[governance] APC's IGF2010 brief

[Paul Lehto]

I personally think that an overarching framing like the following is
useful both for understanding as well as for taking action in favor of
human rights on the internet:

There is no legitimate issue of "whether or not" governments have the
"authority" to regulate the internet (except at the margins of
extraterritoriality).  The laws of contract and property are all over
the internet, structuring its character to a great extent, and these
are enforced in governmental courts.  That, of course, is law, and it
is law on and regarding the internet.  Contract law is nothing less
than private law.

The real question is whether the internet in whole or in part will be
subjected to a hands off or laissez faire government policy, or
whether countries will pursue their duty to protect and expand human
rights in all territories (including the internet) as they have agreed
to do in the past, or whether they will abdicate their most solemn
duty to secure the rights of citizens and residents within their
respective territories.

The most fundamental question is whether large multinational
corporations will regulate the internet by contracts like terms of
service and so forth, or whether the public will exercise its right
and duty to act to protect public goods on the internet from more
selfish private structurings via contract law by private parties.

As always, two or more signatories to a contract may (within certain
limits) define their relationship by contract and that may be an
expression of freedom, but the limit to contract that is all too often
transgressed (as with Google Verizon type deals) is when the contracts
affect the rights and experiences of parties who have never signed or
agreed to the contract, or (as with onerous terms of service) whose
agreement is not meaningful because it is forced, or buried in fine
print, etc.

Paul Lehto, J.D.


On 9/10/10, Anriette Esterhuysen <anriette at apc.org> wrote:
> Dear IGC
>
> We have tried to capture the APC community's priorities for the 2010 IGF
> in the attached.
>
> As always the comments from people in this space are helpful to us.
>
> Anriette
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> anriette esterhuysen - executive director
> association for progressive communications
> p o box 29755 melville - south africa 2109
> anriette at apc.org - tel/fax + 27 11 726 1692
> http://www.apc.org
>
> APC 1990-2010 www.apc.org
> Thank you for helping make APC what it is today!
> ¡Gracias por hacer de APC lo que es hoy!
> Merci d'avoir contribué à faire d'APC ce qu'elle est aujourd'hui!
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-- 
Paul R Lehto, J.D.
P.O. Box 1
Ishpeming, MI  49849
lehto.paul at gmail.com
906-204-2334
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