[governance] Call for Contributions: Combating counterfeit devices at the ITU

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

While I know that fake / substandard electronic and other components is a
huge problem,  potentially causing loss of life - such as where it gets
used in military (and potentially also civilian) aircraft,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18155293

The fake component as a security risk also needs to draw a distinction
between those, and knockoff electronic products that may bear a cosmetic
resemblance to a more popular / more expensive one (which the IP lobby
would doubtless be interested in, but I am not at all sure whether civil
society should care to intervene on that aspect of things)

There is already a lot of industry attention to supply chain integrity that
plays into this effort, and it is one of those rare cases where there is
consensus worldwide on the need for such integrity. Nobody from any country
wants fakes to turn up in aircraft, critical infrastructure etc that they
manufacture or are responsible for.

What, additionally can civil society contribute to this? Maybe the other
part about treating employees of suppliers in LDC economies more humanely
than they are, but that's not quite germane to this topic (or maybe it is,
underpaid and exploited employees are very likely to turn to corruption, or
sabotage or both as a motive to introduce fake components into gear that
they manufacture).

I'd welcome the list's thoughts.

--srs


Anja Kovacs [05/11/14 11:33 +0530]:
>Dear all,
>
>During the ITU Plenipot, a small group of us had a meeting with Mr. Zhao,
>Secretary-General elect of the ITU, to share with him the ways in which
>civil society has already contributed to the work of the ITU and how we
>hope to build on this in the future.
>
>During this conversation, we mentioned as one example of civil society's
>contribution to the Plenipot the work some of us have been involved in
>regarding counterfeit devices and the importance of considering user rights
>in battling such devices. In response, the ITU flagged this *call for
>contributions to an ITU event on Combating Counterfeit and Substandard ICT
>Devices*, which will take place later this month in Geneva.
>
>http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/C-I/Pages/WSHP_counterfeit.aspx
>
>Though the last date for contributions has strictly speaking gone, the ITU
>has been glad to extent it until 10 November, in the hope that at least
>some from civil society would then still be able to make an input.
>
>It would be great if some here could indeed do so!
>
>Thanks and all the best,
>Anja
>
>
>
>-- 
>Dr. Anja Kovacs
>The Internet Democracy Project
>
>+91 9899028053 | @anjakovacs
>www.internetdemocracy.in

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