[governance] Call for final comments - rights as a theme for cairo

Thu Sep 11 01:49:42 EDT 2008

Hello Ian Peter,

I have stumbled on the statement "Rights to the Internet should never be
conditional" in Fouad Bajwa's message which if incorporated addresses all my
concerns as well.

This is the very idea that I tried to convey, first by pointing to the fact
that rights as a theme for discussion would pave way for a discussion on
measures to enforce rights - in other words, conditions to guarantee rights.
When that did not sink in, I tried a reverse path to point out possible
extreme positions, Great, rights is a great topic, collective rights is also
a great idea, Let's work to get different broadband price plans for men and
women, free movie downloads for people living in the mountains. I went on to
point out possible extremes in language based demand, which would give a
hint of religion based or region based demands. At the risk of being quoted
out of context, or dubbed anti-establishment, I  brought Barlow's draft as a
fierce statement on rights, and then proposed a (draft) preamble to draw
attention to the fundamental characteristics of the Internet (as first
draft, to be commented and modified word for word, but there isn't time to
do that as you have pointed out which I did accept). All that is out of
concerns for the conditions that are implicit in any "approval" or even
"adoption" of rights.

1. If we can include the statement "Rights to the Internet should never be
conditional", may be the theme is better pronounced. There are implied
obligations that go with any established right, which is Ok, and implied
obligations differ in nature from overtly or subtly negotiated conditions.
So we need to say "unconditional" prominently. Rights, in spirit, are
non-negotiable.

2. I would prefer the term "Internet Rights" to "Rights" - 'Internet Rights'
defined as "Right to Internet and Rights on the Internet".

3. The specific text that can also be included is this:

"Internet is Open and Accessible and fosters Open Standards and Open
Ecosystems. In this context the theme would also covers the right to the
freest possible flow of information domestically and globally, the right to
share one's creations, remix, reuse freely"

Sivasubramanian Muthusamy
India.

On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 9:05 AM, Ian Peter <ian.peter at ianpeter.com> wrote:

> Fouad, do you have specific words to recommend for inclusion or deletion
> here?
>
>
>
> Ian Peter
> Ian Peter and Associates Pty Ltd
> PO Box 10670 Adelaide St  Brisbane 4000
> Australia
> Tel (+614) 1966 7772 or (+612) 6687 0773
> www.ianpeter.com
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Fouad Bajwa [mailto:fouadbajwa at gmail.com]
> > Sent: 11 September 2008 10:21
> > To: governance at lists.cpsr.org; Ian Peter
> > Subject: Re: [governance] Call for final comments - rights as a theme for
> > cairo
> >
> > IT should also be noted here that movements like Creative Commons,
> > which is in fact a nonprofit civil society organization,
> > www.creativecommons.org are providing various IPR opportunities
> > through the concept of "Share, Remix, Reuse - Legally" and there is a
> > need to extend Creative Commons localization efforts that are
> > happening for various Jurisdictions around the world.
> >
> > For example a Minister of Australia recently
> > http://creativecommons.org.au/node/189 shared:
> > Following up the news that the National Innovation Review has
> > recommended that Australian Government should be releasing material
> > under Creative Commons licences - in a speech at the Committee for
> > Melbourne yesterday, Senator Carr gave what sounds like a fairly
> > strong endorsement of this recommendation, saying: "We are and will
> > remain a net importer of knowledge, so it is in our interest to
> > promote the freest possible flow of information domestically and
> > globally. The arguments for stepping out first on open access are the
> > same as the arguments for stepping out first on emissions trading -
> > the more willing we are to show leadership on this, we more chance we
> > have of persuading other countries to reciprocate. And if we want the
> > rest of the world to act, we have to do our bit at home."
> >
> > You must read how far the Creative Commons is spreading out to at:
> > http://creativecommons.org/international
> >
> > The is what I was stressing earlier, ignoring what exists to support
> > Human Rights will only make the process much longer and more complex,
> > recognizing that FOSS, Open Standards and Open ICT Ecosystems bring to
> > the table protection of one's creative expression, opportunity to
> > share their creations in such a way that they can share, remix and
> > reuse content freely and continue to share the freedoms with other
> > people and human beings, this is the true Spirit of the Openness of
> > the Internet!
> >
> > Once this is recognized, the recognition of our Universal Commons
> > (collective commons or creative commons from various Jurisdictions) or
> > the Universal Human Rights acceptance will a major target to achieve
> > and deliberate at the IGF activities.
> >
> > Best
> > Fouad Bajwa
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 1:36 AM, Ian Peter <ian.peter at ianpeter.com>
> wrote:
> > > Attached a final draft for comments for this paper. Please make
> specific
> > > suggestions for change or deletion on list in reply to this topic
> within
> > 24
> > > hours  - Google Docs is now closed.
> > >
> > > I must confess to not following the detail of this debate, so I may
> have
> > > missed some points - and Google Docs was getting messy towards the end.
> > So
> > > any omissions are unintentional and I ask that you suggest appropriate
> > > changes.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > 'Rights and the Internet' as the over-arching theme for IGF-4 in Egypt
> > >
> > > The Internet Governance Caucus strongly recommends that 'Rights and the
> > > Internet' be made the overarching theme for IGF-4 in Egypt, and that
> the
> > > IGF-4's program be framed by the desire for 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 Egypt.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > A complex new emerging ecology of rights and the internet
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >  One important purpose of a discourse on rights should be to clarify
> and
> > > reach greater consensus on how rights with respect to the Internet are
> > > defined, how they relate to pre-existing definitions of human rights,
> > and
> > > which ones need to be internationally recognized and strengthened.
> > Within
> > > this context, we acknowledge that, even within the civil society
> caucus,
> > > differences of opinion exist as to the nature of various rights and
> > > conceptual rights and the degree to which they should be emphasized in
> > > internet governance discussions.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > The openness and diversity of the internet provide an avenue for 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 how concepts such as positive and collective
> > rights
> > > may be meaningful in relation to the Internet - for instance,
> > respectively,
> > > a 'right to the Internet', 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.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > 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.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > 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.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > 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 to
> know
> > and
> > > completely 'own' the products and services they pay for. Technological
> > > measures to monitor and control user behavior on the internet are
> > becoming
> > > increasingly sophisticated, and often outrun public policies and
> > traditional
> > > concepts of what rights users have.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > While property rights are of considerable importance, their
> > applicability
> > > and mutations in 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 intellectual property
> > claims
> > > 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.
> > >
> > > 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. 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.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > 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.
> > >
> > > 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
> > > rights-based framework will be appropriate for this purpose.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > A rights-based  IG shouldn't be seen as threatening to governments or
> > > companies, but rather rights provide a set of international standards
> > and
> > > guiding principles that can help to inform complex policy decisions. It
> > is
> > > pertinent to recollect that WSIS called for a people-centric
> information
> > > society, and a rights framework helps develop people-centric IG agenda
> > and
> > > polices.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > 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.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Ian Peter
> > >
> > > Ian Peter and Associates Pty Ltd
> > >
> > > PO Box 10670 Adelaide St  Brisbane 4000
> > >
> > > Australia
> > >
> > > Tel (+614) 1966 7772 or (+612) 6687 0773
> > >
> > > www.ianpeter.com
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ____________________________________________________________
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> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Regards.
> > --------------------------
> > Fouad Bajwa
> > ____________________________________________________________
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-- 
http://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasubramanianmuthusamy
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