[governance] JNC response to NetMundial

Mon May 5 06:16:10 EDT 2014

Dear Jean-Louis,

I am a proud signatory of the Delhi Declaration, and a humble co-founder of the JNC - but I assume you meant "thanks JNC and Norbert" and not JCN - a though amusing little typo!

JCN

Le 5 mai 2014 à 11:50, Jean-Louis FULLSACK a écrit :

> I agree ! And add : this response is also interpellating all CS people. Thanks JCN and Norberrt.
> 
>  
> Jean-Louis Fullsack
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > Message du 05/05/14 11:31
> > De : "JFC Morfin" 
> > A : governance at lists.igcaucus.org, "Norbert Bollow" , "IGC" 
> > Copie à : 
> > Objet : Re: [governance] JNC response to NetMundial
> > 
> > Brillant!
> > jfc
> > 
> > At 09:49 05/05/2014, Norbert Bollow wrote:
> > 
> > >Just Net Coalition has released a response to the NetMundial Outcome
> > >Document:
> > >
> > >http://justnetcoalition.org/jnc-response-netmundial-outcome-document
> > >
> > >Greetings,
> > >Norbert
> > >co-convenor, Just Net Coalition
> > >
> > >
> > >The JNC Response to the NetMundial Outcome Document
> > >
> > >The Just Net Coalition recognizes the efforts of the organizers of
> > >NetMundial to achieve an outcome document, and welcomes certain
> > >important steps forward in the final text, particularly the emphasis on
> > >managing the Internet in the public interest. However, even though the
> > >document is non-binding, it leaves us deeply concerned about the
> > >inclusion and phrasing of certain clauses (such as those on
> > >intellectual property and private policing on the Internet), the
> > >omission of key issues including cyber-peace, the lack of progress on
> > >net neutrality, the weak language on mass surveillance, and above all
> > >about how the concept of new types of multistakeholder processes with
> > >new kinds of outputs, lacking any clear definition, might be construed
> > >by different actors in the future.
> > >
> > >For the Just Net Coalition, "democratic multistakeholder processes for
> > >Internet governance" means democratic processes with clear guidelines
> > >for multistakeholder participation in their respective roles and
> > >responsibilities. We are pleased that, thanks to numerous
> > >interventions, the NetMundial outcome was modified so that it does not
> > >favour the "equal-footing multi-stakeholder model" and thus a clear
> > >departure from the fundamental principles of the Tunis Agenda, as was
> > >proposed in the original draft of the outcome document.
> > >
> > >While Brazil's intent in convening this meeting was laudable, it is
> > >worrying that vested interests were able to unduly influence the
> > >meeting by controlling key committees, and as well that an attempt was
> > >made to gain an international endorsement for a new model of decision
> > >making on international issues. This "equal footing multi-stakeholder
> > >model" would quite clearly and strongly favour the interests of big
> > >business. We were pleased that this attempt did not succeed, and we
> > >will continue to vigorously oppose all attempts to effectively impose
> > >the rule of big business, or otherwise undermine democracy.
> > >
> > >We remain deeply concerned that processes such as the one used at
> > >NetMundial can easily lead to outcomes that are determined by the
> > >red-lines as well as the core interests of the most resourceful
> > >parties, which, at the global level, are often the US and big business.
> > >In the face of strong presence, resources and efforts by powerful
> > >interests, other voices may get forced on the back foot, even to the
> > >point of having to defend inclusion of what are universally agreed
> > >norms, such as happened at NetMundial.
> > >
> > >The NetMundial outcome document contains certain positive elements,
> > >particularly in that it recognizes that the Internet is to be managed
> > >"in the public interest". While falling short of the civil society
> > >demand for characterizing the Internet as a "global commonsâ or "public
> > >good", it is a considerable progress on the WSIS language, which says
> > >that the Internet is "a global facility available to the public and its
> > >governance should constitute a core issue of the Information Society
> > >agenda".
> > >
> > >We hope that well developed and properly executed new democratic
> > >multistakeholder processes for Internet governance will explicitly
> > >foster a decentralized, free and open, non-hierarchical network of
> > >networks. Democratic governance processes will not implicitly favour
> > >the current trends of Internet governance which are leading us more and
> > >more towards monolithic, centralized walled gardens. Such new processes
> > >must also address the appropriation of private data by governments and
> > >private companies and its subsequent monetisation by private companies.
> > >
> > >The NetMundial Process: A New Beginning, the democratic
> > >multi-stakeholder model
> > >
> > >President Rousseff said that the NetMundial was to be a dialogue
> > >between Multilateralism and Multistakeholderism. Indeed the final
> > >outcome document in the roadmap section accepts "the full involvement
> > >of all stakeholders in their respective roles and responsibilities" and
> > >is a welcome restatement of the WSIS consensus and the Tunis Agenda.
> > >The outcome document has further held, "Governments have primary, legal
> > >and political accountability for the protection of human rights". The
> > >NetMundial outcome thus outlines a new phase within the Tunis Agenda,
> > >creating openings for specific improvements in the model of decision
> > >making that will be followed for future Internet governance. Employing
> > >these new openings wil involve clear definitions and guidelines for the
> > >"democratic multistakeholder process" model.
> > >
> > >NetMundial was clearly an attempt at institutionalising
> > >multistakeholderism at the global level. This implementation of
> > >"multistakeholderism in practice" included the seemingly open format of
> > >"selecting" the organising committee members, the overtly open agenda
> > >setting, and the universally accessible online invitation for
> > >contributions. However, processes for consolidating these submissions
> > >and for finding common ground were somewhat contentious, and the
> > >initially open and participatory drafting process was in strong
> > >contrast to rather less open, endgame processes. On one hand, these
> > >could be seen (optimistically) as somewhat halting steps towards the
> > >delineation of a multistakeholder policy formulation process in an
> > >appropriately inclusive and ultimately democratic manner, or
> > >alternatively as providing evidence of fundamental flaws in how
> > >multistakeholderism becomes operationalized. In that sense, should the
> > >fact that the initial selection processes for NetMundial positions were
> > >flawed and lacked broader legitimacy, that the organizing processes
> > >themselves were evidently captured by certain interested parties, and
> > >that the multistakeholder drafting processes were, in the end, heavily
> > >dominated by big business producing certain unfortunate results, be
> > >viewed as flaws of an immature system or as features of a model which
> > >ultimately only works for the few?
> > >
> > >In this regard, we see the reference to "democratic multistakeholder
> > >processes" in the document as a clear and compelling corrective. We now
> > >need to spell out what would constitute "democratic multistakeholder
> > >processes". This of course includes the NetMundial call for further
> > >discussions on "different roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in
> > >Internet governance" and its two references to "respective roles and
> > >responsibilities". This call should be taken as seeking an elaboration
> > >of what is a "democratic multistakeholder process" where, of course,
> > >corporations are not given equal status with citizens in decisions
> > >regarding public policy issues.
> > >
> > >The Just Net Coalition believes that democracy can be ensured only if
> > >public policy decisions are made by or can be overridden through
> > >democratic processes and actions which derive their legitimacy from
> > >citizens directly exercising their will, or from representatives or
> > >institutions who are also democratically accountable to the citizens
> > >they represent.
> > >
> > >Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and
> > >Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
> > >(ICCPR) provide that everyone has the right to take part in the conduct
> > >of public affairs (and thus in public policy decisions) directly or
> > >through freely chosen representatives. Stakeholder based processes
> > >should help widen the participatory base for engaging with such
> > >decision making processes but such a model cannot give corporations
> > >rights in policy-making equal to those of people, which would be in
> > >violation of the principles of democracy outlined in the UDHR and ICCPR.
> > >
> > >Areas where the NetMundial outcome document is not satisfactory
> > >
> > >We share the concerns of many civil society organizations regarding
> > >certain aspects of the NetMundial outcome document, see:
> > >http://bestbits.net/NetMundial-response.
> > >
> > >Instead of a simple statement that mass surveillance is incompatible
> > >with the right to privacy and endorsing the "necessary and
> > >proportionate" principle, the outcome language has been watered down
> > >with qualifiers that do not go beyond the UN General Assembly
> > >resolution of November 2013, which was itself a compromise. However, we
> > >note that the NetMundial statement stresses that governments have
> > >primary legal and political accountability for the protection of human
> > >rights. Those rights must be protected online as well as offline, and
> > >globally as well as nationally, because the Internet is a global
> > >system, as noted in the NetMundial outcome document. Thus, governments
> > >must protect the privacy of the personal data not just of their own
> > >citizens, but also of the data of persons not directly subject to their
> > >jurisdiction. Human rights accountability of governments is global.
> > >
> > >In the NetMundial outcome, there is no reference to cyber-weapons and
> > >cyber-peace. This is in spite of President Rousseff's call for
> > >addressing the issue of cyber-weapons.
> > >
> > >Another significant omission in the document is that of net neutrality.
> > >Marco Civil  the Internet Bill of Rights -- in Brazil and the European
> > >parliament have both recently advanced a commitment to net neutrality.
> > >Unfortunately, it would appear that business interests were able to
> > >bury net neutrality in the "Future Plans" section of the NetMundial
> > >outcome document.
> > >
> > >Two highly significant and in fact dangerous provisions related to
> > >copyright rights and copyright enforcement were introduced into the
> > >text at a very late stage on the basis of demands by business
> > >representatives. This happened well after it had been announced that
> > >new issues would be included only if there was consensus. Since clearly
> > >there was no consensus to add these provisions, they should not have
> > >been introduced into the NetMundial outcome document, and they are not
> > >validly part of it:
> > >
> > >First, while references to the "right to access, share, create and
> > >distribute information" exist in numerous UN documents on a standalone
> > >basis(1), the reference to this right in the NetMundial document is
> > >limited to what is "consistent with the rights of authors and creators
> > >as established in law". The right to share and communicate has now been
> > >circumscribed by the rights of "authors and creators", which appears to
> > >be an attempt to expand copyright by adding something called creators
> > >to authors, whereas only authors are recognized in international
> > >copyright law. Also, we consider it unacceptable that in a normative
> > >document a human right is sought to be limited by whatever be the
> > >existing law, whether or not the law is human rights compliant. Our
> > >belief moreover is that the length of current copyright protection must
> > >be drastically reduced, for example to 15 years; and that
> > >non-commercial downloading of material under copyright must be made
> > >legal.
> > >
> > >Secondly, the topic of Internet intermediary liability limitations,
> > >having been introduced to protect the freedom of speech of Internet
> > >users, has now been coupled with "private policing" for enforcing
> > >Intellectual Property. Specific text has been added encouraging
> > >"cooperation among all stakeholders" in order to "address and deter
> > >illegal activity" which is in fact, well understood as coded language
> > >for private policing by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other
> > >intermediaries.
> > >
> > >It is interesting to note that these two points directly correspond to
> > >the two points on which civil society had disassociated itself from the
> > >OECD's Principles for Internet Policy Making two years ago.
> > >
> > >Further, we see no reference in the document to the issues which
> > >President Rousseff referred to alongside issues of Internet access:
> > >i.e. the social and economic programmes that Brazil has introduced to
> > >respond to the needs of the poor. The Internet and the overall digital
> > >economy have become highly significant elements in the distribution and
> > >re-distribution of wealth, employment and opportunities both within
> > >countries and globally. Unfortunately, no reference was made in the
> > >outcome document to the measures which must be taken to ensure economic
> > >justice in the context of increased global penetration by the Internet
> > >and the digital economy.
> > >
> > >Finally, we note that the NetMundial language on the IANA(2) transition
> > >is very weak and essentially approves the current approach towards the
> > >transition. That approach was unilaterally established by the US
> > >government, with no prior open multistakeholder consultations, and it
> > >sets preconditions which were not subject to any open discussions.
> > >While we welcome a transition away from unilateral US government
> > >supervision of the IANA functions, we cannot welcome the unilateral way
> > >in which the conditions for the transition have been set, nor the fact
> > >that the US government will unilaterally decide whether or not the
> > >transition will take place. Also, since a possible outcome of this
> > >transition is that the IANA functions could be entrusted to ICANN(3) in
> > >a more permanent manner, it is not an example of good governance that
> > >ICANN itself seems to have been implicitly charged with managing the
> > >"open process with the participation of all stakeholders extending
> > >beyond the ICANN community" for "discussion about mechanisms for
> > >guaranteeing the transparency and accountability of those functions
> > >after the US Government role ends.â
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >Just Net Coalition (Coalition for a Just and Equitable Internet)
> > >
> > >May 3, 2014
> > >
> > >http://JustNetCoalition.org
> > >
> > >info at JustNetCoalition.org
> > >
> > >
> > >(1) The WSIS Declaration of Principles affirms that "everyone can
> > >create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling
> > >individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in
> > >promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of
> > >life....".
> > >
> > >(2) IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, is responsible in
> > >particular for the administrative processing of changes to the root
> > >zone for the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS).
> > >
> > >(3) ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is
> > >currently operating the IANA function on the basis of a contract with
> > >the US government.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
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> > >
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