[governance] China supports UK Internet Policy

[Roland Perry]

In message <4E4F75A1.7060900 at gmail.com>, at 11:51:45 on Sat, 20 Aug 
2011, Riaz K Tayob <riaz.tayob at gmail.com> writes
>And is it really about "internet immunity" or about the right to free 
>speech or association, that traditionally has limits and requires due 
>process before being violated, albeit with special enforcement issues 
>(although not too different from the mobile phone, like the San 
>Francisco pre-emptory strike on mobile communications recently, which 
>itself raises questions beyond the Bushisms on telecoms operators).

Most countries have provisions to declare a curfew, when there is civil 
disorder.  As always, it's a case of balancing the right of free 
assembly (of thieves and rioters) against the rights of the citizens 
whose property is being stolen and destroyed. Perhaps it would help 
understand the issues to characterise short interruptions in telecoms as 
an "electronic curfew".

Where should this be debated: - we may find the basic principles are 
already in various treaties and declarations, and national governments 
will have legislated their own implementations of these long ago.

The "Internet immunity" idea arises because of pressure to exclude it 
from any such curfew measures. The best place to address that is 
probably within the individual countries, because getting a global 
consensus first is likely to be much more difficult.

These tensions have already arisen in a few countries where "Internet as 
a human right" collides with "three strikes and you are out" for 
intellectual property theft. But a three times convicted robber will 
have many of his freedoms taken away, but how many times do you allow 
someone to tweet instructions on which shops are available to loot?
-- 
Roland Perry
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