[A2k] PLEASE USE THIS EMAIL - UPDATED NAMES - Fwd: Civil Society Declaration to OECD 2008 Ministerial

[Gwen Hinze]

K - for PV list

Manon (or whomever at KEI pls) - could you please ignore my previous
msg to A2K and authorize this one instead?

Many thanks all
Gwen

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Gwen Hinze <gwen@eff.org>
> Date: June 16, 2008 7:24:16 PM PDT
> To: a2k@lists.essential.org, Public Voice
> <coalition@mailman.thepublicvoice.org>
> Cc: Carolina Rossini <carolina.rossini@gmail.com>
> Subject: Civil Society Declaration to OECD 2008 Ministerial
>
> 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.
>
> 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@datos-personales.org.
>
> Many thanks and all best,
>
> Gwen Hinze
>
> ---
> June 2008  1 =93The Civil Society-TUAC Seoul Declaration=94
> CIVIL SOCIETY - TUAC
> =93THE   SEOUL DECLARATION=94
>
> 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 =93harmful content.=94  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=92s
> 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.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Gwen Hinze
> International Policy Director
> Electronic Frontier Foundation
> email:gwen@eff.org
> Tel.: + 1 415 436 9333 x110
>
> Please support EFF - Working to protect your digital rights and
> freedom of speech since 1990
>



--
Gwen Hinze
International Policy Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
email:gwen@eff.org
Tel.: + 1 415 436 9333 x110

Please support EFF - Working to protect your digital rights and
freedom of speech since 1990