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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Thanks Milton for this engagement. While, as
you would expect, I have a lot of issues with your amendments, this process of
engagement and deliberation is very useful. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I request all others who think that the ‘rights
and the Internet’ issue is important, to please chip in. The time for
engaging and contributing is *now* when we are trying to make an input from IGC
that is expected to be used as crucial element in what we expect to become as a
campaign for getting ‘rights and the Internet’ as a mainstreamed framework
for IGF’s discussions, in a similar manner as a rights framework is used
in many other global policy forums. We may want to use this framework as our principal
thrust for our engagements with the IGF. I am quite positive that if we can get
good civil society weight behind the ‘rights and the Internet’
agenda there is a good chance that we can convince the powers-that-be to take it
seriously. One main problem with civil society’s involvement with IG
spaces has been that it hasn’t come up with a coherent alternative
people-centered agenda which can give it the needed leverage in these spaces. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Now, about the issues with Milton’s
amendments, and my suggested amendments to his amendments: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>First the most contested part of the statement
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>“One
important purpose of a discourse on rights should be to clarify and reach
greater consensus on how Internet rights are defined, how they relate to
pre-existing definitions of human rights, and which ones need to be
internationally recognized and strengthened. There are currently basic
philosophical differences, even among civil society actors, over what
constitutes a right and whether human rights inhere only in individuals or can
also be assigned to collectivities. “</span></font><font color=blue><span
style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>“The openness and diversity of the
internet are underpinned by widely recognized (but still imperfectly enforced)
basic human rights: the individual right to freedom of expression and to
privacy. To some, conceptions of rights and the internet may also extend to the
area of positive and collective rights – for instance a right to Internet
access, or a right of cultural expression - including the right to have an
Internet in ones own language, which can inform the important IGF thematic
area of cultural diversity. Others contest these positive and collective
claims, viewing them as worthy policy goals but not as rights.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>It is important to recognize that there
are two important and different contestations here. One, whether there is at
all a category of positive and collective rights in any case whatsoever. My personal
view is that it is a very small minority among the IGC membership that really
contests the very validity of the category of positive and collective rights. I
invite members’ comments on this statement. Accordingly, I don’t think
an IGC statement should go out casting doubts on the very validity of these
categories of rights. I would therefore want all corresponding parts of the statement
removed.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>The second contestation is about whether
there are some already accepted extensions of positive and collective rights to
the Internet – right to access internet (positive right) and right to
cultural expression or an Internet in ones own language (a collective right). I
agree that there may not be enough consensus in this group at present to assert
these rights, and we may only speak of exploring them, and debating the pros
and cons. Accordingly, I am for mentioning the language of ‘wanting to
explore’ with regard to these rights. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>So I propose that the above paras be amended
as below<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>“One important purpose of a
discourse on rights should be to clarify and reach greater consensus on how
Internet rights are defined, how they relate to pre-existing definitions of
human rights, and which ones need to be internationally recognized and strengthened.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><br>
“The openness and diversity of the internet are underpinned by widely
recognized (but still imperfectly enforced) basic human rights: the individual
right to freedom of expression and to privacy. It may also be useful to explore
if and whether positive and collective rights are meaningful in relation to the
Internet – for instance a right to Internet access, or a right of
cultural expression - including the right to have an Internet in ones own
language, which can inform the important IGF thematic area of cultural
diversity.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>The second problem is about your addition of
the following para<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>“We recognize that while it is
relatively easy to articulate and claim “rights” it is much more
difficult to implement and enforce them. We also recognize that rights claims
can sometimes conflict or compete with each other. For example, a claim that
there is a “right to Internet access” may imply an obligation on
states to fund and provide such access, but it is likely that if states are
responsible for supplying internet access that there will also be strong
pressures on them to exert controls over what content users can access using
public funds and facilities. There can also be uncertainty about the
proper application of a rights claim to a factual situation. The change in the
technical methods of communication often undermines pre-existing understandings
of how to apply legal categories. “</span></font><font color=blue><span
style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>This para clearly makes out a strong case against
‘right to the Internet’ and is obviously not acceptable to those
who speak for it. I would delete the whole para. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I however find the last two sentences –
which I know you state in terms of meaningfulness of universal access – very
interesting in terms of IPR in digital space. But I discuss my issues with the
IPR paragraph in a separate email.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I also have problem with the new opening para
that you propose.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>“The
Tunis Agenda (para. 42) </span></font><font color=black><span lang=EN-GB
style='color:black'>invoked human rights when it reaffirmed a global
"commitment to the freedom to seek, receive, impart and use
information" and affirmed that "measures undertaken to ensure
Internet stability and security, to fight cybercrime and to counter spam, must
protect and respect the provisions for privacy and freedom of expression as
contained in the relevant parts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the Geneva Declaration of Principles." However, little follow up work
has been done to enact these commitments to basic human rights in Internet
governance.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>If one
mentions rights in the IG arena it is by default read as FoE and privacy rights.
While these are basic and very important rights, our effort is to explore the
rights terrain much further. As argued in my earlier email the possibility that
a broad rights agenda may at ant time be globally accepted as a good basis for
IG related policy discussions also lies in making the rights discourse broader,
including concerns of what I call as the vast majority of people, which go
beyond these two rights. Mentioning just these two rights in the opening para
fall into the same trap, and in a way defeats the purpose of anchoring a broader
rights discourse in the IG space. I will either remove this part, or
replace it by the reaffirmation of “the universality,
indivisibility, interdependence and interrelation of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, as enshrined in the
Vienna Declaration” from the opening parts of Geneva declaration. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>We can in
addition mention that the Geneva declaration opens with declaration of <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>“our
common desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and
development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create,
access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals,
communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their
sustainable development and improving their quality of life, premised on the purposes
and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and respecting fully and
upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>We need
to move fast and close this in the next four days, but I think we are making good
progress. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Parminder
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div style='border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt'>
<div>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Milton L Mueller
[mailto:mueller@syr.edu] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, September 05, 2008
12:22 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> governance@lists.cpsr.org;
Parminder<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> RE: [governance] Inputs
for synthesis paper</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>OK, I just made some extensive edits to
the rights statement. A lot of the small stuff was editorial, there was
redundancy and awkwardness in many sentences, perhaps reflecting the
fragmentary approach of a shared doc. I hope people agree on the stylistic
improvements. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Substantively, I tried to do two things: </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>First, make it clearer that the definition
and application of rights talk is contested and complicated -- and use that to
bolster the argument that that makes it a good focus for IGF Egypt. In line
with this, I added a quotation from the Tunis Agenda at the beginning. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Second, group and expand certain
discussions to run in a more coherent and structured manner. For example, there
were scattered references to privacy which I tried to consolidate in a single
para. and expand a bit. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>For those not on the Google docs list I
append the statement below</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><!-- Converted from text/plain format -->Milton
Mueller<br>
Professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies<br>
XS4All Professor, Delft University of Technology<br>
------------------------------<br>
Internet Governance Project:<br>
<a href="http://internetgovernance.org">http://internetgovernance.org</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><i><font
size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:black;font-style:italic'>IGC’s input -1 to the synthesis paper for
IGF, <u1:City w:st="on"><u1:place w:st="on">Hyderabad</u1:place></u1:City>.</span></font></i><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>‘</span></font><b><font
size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Rights
and the Internet’ as the over-arching theme for IGF-4 in <u1:country-region w:st="on"><u1:place w:st="on">Egypt</u1:place></u1:country-region>
</span></font></b><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The
Tunis Agenda (para. 42) </span></font><font color=black><span lang=EN-GB
style='color:black'>invoked human rights when it reaffirmed a global
"commitment to the freedom to seek, receive, impart and use
information" and affirmed that "measures undertaken to ensure
Internet stability and security, to fight cybercrime and to counter spam, must
protect and respect the provisions for privacy and freedom of expression as
contained in the relevant parts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the Geneva Declaration of Principles." However, little follow up work
has been done to enact these commitments to basic human rights in Internet
governance. </span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The
Internet Governance Caucus strongly recommends that ‘Rights and the
Internet’ be made the overarching theme for IGF-4 in <u1:country-region w:st="on"><u1:place w:st="on">Egypt</u1:place></u1:country-region>,
and that the IGF-4’s program be framed by the goal of developing a
rights-based discourse in the area of Internet Governance. The Caucus has
already expressed support for the letter on this subject which was sent to the
MAG by the Dynamic Coalition on an Internet Bill of Rights. The IGC offers the
IGF assistance in helping to shape such a discourse at the IGF meetings, and
specifically to help make ‘Rights and the Internet’ an overarching
theme for IGF-4 in <u1:country-region w:st="on"><u1:place w:st="on">Egypt</u1:place></u1:country-region>. </span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><i><font
size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:black;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>A complex new emerging ecology
of rights and the internet</span></font></i></b><font color=blue><span
style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>One
important purpose of a discourse on rights should be to clarify and reach
greater consensus on how Internet rights are defined, how they relate to
pre-existing definitions of human rights, and which ones need to be
internationally recognized and strengthened. There are currently basic
philosophical differences, even among civil society actors, over what
constitutes a right and whether human rights inhere only in individuals or can
also be assigned to collectivities. </span></font><font color=blue><span
style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><br>
<br>
</span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The
openness and diversity of the internet are underpinned by widely recognized
(but still imperfectly enforced) basic human rights: the individual right to
freedom of expression and to privacy. To some, conceptions of rights and the
internet may also extend to the area of positive and collective rights –
for instance a right to Internet access, or a right of cultural expression -
including the right to have an Internet in ones own language, which can
inform the important IGF thematic area of cultural diversity. Others contest these
positive and collective claims, viewing them as worthy policy goals but not as
rights.</span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Many
important internet policy areas, like network neutrality, are being framed in
terms of rights, such as a right to access and share information, or as an
extension of freedom of expression itself. The right of the public to access
government-produced information presents itself in a wholly new manner in a
digital environment, where information is often publicly sharable at little or
no extra cost. Positive acts of withholding digital public information from
citizens in fact can be looked upon as a form of censorship. All of these
rights-based conceptions may be included in the IGF openness theme area. Other
rights such as the right of association and the right to political participation
may have important new implications in the internet age, including the right to
participate in the shaping of globally applicable internet policies. </span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>While
the internet opens unprecedented economic, social and political
opportunities in many areas, many fear that it may at the same time be further
widening economic, social and political divides. It is for this reason that
development has been a central theme for the IGF meetings to date. In this
new, more global and digital context it might be useful to explore what the
term "right to development" means. </span></font><font color=blue><span
style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>With
respect to privacy rights, corporations and governments are increasingly able
to extend digital tentacles into people’s homes and personal devices, in
manners invisible to consumers and citizens.Consumers of digital products thus
face new challenges including the right </span></font><a
name=sdfootnote3anc></a><a
href="http://docs.google.com/RawDocContents?docID=dcskr5r9_7n2dnxhs&justBody=false&revision=_latest×tamp=1220550114112&editMode=true&strip=true#sdfootnote3sym"></a><font
color=black><span style='color:black'>to know and completely ‘own’
the products and services they pay for. Technological measures to monitor and
control user behavior on the internet is becoming increasingly sophisticated,
and often outrun public policies and traditional concepts of what rights users
have.</span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>While
property rights are of considerable importance, their applicability and
mutations in the the digital environment have led to widespread political
contention over the proper scope of copyrights, trademarks and patents. In
fact, intellectual property is emerging as a primary area of socio-economic
conflict in the information society. The IGF can explore issues
surrounding the public interest principles which underpin IPR alongside the
concept of a right to access knowledge in the digital space. It can also
explore how individuals' property right to own, build, test, and use consumer
electronics, computers and other forms of equipment can be reconciled with the
regulation of technical circumvention to protect copyrights. </span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>We recognize that while it is relatively
easy to articulate and claim “rights” it is much more difficult to
implement and enforce them. We also recognize that rights claims can sometimes
conflict or compete with each other. For example, a claim that there is a
“right to Internet access” may imply an obligation on states to
fund and provide such access, but it is likely that if states are responsible
for supplying internet access that there will also be strong pressures on them
to exert controls over what content users can access using public funds and
facilities. There can also be uncertainty about the proper application of
a rights claim to a factual situation. The change in the technical methods of
communication often undermines pre-existing understandings of how to apply
legal categories. </span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:blue'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:black'>These complexities, however, only strengthen the case for using
the IGF to explicitly discuss and debate these problems. There is no other
global forum where such issues can be raised and explored in a non-binding
context. </span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><br>
<br>
</span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Internet
governance has up to this time largely been founded in technical principles
and, increasingly, on the internet’s functionality as a giant global
marketplace. With the internet becoming increasingly central to many
social and political institutions, an alternative foundation and conceptual
framework for IG can be explored. It is the view of the IG Caucus that a
right-based framework will be may be appropriate for this purpose. </span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>It
is the Caucus’ view that the IGF is the forum best suited to take up
this task. This process should start at the IGF Hyderabad, where workshops on
rights issues are being planned. These issues will also hopefully figure
prominently in the main sessions. The IGC fully expects that these discussions
will help the IGF work towards developing ‘Rights and the Internet’
as the over-arching theme of the IGF-4 in Egypt. </span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=western style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3
color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span><u1:country-region w:st="on"><u1:place w:st="on"></u1:place></u1:country-region></font></p>
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