and it's something I am personally trying to
combat actively. Instead, I believe you should speak out passionately in
opposition of those things (sexism, homophobia etc). That is the essence
of free speech.

I would also argue that banning those things you mentioned would fail
criteria C2, discriminating against classes of users. Service providers
are also not primarily liable for user generated content.

repo-criteria-discuss@: Do you agree with me, and should repository
hosts have such criteria for A+ or so?

I wrote this FAQ for another file sharing project once [1], which nicely
sums up my thoughts (licensed under Expat license):

> What is $website?
>
> $website is a simple to use free file hosting service. It lets you
> share your photos, documents, music, videos and more with others
> online.
>
> What content is allowed?
>
> $website welcomes uploading any content, as long as the content is
> legal in $host-country and you have the legal right to make the
> content available on our service.
>
> As an exception to this policy to prevent abuse, we do not allow
> malware on our service. Any malware that could be used to infect other
> computers may be removed from our service at our discretion.

This last paragraph in previous question may not apply to a Git service,
though. Problem was getting blacklisted by social media and even
Spamhaus, then getting the boot from some "less-well-behaving ISPs" for
"malware distribution" instead of regular abuse handling process.

>
> Do you keep logs of uploaded content?
>
> We don't collect or log any data of our users in respect for privacy.
> We only have files uploaded by our users.

This is just a moral question. Some may be fine with 1-3 day logs for
law enforcement.

>
> Can you remove my copyrighted content?
>
> Please submit your copyright takedown notice to $abuse-email. We will
> handle your notice within 24 hours and disable access to infringing
> content after receiving a notice compliant with the $copyright-law.
>
> Can you remove content that is defaming me or otherwise infringing my
> non-copyright rights?
>
> $website respects takedowns for other content when accompanied with a
> certified $host-country court order. If you are unable to obtain the
> order, a preliminary injuction or court order is typically also
> sufficient. Please forward the notice to $abuse-email.
>
> Can you remove illegal content?
>
> Please contact the appropriate law enforcement agency if you notice
> illegal content hosted on $website. We have not been trained or
> qualified to investigate and fight crimes and enforce the law, so it's
> not appropriate to send accusations of illegal activity to us. You
> **must** contact the appropriate law enforcement office. They may then
> contact us if appropriate.
>
> If you are a $host-country law enforcement official and you need our
> assistance, please contact $abuse-email. If you are a law enforcement
> official from another country, we may voluntarily cooperate if the
> crime you are investigating would also be illegal in $host-country.
>
> I have a question...
>
> Send us an email at $contact-email and let's talk!

Increasingly governments are trying to push the service providers to
police the Internet, but only the police can enforce the law. As
NearlyFreeSpeech.NET says, "If you are not a law enforcement official,
keep in mind that neither are we."[2]

> Is anyone willing to help me with at least the ToS wording? I will look

I can help you and write a ToS for NAB, but we may run into few
disagreements about policing. I'll contact you off the list.

Keep in mind that I am not a lawyer and I can't give you legal advice,
only personal or professional advice.

[1]: 
https://git.pantsu.cat/pantsu/pomf/tree/pages/faq.swig?id=63c1f98c429f78ee9574cae5aab5e74cf2337eda
[2]: https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/help/abuse