[bestbits] Fwd: Re: [IRPCoalition] [Call for feedback] Visual timeline on internet governance processes

[parminder]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [IRPCoalition] [Call for feedback] Visual timeline on 
internet governance processes
Date: 	Sun, 22 Sep 2013 13:19:53 +0530
From: 	parminder <parminder at itforchange.net>
To: 	irp at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org



Thanks Deborah and Joana for this effort. My few comments which connect 
to the mandate of the BB and other global IG groups....


On Thursday 19 September 2013 12:13 AM, Deborah Brown wrote:
> [......]

> A few features to make note of:
>
>  *
>
>     We have divided the landscape into several processes -- the
>     broader UN processes, the ITU processes, the WSIS review process,
>     the IGF and ICANN. We did not include OECD as it is not a global
>     process, but it could potentially be added (as could other processes);
>

One would like to know on what basis is a IG process called 'global'. 
This has to be judged on the criterion of impact and not on who is 
allowed to participate.  We must do a full and honest inquiry into what 
are the real and most powerful sites where global IG rule making takes 
place (global, as in that impacts the whole globe) and figure out what 
is the best way that civil society can intervene on the side of global 
pulbic interest. That is the principal raison d'etre of global civil 
society. And we can hardly accomplish our job if we are so shy of even 
identifying the most important sites of global IG law/ policy making.

We read recently, how global net neutrality regime seems right now being 
shaped in US courts and some EU policy making spaces.... Same is true of 
privacy, as is of what should be competition, media etc regulation vis a 
vis the Internet.....

That most of the world doesnt (rather, is not allowed to) participate in 
these most significant sites of global IG law/ policy making is not a 
good reason to ignore them; it is in fact a good reason to be even more 
active in participating in them, for a start, bycritiquing their non 
participative-ness. At least to the same extent we are so active in 
critiquing non participativeness in terms of non-gov groups in otherwise 
globally participative IG processes.

In relation to these actual, very active, sites of global IG, places 
like ITU and, especially,  WSIS are more of potential sites of strong 
impact.... which of course we should engage with as well..... But much 
more IG is going on in the mentioned North based sites.... very much more.

And regrettably, even with the sites like ITU and WSIS  there seem to 
be  a plan to engage with, what I see as, largely only a negative 
agenda, of what they shouldnt do, but hardly anything of a positive 
agenda....

This flies in the face of the primary reasons that the BestBits group 
was first constituted for - which in my understanding were (and I can be 
corrected)  (1) to give a greater foothold to the issues, concerns and 
perspectives of the global South, and (2) to construct a positive global 
IG agenda in a background whereby global groups seem struck with largely 
negative agendas. My assessment is that we have largely failed in both 
these objectives, whatever else we may have achieved. It is about a year 
since this group was constituted, and it is perhaps time for it to 
undertake an introspection.

[.......]
>
> There will be a session on global internet governance for civil 
> society at the Best Bits meeting 
> <http://bestbits.net/ai1ec_event/best-bits-2013/?instance_id=>ahead of 
> the IGF in Bali. We hope this mapping will be a useful tool for civil 
> society to strategize and are looking forward to presenting it at the 
> session.
>

I had suggested that, in this session, we do not keep ourselves 
artificially limited to the ITU and WCIT, and instead examine all the 
above suggested important sites of global Internet governance, in the 
priority of their respective extent of impact on the global Internet. It 
is very unfortunate that this suggestion has been shot down.

Also, on a sightly different note, the other session on surveillance 
should have been a session on NSA, simple and direct. That is the big 
thing of this year. As a very renowned techie Bruce Shneier has said, US 
has violated the basic social contract of the Internet 
<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/05/government-betrayed-internet-nsa-spying>. 
In-country surveillance remains one of the biggest issues of IG, and we 
have always discussed it. However, to a overwhelming majority of the 
global population, Snowden/NSA was not just about surveillance, as 
always known and understood, it was about an completely unacceptable and 
blatant level of US overlordship and control over the global Internet. 
That is the main issue here, and it is big enough to have shaken the 
whole world single-handedly.... But here, one of the key global civil 
society group is hesitant to call the issue by its name, and, what to me 
appears as, beats about the bush. If civil society wont call a spade a 
spade who will. Why are we so cautious about US sensibilities....  These 
remains serious issues for me. Civil society much provide the 
countervailing power - and therefore if the Internet is too US centric, 
and it has to weigh on the other side, if needed, even 
disproportionately...

parminder


>
> Looking forward to receiving your feedback.
>
> Best,
>
> Deborah: deborah at accessnow.org <mailto:deborah at accessnow.org>
>
> Joana: joana at varonferraz.com <mailto:joana at varonferraz.com>
>
> Lea: lea at gp-digital.org <mailto:lea at gp-digital.org>
>
> -- 
> Deborah Brown
> Senior Policy Analyst
> Access | AccessNow.org
> E. deborah at accessnow.org <mailto:deborah at accessnow.org>
> @deblebrown
> PGP 0x5EB4727D
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> IRP mailing list
> IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org
> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/irp



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/bestbits/attachments/20130922/673c3334/attachment.htm>