[governance] Tech giants in human rights deal

Wed Oct 29 08:04:44 EDT 2008

Hello Meryem Marzouki,

Global Network Initiative appears to be an interesting initiative from the
Corporate Sector which is traditionally perceived not to be in tune with
Civil Society's concerns.

Reporters Sans Frontieres haven't become a part of this initiative due to
these concerns as published in the page
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29117

  1 - Local law remains the reference even if it violates international
human rights standards. Thus, participating companies will comply with
repressive regimes who have at their disposal an arsenal of legal provisions
aimed at silencing dissidents.

[image: -]  2 - The extent to which companies are expected to challenge
governments' requests remains unclear. Requests in writing are sought but
not mandatory.

[image: -]  3 - Companies could still enter into business relationships
(joint ventures, mergers) with local partners that do not follow the
principles, then bypass the restrictions imposed by the principles and blame
the local entity (such as Alibaba for Yahoo!) in case of violations of
freedom of expression or collaboration for the arrest of dissidents.

[image: -]  4 - Disclosure to users and transparency regarding the type of
personal information retained by ITC companies' remains unsatisfactory..
Users have no assurances that companies will try to minimize data
collection, nor do they know how long this data will be saved.

[image: -]  5 - The assessors' independence and impartiality as well as the
extent to which companies' will provide them with the necessary information
to monitor developments remains uncertain.
These are valid points. But better raised as a participant of this
initiative rather than as an outsider.  RSF could begin by appreciating this
initiative from the unexpected quarters and then go on to further strengthen
the initiative by drawing attention to the concerns as listed above.

I feel that RSF's concerns would be better addressed if it participates.

Sivasubramanian Muthusamy
ISOC India Chennai.
On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 3:25 PM, Meryem Marzouki <marzouki at ras.eu.org>wrote:

> See also more information on Global Network initiative at: http://
> www.globalnetworkinitiative.org, and dissenting voice from RSF (explaining
> why they haven't signed the deal) at: http://www.rsf.org/
> article.php3?id_article=29117
>
> Meryem Marzouki
>
> --
> Meryem Marzouki - http://www.iris.sgdg.org
> IRIS - Imaginons un réseau Internet solidaire
> 40 rue de la Justice - 75020 Paris
> Tel. +33(0)144749239
>
>
> Le 29 oct. 08 à 05:35, kwasi boakye-akyeampong a écrit :
>
>  My apologies for cross posting.
>>
>> Kwasi
>>
>> Tech giants in human rights deal
>>
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7696356.stm
>>
>> By Maggie Shiels
>> Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley
>>
>>
>> Google was accused of censoring 2% of search results in China
>> Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have signed a global code of conduct promising
>> to offer better protection for online free speech and against official
>> intrusion.
>>
>> The Global Network Initiative follows criticism that companies were
>> assisting governments in countries like China to censor the Internet.
>> The guidelines seek to limit what data should be shared with authorities,
>> in cases where free speech is an issue.
>> "This is an important first step," said Mike Posner of Human Rights First.
>> He told the BBC "What this is is a recognition by all these tech
>> companies, the human rights groups and social investors that there has to be
>> a collective response to this growing problem.
>> "Companies need to step up to the plate and be more aggressive in
>> challenging unwarranted government interference," he said.
>> The initiative states that privacy is "a human right and guarantor of
>> human dignity," and the agreement commits the companies to try to resist
>> overly broad demands for restrictions on freedom of speech and the privacy
>> of users.
>> They will also assess the human rights climate in a country before
>> concluding business deals and make sure their employees and partners follow
>> suit.
>> "These principles are not going to be a silver bullet, but the most
>> important point for me is to provide transparency," said Danny O'Brien of
>> the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
>> "We have joined this initiative because we know that a wide range of
>> groups working together can achieve much more than the company acting
>> alone," said Andrew McLaughlin, Google's director of global public policy.
>> 'Valuable roadmap'
>> The impetus for such an agreement follows years of criticism that a number
>> of businesses, including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft have complicity built
>> what has been dubbed the "Great Firewall of China".
>>
>> Skype say they are abiding by Chinese laws over internet use
>> Google has been accused of complying with Chinese government demands to
>> filter internet searches to eliminate query results regarding topics such as
>> democracy or Tiananmen Square.
>> Microsoft has come under attack for blocking the blog of a prominent
>> Chinese Media researcher who posted articles critical of a management purge
>> at the Beijing News Daily.
>> Canadian researchers uncovered that a Skype joint venture in China
>> monitored users' communications.
>> And a Chinese reporter Shi Tao was jailed for 10 years after Yahoo China
>> provided his personal information to the Chinese government.
>> Today Yahoo co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang welcomed the new code of
>> conduct.
>> "These principles provide a valuable roadmap for companies like Yahoo
>> operating in markets where freedom of expression and privacy are unfairly
>> restricted.
>>
>> Shi Tao's jailing sparked a controversy of Yahoo business practices in
>> China
>> "Yahoo was founded on the belief that promoting access to information can
>> enrich people's lives and the principles we unveiled today reflect our
>> determination that our actions match our values around the world," said Mr
>> Yang.
>> While China has been painted as the worst abuser, Colin Maclay of the
>> Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard University said there are
>> other countries and governments all over the world at fault.
>> "The number of states actively seeking to censor online content and access
>> personal information is growing.
>> "And the means employed - technical, social, legal, political - are
>> increasingly sophisticated, often placing internet and telecommunications
>> companies in difficult positions."
>> 'Business case'
>> The Global Network Initiative was drawn up by the internet companies along
>> with human rights groups, academics and investors.
>> Adam Kanzer who is the managing director and general counsel at Domini
>> Social Investments said as well as being the right thing to do, it also
>> makes good business sense.
>> He told BBC News "When you see the industry being caught up in the tactics
>> of various regimes around the world, the business case is very clear.
>> Freedom of expression and privacy is core to their business.
>> "They depend on a wide open, freely accessible and secure internet. That's
>> what they are about. If people don't trust the internet and believe they are
>> secure, then that is counterproductive to their business."
>>
>> The plan has yet to receive the support of internet companies in China
>> The effort is already being seen by some as not going far enough.
>> "After two years of effort, they have ended up with so little," said
>> Morton Sklar executive director for the World Organisation for Human Rights
>> USA.
>> "It is very little more than a broad statement of support for a general
>> principle without any concrete backup mechanism to ensure that the
>> guidelines will be followed."
>> Mr Posner of Human Rights First disputes that and said this agreement has
>> not been set up as a "gotcha system" but as a way "to work with companies to
>> get them to improve what they are doing, credit them when they do it and
>> call them out if they fail."
>> While it is hoped many more companies will sign up, two European
>> telecommunications firms, France Telecom and Vodafone, are already said to
>> be considering adding their names.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ..............................................................................................................................
>> "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what
>> am I?    And if not now, when?" - Rabbi Hillel
>>
>> ..............................................................................................................................
>>
>>
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-- 
http://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasubramanianmuthusamy
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