KAZAKHSTAN: REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE - WHAT WEB LINKS ARE

UNCLAS ASTANA 000231 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR R, L, IIP, SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KIPR KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE - WHAT WEB LINKS ARE PERMITTED FOR EMBASSY WEB SITES? ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (U) This is an action request. Please see para six below. ¶3. (SBU) Embassy Astana noticed that a recent article in "The Washington Post" was an excellent expression of the Obama Administration's traditional family and community values that would communicate especially effectively with our audience in Kazakhstan that values extended families: "From the Second City, An Extended Family: Obama's Mother-in-Law, Other Chicagoans Bring Home to the White House," Eli Saslow, "The Washington Post," 02-01-09. ¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador asked that it be linked to the Embassy's public web site to demonstrate common U.S.-Kazakhstan values. This led to an internal Embassy debate, with the Public Affairs Officer arguing that Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) considerations preclude such a link to U.S.-government web sites of specific articles from media (and other, e.g., think-tank) web sites, without explicit permission, and so it would be better to err on the side of caution. Some pointed out that such e-linkage is now widely accepted common practice by bloggers, especially, and by other commercial and non-commercial web sites (except for links to those media web sites that financially charge access to full texts of articles). (NOTE: See especially http://drudgereport.com and http://huffingtonpost.com -- simply to give two examples on the political spectrum. END NOTE.) Others continued to suggest that IPR considerations preclude such across-the-board links without explicit, case-by-case permission. And so, we queried IIP by e-mail for guidance. ¶5. (SBU) The reply we received was almost word-for-word the same guidance that has been issued for 20 and more years, when we were still in the hard-copy age before the Internet age -- that IIP is prepared to seek copyright permission for distribution of specific articles, upon request by Embassies, on a case-by-case basis. With all due respect, this makes no sense in the electronic age. "The New York Times" recently started posting a header above all of its articles available on the Internet (print version) that informs readers, in part, "This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only." We would note that Embassy web sites are noncommercial. ¶6. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: Because we are in the immediate 24/7 media age, not the print-copy age of previous generations, and to achieve timely distribution, we ask that R, IIP, and L develop guidance for Embassies world-wide on the question of linking to their public web sites the electronic version of specific articles that advance U.S. policy goals and demonstrate U.S. values. We also invite other Posts to weigh in with their views and experiences. HOAGLAND