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

[massit follea]

I share Jacques's comments but I vote NO to the "Rights" text - sorry  
I couldn't have time for entering the long & interesting debate that  
led to that document
Hope to be able to fully explain my views before Cairo meeting ...
I vote YES to the "IGF review" text
F. Massit-Folléa
Vox Internet coordinator
FMSH, Paris

Le 12 sept. 08 à 23:55, Jacques Berleur a écrit :

> I say YES, but some reservation: I don't think this statement is  
> correctly hierarchazing the different rights. We agree, should I  
> say, that right to access has something controversial with the  
> property right, and that the WIPO position is biased by some  
> "owners of data"!
> So let us start a new debate, out of time pressure ... and with  
> some higher scientific basis.
> -- 
> Jacques Berleur
> Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix
> 61, rue de Bruxelles
> B - 5000 NAMUR
> URL: http://info.fundp.ac.be/~jbl
>
>
>
> Ian Peter <ian.peter at ianpeter.com> a écrit :
>
>> 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
>> <http://docs.google.com/RawDocContents? 
>> docID=dcskr5r9_7n2dnxhs&justBody=fals
>> e&revision=_latest&timestamp=1220550114112&editMode=true&strip=true#s 
>> dfootno
>> 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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