[governance] Public comment draft of A2K amendments for UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection

Wed Jun 1 06:55:25 EDT 2011

Thanks for this, Jeremy. It looks good. And it is very useful for us to
have for discussions on how to protect online freedom of expression, and
free flow of information.

Frank la Rue's report on the Human Rights Council has some good
references on this. I copy below:

Anriette

D. Disconnecting users from Internet access, including on the basis of
violations of intellectual property rights law

49. While blocking and filtering measures deny access to certain content
on the Internet, States have also taken measures to cut off access to
the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned by
discussions regarding a centralized “on/off” control over
Internet traffic. In addition, he is alarmed by proposals to disconnect
users from Internet access if they violate intellectual property rights.
This also includes legislation based on the
concept of “graduated response”, which imposes a series of penalties on
copyright infringers that could lead to suspension of Internet service,
such as the so-called “threestrikes- law” in France and the Digital
Economy Act 2010 of the United Kingdom.

50. Beyond the national level, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
(ACTA) has been proposed as a multilateral agreement to establish
international standards on intellectual property rights enforcement.
While the provisions to disconnect individuals from Internet access for
violating the treaty have been removed from the final text of
December 2010, the Special Rapporteur remains watchful about the
treaty’s eventual implications for intermediary liability and the right
to freedom of expression.

On 01/06/11 08:16, Jeremy Malcolm wrote:
> A new international instrument on Access to Knowledge (A2K) could be in
> the wings, with the first public release of a draft set of proposed
> amendments to the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection. 
> These forward-looking A2K provisions are the culmination of months of
> online and face-to-face collaboration by Consumers International members
> from around the world.
> 
> The draft A2K amendments are now officially open for broader public
> comment at http://A2Knetwork.org/guidelines.
> 
> The UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection, which recently celebrated
> their 25th year, are a "soft law" statement of principles for consumer
> protection policy.  From this document, the global consumer movement has
> drawn its eight consumer rights, which include the right to safety, the
> right to be informed, the right to choose and the right to be heard.
> 
> In proposing A2K as the next area to be added to the Guidelines by the
> UN, we have drafted amendments to:
> 
>     * Set minimum standards for essential copyright limitations and
>       exceptions for consumers.
>     * Stop suppliers from using technology to cripple digital products
>       or unreasonably limit the ways in which consumers can use them.
>     * Promote a permissive approach to copyright to facilitate
>       non-commercial creativity by consumers.
>     * Require that the dissemination of consumer safety information, and
>       consumer-facing codes and standards, is free of copyright constraints.
>     * Prohibit IP rights from being enforced in ways that trample on
>       consumers' human rights.
>     * Ensure that consumers retain access to their own data in formats
>       that they can use, and that such data is projected against misuse.
> 
> Your input on the draft amendments is invited between now and 31 August
> 2011.  The online working space for the amendments allows you to browse
> the Guidelines section by section, and to attach your comments to
> individual paragraphs in a threaded fashion.  All comments will be taken
> into account and responded to by the drafting committee.
> 
> We look forward to collaborating with you on this important initiative.
> 
> -- 
> 
> *Dr Jeremy Malcolm
> Project Coordinator*
> Consumers International
> Kuala Lumpur Office for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
> Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala Lumpur,
> Malaysia
> Tel: +60 3 7726 1599
> 
> Consumers International (CI) is the world federation of consumer groups
> that, working together with its members, serves as the only independent
> and authoritative global voice for consumers. With over 220 member
> organisations in 115 countries, we are building a powerful international
> movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere.
> www.consumersinternational.org <http://www.consumersinternational.org/>
> Twitter @ConsumersInt <http://twitter.com/Consumers_Int>
> 
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> 

-- 
------------------------------------------------------
anriette esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
executive director, association for progressive communications
www.apc.org
po box 29755, melville 2109
south africa
tel/fax +27 11 726 1692
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