[governance] Egypt and Internet Governance

[Roland Perry]

In message 
<AANLkTimcOQQOixz_+gtr9yBMbx0KsQB5nij1Dgumx5XS at mail.gmail.com>, at 
12:34:09 on Sun, 30 Jan 2011, McTim <dogwallah at gmail.com> writes
>> I'm not suggesting this solves all problems - only that it creates the
>> beginning of a more principled approach to such requests and the beginning
>> of an understanding that humans have rights here that should not just be
>> subject to the politics and political knee jerk reactions of the day. Just
>> like police needing magistrates to issue search warrants, I guess - it
>> doesn't create an end to police states, but it does create a situation where
>> action to take down internet access needs to be justified according to the
>> laws of the nation state involved (poor those they might be).
>>
>> I think its an important step for us to begin to lobby for such a code of
>> conduct, even if only voluntary at this stage. I think many of the internet
>> businesses would support such an approach, it helps them to have some
>> universally accepted guidelines as well.
>
>Plus, they can continue making money, which they like to do.
>
>A voluntary code of conduct is not going to help much when the men in
>black come through your doors and cut off power to all your gear
>however.

Whose code of conduct is this? It sounds like it might be an 
International Convention of some kind. ITU or UN to the rescue?

Companies have to work within the local law, irrespective of how that 
law differs from the laws back home, which is exactly what Vodafone's 
CEO (an Italian living in UK) has been saying.

It's unclear to me how a "code of conduct" (to keep things running as 
normal come what may) can be applied to a national government in a time 
of civil unrest. Or as happened in Australia recently, a time of floods 
where utilities were instructed what to do by the government (and which 
might not have been what they'd have done left to their own devices).
-- 
Roland Perry
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