[Ecommerce] EU's follow actions from WSIS

Wed May 3 05:14:06 2006

DG Information Society has today released a list of 'actions' to follow on
from the Tunis meeting. A number have been announced before or are simply
joining existing policy forums.  But they specifically refer to net
neutrality
<snip>
Finally, the Commission expresses, in today=92s Communication, its readines=
s
to closely monitor attempts to call into question the neutral character of
the Internet.

Michelle

Press Release:
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=3DIP/06/542&for=
mat=3DHTML&aged=3D0&language=3DEN&guiLanguage=3Den

Reference:  IP/06/542    Date:  27/04/2006

 Brussels, 27 April 2006

Internet: Commission seeks global partnership on Internet governance,
freedom of expression and the combat against cyber-repression

To keep up the momentum of the successful World Summit on Information
Society (Tunis, 16-18 November 2005), the European Commission has set out
today its priorities for implementing the international policy commitments
made at the Summit. These priorities include safeguarding and
strengthening human rights, in particular the freedom to receive and
access information. Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
should be used to contribute to open democratic societies and to economic
and social progress worldwide. The Commission calls for continuing
international talks to improve Internet governance through the two new
processes created by the Summit: the multi-stakeholder Internet Governance
Forum and the mechanism of enhanced cooperation that will involve all
governments on an equal footing.

=93The European Union must be at the forefront of an open, accessible and
undivided worldwide Information Society and of a free exchange of
information, ideas and opinions around the globe=94, said Viviane Reding,
Member of the European Commission responsible for the Information Society
and the Media. =93At the World Summit in Tunis last year, we made an
important step towards a global consensus that the day-to-day management
of the Internet should take place without the interference of any
government. Now we must ensure that those commitments are fully
implemented. Interventions in the core architecture of the Internet can no
longer be justified if not made on the basis of globally accepted public
policy principles.=94

In its Communication adopted today, the Commission outlines the follow-up
actions it proposes for implementing the commitments made at the World
Summit of last November (see IP/05/1424 and IP/05/1433). The EU has
actively contributed to the success of this Summit and, by speaking with
one voice, helped to find viable compromises among diverging positions
among UN partners.

The Commission welcomes the clear and unequivocal statement of the World
Summit on the primary importance of the information society for democracy
and the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; in particular
the freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the freedom to receive
and access information. Therefore, the Commission notes with concerns the
cases of cyber-repression, which means the misuse of ICT to help
repressive regimes to restrict the free flow of information on the
Internet. The Commission encourages the companies concerned to work on a
code of conduct on this crucial issue, in close cooperation with NGOs.

On Internet governance, the Commission highlights that the
multi-stakeholder Forum on Internet governance (the first meeting of which
will take place in Athens this autumn) and the enhanced cooperation model
agreed at the Summit are a prerequisite for developing a worldwide
commitment to fight effectively against spam and malware and to ensure the
sustainability of the Internet as a global network.

On digital divide, the Commission already proposed in October 2005 a new
Partnership on Infrastructures, which will cover areas such as ICT
strategy and regulation, technology-neutral broadband networks and
development of non-commercial pan-African electronic services.

EU action should also include promoting international cooperation in ICT
R&D, which is to become a priority in the EU=92s new Framework Research
Programme, with the opening-up of all activities to researchers from third
countries and joint research programmes between the EU and specific
countries or regions.

Finally, the Commission expresses, in today=92s Communication, its readines=
s
to closely monitor attempts to call into question the neutral character of
the Internet.

Background:

The World Summit on the Information Society was a formal UN initiative at
the level of Heads of State and Government. It took place in two phases:
in Geneva in December 2003 and in Tunis in November 2005. The outcome of
the World Summit is a consensus on a global approach to the Information
Society that is common to all UN Member States and reflected in the
documents adopted in Tunis. The Tunis documents recognise in particular
acknowledge the need for enhanced cooperation on Internet governance
matters of a public policy nature to enable governments, on an equal
footing, to carry out their roles and responsibilities. They also lay the
foundation for a new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue, the
Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The EU is participating actively in the
setting up of both processes.

See also MEMO/06/172
Today=92s Communication and the Tunis documents are available at:

http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/internationalrel/global=
_issues/wsis/index_en.htm

--
Michelle Childs -Head of European Affairs
Consumer Project on Technology in London
24, Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX,UK.
Tel:+44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252.
Mob:+44(0)790 386 4642. Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607
http://www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA .Tel.:
+1.202.332.2670,Fax: +1.202.332.2673

Consumer Project on Technology in Geneva
1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727