[governance] FW: [chineseinternetresearch] Civil society speaks out, condemns attempts to regulate Internet at the e-G8

[Michael Gurstein]

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:15 PM
To: chineseinternetresearch at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [chineseinternetresearch] Civil society speaks out, condemns
attempts to regulate Internet at the e-G8

http://en.rsf.org/joint-appeal-to-e-g8-participants-25-05-2011,40347.html

Civil society speaks out, condemns attempts to regulate Internet

Civil society representatives gave an unofficial news conference this
morning in one of the conference rooms of the “e-G8” forum on Internet
issues in Paris, voicing their opposition to attempts to regulate the
Internet and criticizing the lack of representativeness of most of those who
were invited by the French government to take part in the forum.

Participants in the news conference – improvised at the last minute and not
part of the forum’s official programme – included Reporters Without Borders
secretary-general Jean-François Julliard, Jérémie Zimmerman of the French
NGO Quadrature du Net, former ICANN board member Susan Crawford, US
journalist Jeff Jarvis and Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig, a
specialist in copyright.

Jarvis said he was “scared by those who are scared of the Internet.”
Julliard said he was “extremely disappointed” by the course taken by
discussions during the e-G8 forum, including the lack of a strongly-worded
message to governments that target journalists, bloggers and
cyber-dissidents.

“The free Internet must be defended before thought is given to regulating
content,” Julliard said. “The priority for G8 governments should be
defending the Internet.”

Julliard made similar comments when he took part in a panel discussion today
on “Electronic Liberty: New Tools for Freedom,” an official part of the
forum’s programme. Other participants included Google representatives, Alec
Ross of the US State Department, and journalists and activists from the Arab
world.

“The G8 should say clearly that Internet access is a fundamental human
right, before discussing anything else, whether economic development or
copyright issues,” Julliard said.

He also accused certain democracies of saying one thing and doing another.
He cited the US administration’s actions as regards WikiLeaks but said other
democracies did not lag far behind. “It is easy to defend freedom of speech
in Syria, but we should defend it in Italy, Australia and France as well.”

Some press to date:

http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2011/05/25/97001-20110525FILWWW00443-decep
tions-a-l-e-g8.php

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/05/25/protests-begin-at-e-g8/?mod=goog
le_news_blog

http://www.freenews.fr/spip.php?article10282

http://www.sudouest.fr/2011/05/25/jeff-jarvis-a-l-e-g8-effraye-par-les-gens-
qui-sont-effrayes-par-internet-408469-4725.php

http://www.numerama.com/magazine/18874-eg8-le-gros-coup-de-colere-de-la-soci
ete-civile.html

http://www.electronlibre.info/spip.php?show=7662

http://lexpansion.lexpress.fr/high-tech/eg8-les-representants-de-la-societe-
civile-s-estiment-ignores_256112.html




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