Canada last week became the first country outside of Europe to sign the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime Concerning the Criminalisation of Acts of a Racist and Xenophobic Nature Committed Through Computer Systems (full text). According to a report yesterday from OUT-LAW News, the Cybercrime Convention itself entered into force in July 2004. The Additional Protocol has not yet entered into force. While 28 countries in addition to Canada have signed the Protocol, it has been formally ratified so far only by four. It takes five ratifications for it to enter into effect.
The Additional Protocol does not cover all religious incitement online. Its definition of "racist and xenophopic material" is "any written material, any image or any other representation of ideas or theories, which advocates, promotes or incites hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual or group of individuals, based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion if used as a pretext for any of these factors."
The Protocol requires signatories to outlaw public dissemination of this type of material through computer systems, such as through a website. The Protocol also covers racist and xenophopic motivated threats, even if sent to an individual by e-mail and not disseminated publicly.
