Danish Leaders Reject Online Casino Ban as Start of Censorship
A group of prominent Danish figures from a variety of walks of life and perspectives untied to blast the country's potential online casino ban. Leading executives of Denmark called government efforts to block online gambling sites hypocritical for a country that supposedly values free speech.Representatives from the Danish Energy Association, the Bar and Law Society, the Condfederation of Danish Industries, the Telecommunications Industry Association, and the organization for Danish Internet media all united to denounce the proposal.
The group said if Danes established such an Internet block, "we could no longer be outraged when the Chinese and North Korean government’s block access to foreign websites."
The government would prefer to "restrict access to the Internet rather than increase efforts to prosecute those who commit Internet crime," said Clement Petersen of the law school at the University of Copenhagen.
The situation was described as a potential "slippery slope," on which more and more items to be censored might soon be found if the ban were installed.
The consortium asked if the government might not soon blot out objectionable political and social commentary.
Science Minister Helge Sander said the government was within its rights to place the ban, and doing so did not conflict with the concept of free speech.
