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<font face="Verdana">Wolfgang<br>
<br>
The least that all civil society groups, especially since in a MS
settings they claim a special political role, can do is to be
transparent - whatever further 'clear positions' as you suggest
might be developed. A clear statement of objectives, interest and
activities, and funding transparency is the basic minimum. CS can
hardly be legitimate in calling for transparency and
accountability of other actors if it cannot itself be so. In fact
it has to uphold much higher standards. Unfortunately, we dont see
any such self reflection in the civil society. Norbert raised this
point repeatedly in the BestBits meeting today.<br>
<br>
parminder <br>
<br>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On Sunday 20 October 2013 08:31 AM,
"Kleinwächter, Wolfgang wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:2DA93620FC07494C926D60C8E3C2F1A8013320FF@server1.medienkomm.uni-halle.de"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">What is needed here - and we discussed already in WSIS I and WSIS II nrearl ten years agi - are something like procedures for the relationship beteen stakeholders within a MS mechanism. From a CS point of view we should develop some guideliens and criteria under which we would collaborate with governments, private sector and the technical community. With all stakehholder grups CS has sometimes something in common but has also conflicts. This does not exclude collabboration - where it meets the standards, values and interests of CS - but it needs also clear positions where such a collaboration is a controversy. To strengthen our own profile, to clear what our inteerests and positions are enables us best to define where we can cooperate and where not.
wolfgang
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:governance-request@lists.igcaucus.org">governance-request@lists.igcaucus.org</a> im Auftrag von parminder
Gesendet: So 20.10.2013 02:49
An: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:bestbits@lists.igcaucus.org">bestbits@lists.igcaucus.org</a>; <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:governance@lists.igcaucus.org">governance@lists.igcaucus.org</a>
Betreff: [governance] Re: [bestbits] Google's growing web of influence
On Sunday 20 October 2013 05:40 AM, Norbert Bollow wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Dear all
Google is definitely working with determination and a long-term
strategy to shape the public discourse as much as possible in its
favor, and its civil society funding activities are part of this
strategy
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/how-google-lobbies-german-government-over-internet-regulation-a-857654.html">http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/how-google-lobbies-german-government-over-internet-regulation-a-857654.html</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?288214">http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?288214</a>
We need to discuss what this means from the perspective of protecting
ourselves from getting unknowingly corrupted and compromised. This
discussions needs to happen both in regard to international civil
society in IG as a whole and in regard to BestBits in particular.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
very interesting... These are very significant structural issues of
global IG that we cannot avoid confronting directly. How much civil
society will really be taken seriously depends on how much moral
legitimacy we have, which is one of the chief legitimacies of civil
society. And such legitimacy would come from confronting such issues
directly, and being rather upfront about it. I think there should be a
basic transparency (and accountabiltiy) code of conduct for civil
society in IG space, at least that part of civil society that works
together in spaces like BestBits and IGC. May be today's BestBits
meeting can discuss this in the session on internal BB issues etc. I
would greatly prefer if we do so.
Around the same time last year a similar analysis came out of how google
was trying to (rather effectively) capture the IG related civil society
discursive and advocacy space in Germany ...
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/how-google-lobbies-german-government-over-internet-regulation-a-857654.html">http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/how-google-lobbies-german-government-over-internet-regulation-a-857654.html</a>
Your choice of the email subject line suggests that you know of this
german news item, but just in case...
If google can do such a thing in a rather mature institutional system of
Germany, we can well judge what would it be like iin places with less
mature social institutions.. I know that in countries ranging from Korea
to many countries in Africa, also of course in Asia and Latin America,
Google is aggressively throwing in funds for IG civil society groups.
parminder
</pre>
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<pre wrap="">
Greetings,
Norbert
</pre>
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<pre wrap="">
</pre>
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