[governance] Call for final comments - rights as a theme for cairo
Jeffrey A. Williams
jwkckid1 at ix.netcom.com
Wed Sep 10 04:55:22 EDT 2008
Sivasubramanian, and all,
After reading a number of your posts here, I have gained what
I hope to be a healthy respect for your brand of sarcasm which
I find both humorous, and very constructive.
That said, I agree that there is much in these "rights as a theme"
to be not reasonable. Language and culture to be the top two
which will never be starters in any real sense, although laudable
goals or works in progress. I also prefer a better theme, so I offer
"The users bill of rights for the Internet".
So I would strike all language regarding "Language", "Culture",
and "Collective Rights".
Sivasubramanian Muthusamy wrote:
> 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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>
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>
>
> --
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasubramanianmuthusamy
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
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