[governance] Facebook profiles blocked and content removed in Brazil

Thu May 31 02:13:32 EDT 2012

On Thursday 31 May 2012 10:45 AM, Jac sm Kee wrote:
> Snip
> i've also been reading the conversations around EC and democratization
> of IG on this list with interest. and the thing that bugs me about
> looking at democratization starting from national democratic processes
> is that the potential of the internet to facilitate democratic
> participation and deliberations is precisely because it is currently
> still somewhat slippery from complete state control, as opposed to
> e.g. broadcasting media and books and streets. so i am reluctant to
> say that states should ahve oversight and negotiate it from there.
> although i understand that global governance and oversight is
> different from national, but when states become the highest hierarchy
> of authority, then my point of entry for engagement as civ soc would
> be from that level. it's not something i am optimistic about..
>
> anyway, 2 cents,
> jac
>
>    

Jac, your misgivings about how civ soc will be able to influence things 
are understandable. But it is not that with turning of a switch the 
regulatory order will shift from the national to the global level.  In 
making the demands for democratising global IG what is expected is 
rather a complex interplay of global and national level of politics - 
with certain degrees of government-ish authorities and corresponding 
role and participative-ness of civ soc - as is appropriate to the 
complex global-national nature of the Internet. There is no alternative 
to such a layered national-global system because none of the other 
options is acceptable, which I think are as below.

1) Facebook, and similar global social utilities, get completely 
territorialised, serving each country a version that is specific to the 
laws and customs of that country

2) We go by a global least denominator for the whole world (which as you 
argue is not acceptable)

3) we leave things to private regulation, the will of the monopoly 
companies almost entirely determined by maximum profit motive

In default, to me, our best political option is to seek an appropriate 
national-global political system for the Internet, and keep struggling 
for better and better avenues for civil society participation, while 
warding off possible attempts at using the same avenues for even greater 
corporate influence on Internet related policies.

As for global political systems necessarily producing lowest denominator 
outcome, this is not true. Also such an argument can be used against any 
political system and thus in its essence is simply an 'anti-political' 
argument. However, ad hoc, one-off, arrangements and agreements among 
governments are more likely to produce such lowest denomination like bad 
results. More open, insitutionalised political processes generally tend 
to produce better results, and that is what is being sought in our call 
for democratising global IG.

parminder

>
>
>    
>>
>> What FB is doing will potentially impact the way that younger
>> generations
>>      
>>> will perceive liberty (including body expression and sexual
>>> liberty) and morality. And, in my country, FB is actually being
>>> more conservative than traditional media, endangering the
>>> progress we made on recent decades when it comes to body
>>> expression women's rights and sexual rights.
>>>
>>>        
>>
>>      
>>> Is it facebook that is being conservative? Afterall, they are
>>> merely trying to comply with the laws of the land. I think that
>>> if people have an issue, they should take it up with their
>>> respective Parliaments and have it debated. These comments are
>>> restricted to the "Freedom of Expression" but when it comes to
>>> "Privacy" and "misuse" of information and data - I have different
>>> views.
>>>
>>>        
>>
>>      
>>> I do not feel comfortable to place this sort of decision on FB's
>>> hands, with no chance of democratic debate, with no chance to
>>> scrutinize these policies they impinge on users.
>>>
>>> These are good discussions and Turkey and Thailand and the US
>>> make
>>>        
>> fascinating studies.
>>
>>      
>>> Best, Marília
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>        
>>>>>            
>>>>>> Some basic conclusions: a) rights, such as freedom of
>>>>>> expression,
>>>>>>              
>>>>> Why would one who uses FB think they can express themselves
>>>>> outside of the FB ToS/AUP?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> are being
>>>>>            
>>>>>> restricted by the same platforms that are praised and known
>>>>>> for
>>>>>>              
>>>>> enabling
>>>>>            
>>>>>> their exercise; b) there is a privatization of Internet
>>>>>> regulation,
>>>>>>              
>>>>> subtle,
>>>>>            
>>>>>> based on contracts (terms of use)
>>>>>>              
>>>>> Would you argue that Internet companies have NO ToS?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> , but yet, dangerous; c) I see no adequate
>>>>>            
>>>>>> forum where we should take this issue to be analized in a
>>>>>>              
>>>>> participatory and
>>>>>            
>>>>>> balanced way in the global arena.
>>>>>>              
>>>>>
>>>>> Nor should there be IMHO.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -- Cheers,
>>>>>
>>>>> McTim "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates
>>>>> where it is. A route indicates how we get there."  Jon
>>>>> Postel
>>>>>
>>>>>            
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -- Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala
>>>>
>>>> Tweeter: @SalanietaT Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro Cell:
>>>> +679 998 2851
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>          
>>>
>>> -- Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade FGV Direito Rio
>>>
>>> Center for Technology and Society Getulio Vargas Foundation Rio
>>> de Janeiro - Brazil
>>>
>>>        
>>
>>
>>      
> - -- 
> Jac sm Kee
> Women's Rights Policy Coordinator
> Association for Progressive Communications
> www.apc.org | erotics.apc.org | www.takebackthetech.net
> Skype: jhybeturle | Twitter: jhybe
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>    
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