[bestbits] [governance] More on the GCCS 2015

[Nick Ashton-Hart]

Dear Arzan,

I find some irony in the fact that you start out by calling out finger pointing and then immediately pointing fingers at more players ;)

I will top you - I think - on the depressing front, which is that the entire dialogue about privacy, surveillance, data protection, law enforcement, cybersecurity, human rights online is the language of "my corner is more important than your corner, you should change to let me do what I want."

I think the reality is that all of these are aspects of digital security. All of these have, at their heart, the objective of creating more safety and security for people - of course, we can disagree about whether some of them do, or whether they do it well. 

The result of this is, I think, that we are then in the trap of "well, you give me a little of your privacy, and I'll give you a little more protection from criminals." This is as we know a false dichotomy but it is really harmful in public debate as it reinforces this terrible idea that there is only a limited amount of 'security' available and we have to parcel it out in little buckets to everyone who has a role in protecting people, a zero-sum.

We need a new debate that starts from the premise that digital security is not just any one of these things but all of them, and that the motivation at source of all aspects is the same. We could then have a reasonable conversation about how to leverage technology to actually product not a zero-sum but something that is more than the sum of its parts.

Of course, not all countries have the same motivations, not all stakeholders have the same motivations, but if we change the debate from zero-sum to win-win we at least have the chance to produce real reform and more safety. Isn't that what we all really want?

I look forward to thoughtful replies and constructive criticism. Other types of interventions I will leave without replying. I hope everyone understands.

On 22 Apr 2015, at 09:06, Arzak Khan <azrak_khan at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hi All,
> 
> It was for the first time that I participated in such an event and my take on the overall conference which I also raised in one of the panel discussions i.e. Privacy was that while addressing the issue of privacy and security majority of the people were pointing fingers at the governments i.e. NSA, GCHQ etc. and hoping to fix the cancer by proposing or calling for new laws, frameworks and treaties. No one at the event questioned the role played by the private companies in the mass surveillance programs for the likes of Google sharing petabytes of data with NSA and claiming to be protector of internet freedom is hard to swallow. I was not entirely sure that passing new laws and regulations will fix the issue or stop these growing monopolies from mass surveillance as the very fabric of internet architecture is based on the concept of big data and reconnaissance.
> 
> The terms like “information freedom” and “multistakeholderism” all looks very good and shimmering at the surface but underneath it is the dark world where states are in battle for control of economic, political and social power. The new age communication technology allows the developed countries to leverage them for their own gains and political agenda far more strongly than the Global South and at times against them.  The growing drive to control the internet i.e. primarily by economic and geopolitical motivations rather than by the humanitarian and democratic standards should ring bells for people having interest internet governance as  this event highlighted the geopolitical contest between few major international actors while rest of us were the participants or subjects witnessing twenty-first-century statesmanship and international relations.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Arzak Khan 
> Director |Internet Policy Observatory Pakistan (iPOP) | Tel +92 81 9211464 | Twitter: @internetpolicyp |Web: www.ipop.org.pk |
> 
> 
> 
> From: gurstein at gmail.com
> To: governance at lists.igcaucus.org; bestbits at lists.bestbits.net
> Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 10:12:40 -0700
> Subject: [governance] More on the GCCS 2015
> 
> http://t.co/tzT7PkFgys
>  
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04/20/gccs_2015_roundup?mt=1429629533557
>  
> Interesting perspective and more information …
>  
> So what precisely was “CS” doing at this meeting and having their participation presented as being in “general agreement” with the Chairman’s Report and (and thus legitimizing) the entire process and outcome of this unicorn?
>  
> Can we take silence as indicating consent from the participating “CS” organizations and individuals?
>  
> M
>  
>  
>  
> 
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