[AfrICANN-discuss] Internet by the people, for the people, with the people

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/12/08/internet-by-the-people-for-the-people-with-the-people/

Internet by the people, for the people, with the people

By External on Dec 8, 2009 in International, MBL, Politics, Science &
Technology, european union

An opinion piece provided by the Council of Europe in the Nordic Countries:

Last month in China, President Barack Obama said that criticism on the
Internet had made him a better president. There is no doubt that the
Internet renders our decision makers more transparent and accountable
than ever before.

A new law in Finland gives citizens a right to broadband Internet
access, and European Union discussions on the ‘Telecoms Package’ have
resulted in a decision that a user’s internet access may be
restricted, if necessary and proportionate, only after a fair and
impartial procedure including a right to be heard and to judicial
review.

What does this mean? With over 1.6 billion users worldwide, the
Internet has become important if not vital for everyday life. It has
revolutionised the way we connect with each other across boundaries of
time, distance, culture, and experience. Online we share ideas, we
build knowledge and understanding, we challenge conventional wisdom,
and we create networks for positive change. Much of this is thanks to
the private sector for having the foresight, belief and courage to
invest in the development of innovative services and technologies,
many of which are free of charge.

Access to the Internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity. It can
empower people living below the poverty threshold. It is a tool for
democracy that can counter heavy-handed governments. Millions of us
now have a legitimate expectation that Internet services should be
accessible, affordable, secure, reliable and ongoing.

For the younger generation, the Internet is first and foremost their
opportunity. It is their primary source of freedom and information in
growing-up. It must not be presented as a dark place signposted with
danger and caution.

The very moment we enter the Internet highway we unwittingly leave
traces of personal data for others to see and to use. When we click to
accept the terms and conditions of Internet services we are often
obliged to provide personal data without knowing what will happen to
that data. Whether the solution will be with global privacy laws or a
big red delete button on services remains to be seen. At the very
least, our children, as digital natives, should be able to remove
their traces. After all, children have the right to a childhood like
we, the digital immigrants, had before the Internet.

With 60 years of experience, and thousands of European Court of Human
Rights judgments, the 47 governments of the Council of Europe play a
crucial role in watching over inter alia our freedom of expression and
our right to privacy, including on the Internet. Together with
governments and the private sector, the Council of Europe is shaping
Internet policy in Europe and beyond, establishing baselines and
benchmarks.

Let me be clear. Freedom of expression is not an absolute right; it
must be balanced with other rights. That’s the way we see it in
Europe. Freedom comes with responsibility. This extends to examining
the responsibilities of businesses that provide technologies and
services which penetrate and dominate the market so much that there is
no natural alternative.

The European Convention on Human Rights protects the individual from
abuses by the State. In the Internet age, governments and private
sector must cooperate to make sure that individuals are protected from
abuse by state and non-state actors in cyberspace too.

So what about the management of resources indispensable for the
functioning of the Internet? What happens, for example, if a
government or powerful corporation decides to cut off, slow down or
otherwise to interfere with another country’s access to the Internet?
Discussions about the so-called internationalisation of the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) go in the right
direction. Much more needs to be discussed and worked out.

But it will only be by working together – businesses, the
international community, international and multi-state organisations
and individual states – that there will be effective responsibility,
freedom and protection of our human rights when going online. After
all, and lest we forget, the Internet, our Internet, is being built by
the people, for the people and with the people.

(Everybody is welcome to submit articles for publication on IceNews,
although the editor reserves the right to alter or reject submissions.
If you have an article relating to some aspect of life in the Nordic
countries, send it to news<at>icenews.is for review and possible
publication.)