[governance] Rights online petition

Fri Jan 28 04:34:33 EST 2011

Hi all

I'm not sure if you know Brett Solomon and Kim Pham, but they're 2 of the driving forces behind Access.  They were both at last year's IGF, and Brett has been working with a group of IRP coalition members to distil the Charter of human rights and principles for the Internet down into a set of more punchy principles that can be used for advocacy whilst we spend a bit longer delving into the complex policy issues that underlie the main Charter itself.

I've copied Brett in here...I'm sure he'd be happy to give a bit more background about Access.

All the best,
Lisa

From: governance-request at lists.cpsr.org [mailto:governance-request at lists.cpsr.org] On Behalf Of Ginger Paque
Sent: 27 January 2011 21:21
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org; Ian Peter
Subject: Re: [governance] Rights online petition

I tried to find more information on accessnow.org, and did not find much background or history outside of their own site. Does anyone have information or links to reviews or more information about this organization? Even Web of Trust (WOT) says 'not enough ratings for this site' about their site. This is not negative... but I would like to read more about them.

Thanks, Ginger

On 1/27/2011 4:16 PM, Ian Peter wrote:

While realising that the long term answer lies in governance, in the short

term people might like to support the petition suggested below.

And perhaps somewhere in our strategies the idea of advocating terms of

service as a tool for protection of users might be a good inclusion!

Ian Peter

Dear Friends,

Events in Egypt and Tunisia, and Amazon's takedown of Wikileaks, have shown

that our right to information online is fundamentally at risk. Increasingly,

internet companies on both sides of the firewall are unilaterally removing the

online information that they host, and right now, nothing can stop them.

That includes the websites we get our information from, the videos we watch,

and the social networking pages that channel news directly to us from around

the world. This free exchange of information is in danger not just in

countries like Tunisia and Egypt (where Twitter has just been blocked), but as

the Wikileaks experience has shown us, in front of the firewall as well.

Each year thousands of webpages are taken offline, yet few receive legal

review or appeal, and only a handful, like Wikileaks, receive media attention.

In the international information arms race, authoritarian governments are

redoubling efforts to close down open communication channels. Sign this

petition, urging internet companies like Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and Google

to respond with a firm commitment to preserve the free flow of information:

https://www.accessnow.org/freedom-of-speech-for-all

Most online content is hosted on corporate-owned servers, which have

unregulated control over what information we see and read. Following Amazon's

decision to delete Wikileaks from its servers, internet companies are now

reviewing which sites they host and tightening their acceptable use policies.

We may not be able to influence authoritarian states, but there are many ways

that webhosts (often referred to as internet service providers (ISPs) and

online service providers (OSPs)) can respect our rights in their Terms of

Service, but they're not going to change their ways unless there's a global

public outcry urging them to do so. Take action now by signing this petition:

https://www.accessnow.org/freedom-of-speech-for-all

The Tunisian government blocked YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion but protestors

were still able to use Facebook and Twitter to organize and spread information

about the grassroots movement for democracy. The Egyptian government has just

blocked Twitter while thousands of protestors are on the streets demonstrating

for democracy and reform.

We can help keep the internet open and support freedom movements around the

world, but only if we stand together as users and demand our right to

information. Join us by signing this petition, and we'll deliver it to the

largest internet companies:

https://www.accessnow.org/freedom-of-speech-for-all

In 2010, we fought against the sale of surveillance technologies to repressive

regimes; called upon the top 100 most trafficked websites to protect our

security by implementing HTTPS by default; and supported technologies that

allow activists to securely connect to the internet. Now, let's take the fight

for digital freedom to the online service providers who singlehandedly control

what can be said on the internet. Sign here:

https://www.accessnow.org/freedom-of-speech-for-all

With hope,

The Access Team

------ End of Forwarded Message

____________________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list:

     governance at lists.cpsr.org<mailto:governance at lists.cpsr.org>

To be removed from the list, visit:

     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:

     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance

To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:

     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t

--

Ginger (Virginia) Paque
IGCBP Online Coordinator
DiploFoundation
www.diplomacy.edu/ig<http://www.diplomacy.edu/ig>

The latest from Diplo...
Call for applications for Diplo Internet governance foundation courses now open.
See: http://www.diplomacy.edu/ig/news.asp

______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System.
For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email
______________________________________________________________________
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20110128/5721b45d/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t