As European leaders move to ban Internet hate speech and seek support from the United States, civil liberties groups charge that the proposal would violate free-speech rights.

The Council of Europe—not to be confused with the European Union—comprises 44 European countries, plus a handful of non-European nations. Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States have observer status only, but their comments are sought.

The council recently voted to outlaw "acts of a racist and xenophobic nature conducted through computer systems." The measure was added to the Convention on Cybercrime, criminalizing hacking, intellectual property violations, and use of computers to commit fraud. The first set of rules was signed in November 2001.

The non-European members are being asked to endorse the hate-speech provision at a meeting in late January.

The agreement defines racist and xenophobic material as "written material, images or other representations of ideas or theories advocating, promoting or inciting hatred, discrimination or violence against individuals or groups, based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin, or religion."

"It's a terrifying prospect," says James Gattuso, a research fellow for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "It's inherently dangerous for governments to define what appropriate speech is. You can't define or limit speech without chilling speech."

The protocol is subject to interpretation, he notes. "If you have a cartoon criticizing French foreign policy, would the French government have recourse?" he asks. "I don't see anything that would exclude that."