AW: [governance] Re: [bestbits] Google's growing web of influence

Sun Oct 20 19:25:31 EDT 2013

I strongly support Parminder's points of total Transparency and
Accountability of Civil Society because this is what they stand for.

My 1cent.

Sonigitu Ekpe Aji :-@ SEA

"Life becomes more meaningful; when we think of others, positively."

+234 8027510179
On Oct 21, 2013 12:41 AM, "parminder" <parminder at itforchange.net> wrote:

>  Wolfgang
>
> The least that all civil society groups, especially since in a MS settings
> they claim a special political role, can do is to be transparent - whatever
> further 'clear positions' as you suggest might be developed. A clear
> statement of objectives, interest and activities, and funding transparency
> is  the basic minimum. CS can hardly be legitimate in calling for
> transparency and accountability of other actors if it cannot itself be so.
> In fact it has to uphold much higher standards. Unfortunately, we dont see
> any such self reflection in the civil society. Norbert raised this point
> repeatedly in the BestBits meeting today.
>
> parminder
>
>
>  On Sunday 20 October 2013 08:31 AM, "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang wrote:
>
> What is needed here - and we discussed already in WSIS I and WSIS II nrearl ten years agi - are something like procedures for the relationship beteen stakeholders within a MS mechanism. From a CS point of view we should develop some guideliens and criteria under which we would collaborate with governments, private sector and the technical community. With all stakehholder grups CS has sometimes something in common but has also conflicts. This does not exclude collabboration - where it meets the standards, values and interests of CS - but it needs also clear positions where such a collaboration is a controversy. To strengthen our own profile, to clear what our inteerests and positions are enables us best to define where we can cooperate and where not.
>
> wolfgang
>
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org im Auftrag von parminder
> Gesendet: So 20.10.2013 02:49
> An: bestbits at lists.igcaucus.org; governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> Betreff: [governance] Re: [bestbits] Google's growing web of influence
>
>
>
> On Sunday 20 October 2013 05:40 AM, Norbert Bollow wrote:
>
>  Dear all
>
> Google is definitely working with determination and a long-term
> strategy to shape the public discourse as much as possible in its
> favor, and its civil society funding activities are part of this
> strategy
> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/how-google-lobbies-german-government-over-internet-regulation-a-857654.html
> http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?288214
>
> We need to discuss what this means from the perspective of protecting
> ourselves from getting unknowingly corrupted and compromised. This
> discussions needs to happen both in regard to international civil
> society in IG as a whole and in regard to BestBits in particular.
>
>
> very interesting... These are very significant structural issues of
> global IG that we cannot avoid confronting directly. How much civil
> society will really be taken seriously depends on how much moral
> legitimacy we have, which is one of the chief legitimacies of civil
> society. And such legitimacy would come from confronting such issues
> directly, and being rather upfront about it. I think there should be a
> basic transparency (and accountabiltiy) code of conduct for civil
> society in IG space,  at least that part of civil society that works
> together in spaces like BestBits and IGC. May be today's BestBits
> meeting can discuss this in the session on internal BB issues etc. I
> would greatly prefer if we do so.
>
>
> Around the same time last year a similar analysis came out of how google
> was trying to (rather effectively) capture the IG related civil society
> discursive and advocacy space in Germany ...
> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/how-google-lobbies-german-government-over-internet-regulation-a-857654.html
>
>
> Your choice of the email subject line suggests that you know of this
> german news item, but just in case...
>
>
> If google can do such a thing in a rather mature institutional system of
> Germany, we can well judge what would it be like iin places with less
> mature social institutions.. I know that in countries ranging from Korea
> to many countries in Africa, also of course in Asia and Latin America,
> Google is aggressively throwing in funds for IG civil society groups.
>
>
> parminder
>
>
> Greetings,
> Norbert
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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