AW: [governance] Internet G8 meeting

Mon May 9 04:12:44 EDT 2011

On Monday 09 May 2011 01:19 PM, Ian Peter wrote:
> My only problem with the text is that it tells them what we think they 
> should do without telling them why it would be advantageous to do it 
> another way. So its not likely to draw a great deal of attention.
Thanks for your comments, Ian. In general I have no problem with 
incorporating your additions, and I will leave it to others to decide on 
it. However, I must assert, with the risk of looking like trying to take 
the moral high-ground, that civil society's role is not just to give 
'technical' advice to others, about what is good for them or not. Our 
basic legitimacy is moral and representational... Also it is never 
clear, to 'whom' is something advantageous or not  - to the French 
President's own interest, the narrow interests of the French state, of 
the states of G * together, advantageous to whom?

So while an instrumental logic can be used to supplement our assertions, 
they should not be primary, and should in any case be used with great 
caution. We need to invlvoe all countries and all stakeholders not 
because it is advantageous to the principal parties being addressed 
here, (which in nay case they can refute by giving counter logic) but 
because that is the democratic and right way to do it. Period. That is 
what we stand for and struggle for.

>
> To this end I would add another paragraph -- perhaps after the "it is 
> also pertinent" paragraph, along the lines of
>
>
> The issues we face with internet governance and internet developments 
> are global in nature, and adequate solutions to the problems we face 
> will need to involve all countries, as well as a wide range of 
> business, civil society and technical interests. All of these inputs 
> are essential to any sensible and effective developments in this area,
Begs the question, sensible and effective for whom ?? Some things can be 
quite sensible and effective to, say large incumbent businesses, or even 
to narrow economic interests of a particular nation state perched at a 
particular place in the global digital economy chain or network. that 
does not diminish our right and effort to seek democratic participation 
in policy making. Also, I dont like the terminology of 'solutions' as if 
there are value- and interest- neutral solutions waiting to be found by 
the right application of expertise in all policy matters.

For the same reason, I am not in agreement with one of Avri's edits 
where the call to adhere to canons or high principles of legitimate 
policy making is sought to be replace by best practises in policy 
making. This again suggests expertise and information-richness based 
policy models, but i think this is much more 'political' than that.

Just my views, for whatever they are worth :)

Parminder

> and we urge a more holistic involvement of this wide range of key 
> players.  Only in this way will we be able to develop adequate solutions.
>
> Ian Peter
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From: *Jeremy Malcolm <jeremy at ciroap.org>
> *Organization: *Consumers International
> *Reply-To: *<governance at lists.cpsr.org>, Jeremy Malcolm 
> <jeremy at ciroap.org>
> *Date: *Mon, 09 May 2011 12:29:14 +0800
> *To: *<governance at lists.cpsr.org>, Avri <avri at acm.org>
> *Subject: *Re: AW: [governance] Internet G8 meeting
>
>    Thanks Parminder and Avri.  Here's a consolidated draft with Avri's 
> edits.
>
>      Basic courtesy stuff.....
>
>      We understand that the French Presidency of the G8 proposes to 
> hold a G8
>      Internet meeting, immediately prior to the G8 Summit in 
> ........,with a view
>      to prepare or influence the agenda for the G8 Summit regarding 
> key global
>      Internet issues. We also understand that many heads of states of G 8
>      countries are expected to attend this meeting. The meeting is 
> especially
>      important since in the past G 8 has set up the global agenda on 
> many key
>      issues, especially in the information society arena.
>
>      We are very concerned about the manner in which the G 8 Internet 
> meeting is
>      being organised which is ignoring current best practice in public 
> policy making.
>      It also jettisons the principle of multistakeholder participation 
> that has evolved
>      globally, especially in the area of Internet governance. It 
> appears that the G8
>      meeting is organized by large Industry with access given only to 
> industry and
>      government actors.  We have also understood that there is a 
> linkage between
>      donations and invitations.
>
>      Big businesses already have a disproportionately large influence on
>      government bureaucracies. For governments to sanction a dedicated 
> meeting
>      with top G8 leaders and officials to plan the global agenda for 
> Internet related
>      policies is inappropriate. What is required is a discussion that 
> includes civil
>      society actors, who will bring to the table the concerns of 
> global public interest
>      derived from a diversity of people's, of many sections of 
> society, interests and
>      concerns.
>
>      It is also pertinent to state here that since the Internet is 
> essentially a
>      global phenomenon, policies framed together by the most powerful 
> nations,
>      quite likely, will become the default global norm. This is most 
> true for
>      architectural and economic issues, while the global impact on 
> other areas
>      will also be substantial. It is therefore appropriate that G 8 
> countries
>      engage with the same, and other issues, of Internet policies at 
> the more
>      democratic global forums where all countries are present at an equal
>      footing. In this connection, there is the World Summit on the 
> Information
>      Society mandated set of processes for dealing with pressing 
> global Internet
>      related issues. Multistakeholder participation is an important 
> part of these global
>      IG related processes. We see the proposed G 8 Interent meeting a 
> significant
>      step backwards both for global democracy and for multistakeholder
>      participation.
>
>      We therefore request you, and other G 8 leaders, to make the 
> proposed G 8
>      Internet meeting genuinely multistakeholder, following the model 
> of the UN
>      IGF. We are impressed with the solid support provided by the G 8 
> countries
>      for upholding a multistakeholder model for the IGF. The strong 
> support that
>      many of G8 countries, including your own, have shown for full 
> multistakeholder
>      participation makes this current decision to limit discussion to 
> vested interests
>      of governments' industry partners is baffling and is unacceptable 
> to many of
>      the users of the Internet.
>
>      closing and salutations.....
> -- 
>
>
>
> *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
>
>
> *Empowering Tomorrow's Consumers
>  CI World Congress, 3-6 May 2011, Hong Kong
> *
>
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>

-- 

Parminder Jeet Singh
Executive Director
IT for Change
NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations ECOSOC
www.ITforChange.net <http://www.ITforChange.net/>
Tel:+91-80-2665 4134, 2653 6890. Fax:+91-80-4146 1055

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