[NA-Discuss] Civil society/Internet users statement in Seoul to the OECD

[Brendler, Beau]

Hello, folks.

I realize we all have a lot on our own plates during Paris. However, I attach here the "Seoul declaration" of civil society and organized labor (and some groups representing individual internet users) from the OECD meeting last week. There were a few of our ICANN community colleagues there, including Izumi Aizu, Adam Peake, and Wolfgang Kleinwachter, and I was there. If NA RALO (or even the ALAC) chose to endorse this statement, it could do so. I have my own opinions about the statement itself. I do find it interesting that in some ways the "user community" that made this statement to the OECD has some similar concerns about how that organization accepts feedback from Internet users. The OECD structure seems to give the user community (referred to, perhaps unfortunately, as "civil society and organized labor") equal footing with the business constituency and the government constituency, at least in appearance. We can only guess how the ministers themselves weigh it, however.


-----Original Message-----
From: coalition-bounces at mailman.epic.org on behalf of Katitza Rodriguez Pereda
Sent: Mon 6/16/2008 11:10 PM
To: coalition at mailman.thepublicvoice.org
Subject: [Coalition] The Seoul Declaration
 
Please help us spread the word of the Declaration
-------------------------------
Dear all,

A diverse group of civil society groups have worked on a joint Civil  
Society Declaration to the OECD 2008 Ministerial on the Future of the  
Internet Economy, which is currently taking place in Seoul. It raises  
a number of issues of major importance to the civil society community  
and makes a number of recommendations to move us towards the future of  
the Internet that meets the essential needs of all the world's citizens.

The declaration has been signed by (so far) EPIC, EFF, EDRi, IRIS,  
IT4Change, Public Knowledge, APC,  and Consumers Korea, Jinbonet, and  
many individuals who are present in Seoul

The full text of the Declaration is at:
<http://thepublicvoice.org/events/seoul08/seoul-declaration.pdf>

and set out in clear text below (apologies for formatting)

The declaration is open for sign on by civil society organizations and  
individual CS representatives. If your organization / you are  
interested in signing on, please email Katitza Rodriguez Pereda of  
EPIC at katitza at datos-personales.org.

Many thanks and all best,

---
June 2008  1 "The Civil Society-TUAC Seoul Declaration"
CIVIL SOCIETY - TUAC
"THE   SEOUL DECLARATION"

TO THE OECD MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
ON THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET ECONOMY
Seoul, Korea
16 June 2008

This gathering of civil society organizations and organized labor at  
the OECD Ministerial
Conference on the Future of the Internet Economy provides a unique  
opportunity to bring to the attention of the OECD Ministers assembled  
and the OECD member countries the concerns and aspirations of people  
around the globe, those who are on the Internet and those who are not.

We thank the OECD and the Government of Korea for the opportunity to  
organize a civil society and labor event and to participate in the  
OECD Ministerial Conference. Civil society and labor together prepared  
a paper for the OECD and organized a conference "Making the future of  
the Internet work for citizens, consumers and workers." A wide range  
of organizations participated in this effort, and this Declaration  
builds on its results.

A BROAD FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET ECONOMY
The policy goals for the Future Internet Economy should be considered  
within the broader
framework of protection of human rights, the promotion of democratic  
institutions, access to
information, and the provision of affordable and non-discriminatory  
access to advanced
communication networks and services. Compliance with international  
human rights standards and respect for the rule of law, as well as  
effective human rights protection, must be the baseline for assessing  
global information society policies. Economic growth should be for the  
many and not the few. The Internet should be available to all. We  
therefore call attention of the OECD to Ministers to the following  
issues and we make the following recommendations:

* Freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is being violated  
around the globe by state censorship and by more subtle measures such  
as content filtering, privatized censorship and restrictions on so- 
called "harmful content."  We urge the OECD to defend freedom of  
expression and to oppose mandated filtering, censorship of Internet  
content, and criminalization of content that is protected under  
international freedom of expression standards.

* Protection of Privacy and Transparency, We reaffirm our support for  
the OECD Privacy
Guidelines as a fundamental policy instrument setting out minimal  
requirements for the
transborder flow of personal data. We recommend adoption of the recent  
policy guidance on
RFID and Online Identity Theft as Council Recommendations. We call on  
OECD countries to
adopt and enforce data protection laws covering all sectors, both  
online and offline, and to
establish international data protection standards that are legally  
enforceable. We further urge
member states to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability for  
all data processing for
border security, identification, and decision-making concerning  
individuals.

* Consumer Protection. Trust and confidence are critical to the  
success of the Internet economy.
The OECD should ensure that consumer protection laws are properly  
enforced and cover digital
products to the same extent that other consumer goods and services are  
covered. We recommend
that the OECD adopt the policy proposals on Empowering Consumers in  
Communications
Services and in Mobile Commerce as Council Recommendations, and that  
the OECD member
countries implement these recommendations. We support the OECD's  
efforts to facilitate cross-
border enforcement of anti-spam laws and to develop effective online  
dispute resolution
mechanisms.

* Employment, Decent Work and Skills. We recommend that OECD Member  
countries promote
learning and training opportunities for workers and address the  
technological and organizational
change in the workplace. We further urge the OECD to lower the carbon  
footprint of the ICT
industry and to promote compliance with core labor standards and the  
OECD Guidelines for
Multinational Enterprises.

* Promotion of Access to Knowledge. We support open access to  
government-funded scientific
and scholarly works and endorse the OECD Principles and Guidelines for  
Access to Research
Data. We support the OECD Recommendation for Enhanced Access and More  
Effective Use of
Public Information. OECD countries should oppose extensions of  
copyright terms and private
ownership of essential knowledge and cultural information that can be  
made available on the
Internet. We recommend that the OECD undertake a study on the  
importance of copyright
exceptions for education, libraries and archives, the disability  
community, and new innovative
services.

* Internet Governance.  Internet governance structures should reflect  
democratic values and be
transparent and publicly accountable to users. Global Internet  
policymaking should involve equal
participation of all people, countries, and stakeholders. We call upon  
the OECD member states to
support the Internet Governance Forum and to promote the multi- 
stakeholder process of the
World Summit on the Information Society.

* Promotion of Open Standards and Net Neutrality. Standards-making  
processes should be open
and should encourage competition. This promotes innovation and  
development. We support the
procurement policies that promote open standards, open data formats,  
and free and open
software. We further recommend that the OECD Member Countries oppose  
discrimination by
network providers against particular applications, devices, or content  
and preserve the Internet's
role in fostering innovation, economic growth, and democratic  
communication.

* Balanced Intellectual Property Policies. We urge the OECD member  
countries to maintain a
balanced framework for intellectual property protection that is least  
intrusive to personal privacy,
least restrictive for the development of new technologies, and that  
promotes creativity,
innovation, and learning. We support the OECD Policy Guidance for  
Digital Content. OECD
countries should oppose proposals that would deny individuals access  
to all Internet services and
opportunities based on alleged copyright infringement. We are also  
concerned about the secrecy
of the "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement" (ACTA) treaty process and  
the possibility of
policies that may limit legitimate business activity, the  
participative web, and e-government
service delivery.

* Support for Pluralistic Media.  The Internet is a universal platform  
for innovation, growth, and
the ability of people to express and share their views. New forms of  
media and new applications
are emerging that challenge old paradigms and enable broader public  
participation. At the same
time, dominant Internet firms are moving to consolidate their control  
over the Internet. It is
vitally important for the OECD to develop a better understanding of  
the challenge industry
consolidations pose to the open Internet. The OECD Policy Guidance on  
Convergence and Next
Generation Networks provides a basis this work.

* Inclusive Digital Society. The Internet should be accessible to all.  
OECD member countries
should ensure that all residents have the means to access the Internet  
and should provide public
Internet access, training and support. Particular attention should be  
paid to rural, remote and
aboriginal populations, as well as the disability community.

* Cultural Diversity. We support the efforts of the OECD to promote  
access to the full range of
the world's cultures and to ensure that the Internet economy reflects  
the true diversity of
language, art, science, and literature in our world. The deployment of  
International Domain
Names should be a priority.

PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND LABOUR
This participation of civil society and organized labor reaffirms the  
role of all stakeholders
in the Future of the Internet Economy. Now it is time to formalize  
this process.
In 1998 civil society and labor urged the OECD Ministerial Conference  
in Ottawa to
establish an Advisory Council, similar to the Business Industry  
Advisory Committee (BIAC) for
business and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) for labor. We  
said that this new
Advisory Council should include civil society groups in such fields as  
human rights and
democracy, privacy and data protection, consumer protection, and  
access to information and
knowledge.

We urge the OECD to establish now the Civil Society Advisory  
Committee. The creation
of an OECD Civil Society Advisory Committee is necessary to help  
realize the democratic goals
of inclusion, participation, transparency and accountability at the  
OECD.
The OECD offers an important forum for the discussion of policies  
concerning the future
of the Internet. We welcome this dialogue and urge the Ministers and  
members countries of the
OECD to fully engage civil society and labor organizations within  
their own countries.
In all decisions related to the Internet economy, we advise the OECD  
Ministers and the
members countries to give particular attention to those indicators  
concerning literacy, education,
and health. The success of the Internet Economy should be measured by  
the well-being of
citizens, and not simply the extent of technology diffusion.


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