[governance] Consensus call on rights theme - yes or no response required.

[Ian Peter]

Please respond within 48 hours with a YESor NO to adoption of this statement
so it can be sent to the Secretariat before the deadline.

 

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.

 

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
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te3sym>  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.  



It may also be useful to explore if and how other concepts may be meaningful
in relation to the Internet - for instance, a 'right to access the Internet
unconditional of the use being made of it (similar to electricity and
telephone). Similarly, a right of cultural expression, and a right to have
an Internet in ones own language, could inform the important IGF thematic
area of cultural diversity.  

 

Other 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 along with open standards Other rights such as the right
of association and the right to political participation may have important
new implications in the internet age, 

 

We recognize that while it is relatively easy to articulate and claim
"rights" it is much more difficult to agree on, 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, 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

 

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