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No. 1, 2010 Editor: Anna Celsing Rue Cherpion 46 B-1390 Grez Doiceau Belgium +32 10 84 15 33 anna.celsing@skynet.be Publisher: Ulla Carlsson NORDICOM Göteborg university Box 713 SE-405 30 Göteborg Sweden Archive Subscribe free of charge to On the International Agenda
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Internet/Information Society Calls for Protection of Internet Freedom Internet Freedom a U.S. Foreign Policy Goal Extension of IGF Recommended Next IGF meeting in Vilnius Social Networks to Transform Development Work? Report on World Information Society Trends Piracy/IPR Enforcement ACTA: Still Cause for Concern? Focus on the Role of Internet Intermediaries UNESCO Launches World Anti-Piracy Observatory Protection of Rights Many Threats to the Freedom of Expression Calls for Guarantees for the Right to Know More Protection of Privacy in Social Networks? Telecoms/Infrastructure Rush to Provide Broadband ITU to Get Involved in Content Too? Media – General World Summit on Media for Children in June Indigenous Broadcasters Pursue Collaboration Bill Gates Sponsors African Journalism Initiative Indian Press Council Report Put on Hold Time to Apply for Development Journalism Prize Internet/Information Society Calls for Protection of Internet Freedom [Internet/Information Society] In May access to Facebook and YouTube was blocked in Pakistan. This is but one of many such measures taken in various parts of the world. Mostly a particular website or service is blocked – be it for religious, political, moral or other reasons – but today an increasing number of countries are also introducing complete cut-off of Internet access as a penalty for copyright infringements. This has met with much public outcry and many civil liberty groups – as well as lawmakers - are demanding protection of Internet freedom and fundamental rights on the net. Ordinary citizens seem concerned too. Four in five adults believe access to the Internet is a fundamental right and more than half of the 27 000 adults in 26 countries surveyed in a poll for the BBC World Service agreed that the “internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere”, reported Reuters in March. The following day an international coalition of 25 human rights NGOs from many parts of the world adopted a Declaration on Internet freedom at a summit in Geneva. The Declaration says that suppression of independent thought by filtering, monitoring and censoring of websites, online content, blogs and messaging services constitutes a violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that all countries have an obligation to guarantee Internet freedom. A number of other rights must also be respected, including the right to equal access to the Internet and a right to anonymity and online privacy, “free from intrusive monitoring by the state or third parties.” Nor should Internet providers “be allowed to provide governments, corporations or third parties any information about their users without their legal consent”. Top Internet Freedom a U.S. Foreign Policy Goal [Internet/Information Society] In January - in connection with the dispute between Google and the Chinese authorities regarding censorship of the Internet – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave a a policy speech on Internet freedom, a central part of American foreign policy, she affirmed. Ms Clinton said that the State Department was already working in more than 40 countries to help individuals silenced by oppressive governments. “We are making this issue a priority at the United Nations as well, and we’re including Internet freedom as a component in the first resolution we introduced after returning to the United Nations Human Rights Council”. ”We are also supporting the development of new tools that enable citizens to exercise their rights of free expression by circumventing politically motivated censorship. We are providing funds to groups around the world to make sure that those tools get to the people who need them in local languages, and with the training they need to access the internet safely”, added the Secretary of State. However, free expression has its limits. “We do not tolerate those who incite others to violence, such as the agents of al-Qaida”, stressed the Secretary of State who also seems to want to exclude other groups from Internet freedom. ”Violent extremists, criminal cartels, sexual predators, and authoritarian governments all seek to exploit these global networks. Just as terrorists have taken advantage of the openness of our societies to carry out their plots, violent extremists use the internet to radicalize and intimidate. As we work to advance freedoms, we must also work against those who use communication networks as tools of disruption and fear”, said Ms Clinton. In her speech she mentioned that the government's Global Internet Freedom Taskforce (GIFT) would be reinvigorated. Among GIFT's tasks are to monitor and report on the quality of Internet freedom in each country around the world. Interesting reading for those wanting to know more about current US policy in this area is a report published in April by the Congressional Research Service entitled U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology.. Here you can find more information on the Global Internet Freedom Task Force, recent legislative actions etc. The authors of the report also note that some observers have expressed concerns that there could be serious negative consequences for U.S. and foreign companies, and U.S. or foreign nationals working or living in countries with repressive regimes, if they follow the expanded U.S. policy supporting Internet freedom. Top Extension of IGF Recommended [Internet/Information Society] Having held formal consultations with participants of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the United Nation's Secretary-General recently recommended that the General Assembly extend the mandate of the Forum for a further five years. A number of improvements to its format, functions and operations should also be considered, he pointed out. In his note on the continuation of the Internet Governance Forum the Secretary-General says that, according to many participants, the Forum’s multilateral, multi-stakeholder, democratic and transparent character is unique and valuable and should be preserved. The most significant concerns expressed by stakeholders were that the IGF, despite its role in promoting dialogue and understanding, had not devoted sufficient attention to its development remit or the specific question of management of critical Internet resources, that the IGF had not provided concrete advice to intergovernmental bodies and other entities involved in Internet governance, and that more needed to be done to engage stakeholders in Internet governance mechanisms, especially stakeholders from developing countries. The Secretary-General therefore recommends that the General Assembly invite Member States to provide additional funding to increase participation from developing countries in the IGF and to increase support for capacity building for Internet governance in such countries. Top Next IGF meeting in Vilnius [Internet/Information Society] On 14-17 September 2010 the fifth meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania. The overall theme of the meeting will be Developing the Future Together. “The Vilnius meeting will help articulate a view of how we can use the Internet for the benefit of all humankind, and how we can further address the risks and challenges ahead. Internet governance should not be seen as an end in itself, but as a means of achieving development for all as expressed in internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals”, reads the invitation. Key themes of the meeting will be: Managing critical Internet resources; security, openness and privacy; access and diversity; Internet governance for development; Taking stock of Internet governance and the way forward, and cloud computing. Under these themes it has been proposed that participants discuss, for example, maintaining the open architecture of the Internet, regulating malicious Internet content, global privacy standards, public funding for broadband, filtering and blocking access to content and services, a development agenda for Internet governance, and public policy and privacy issues in cloud computing. Host country website Top Social Networks to Transform Development Work? [Internet/Information Society] The 2010 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Stocktaking report was released in May in conjuntion with the WSIS Forum 2010 event in Geneva. For the first time, the report examines the potential of new social networking services for transforming development work in ICTs, and showcases specific actions undertaken by the global community in the implementation of WSIS goals during the period from end 2008 to mid-2010. The report identifies five key emerging issues that deserve special attention by the international development community. They include the link between WSIS and the Millennium Development Goals; emerging broadband applications; social networking; the use of ICTs for disaster management; and cybersecurity and cyberspace. Top Report on World Information Society Trends [Internet/Information Society] Assistance to Member States in the formulation of national information policy frameworks has been the main focus of the UNESCO Information for All Programme’s (IFAP) activities in 2008-2009. In February the IFAP Annual World Report 2009 was published. The report offers an overview of major international and national policy documents and highlights the most important trends of the information society during the last year. Top Piracy/IPR Enforcement ACTA: Still Cause for Concern? [Piracy/IPR Enforcement] After heavy pressure from lawmakers in Europe and other parts of the world and increased public outcry against the secrecy of the negotiations on a multilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) – which also aims to combat piracy - a Consolidated Text Prepared for Public Release was published on 21 April. Although the positions of different countries on areas of the text still under negotiation had been deleted, the release of the document was welcomed by many groups. As for the content of the agreement, however, there still seems to be cause for concern. Consumer groups are worried about what is meant by intellectual property right infringements on a ”commercial scale” and demand a clear definition of the term and measures that only combat acts of willful, for-profit, criminal infringements. The setting up of a new plurilateral ACTA organization that by-passes existing international institutions, such as WIPO or WTO - where consumer organization have certain guarantees regarding their involvement - is another cause for worry. No participant in the ACTA negotiations has proposed requiring governments to mandate a French-style “graduated response” or “three strikes“ approach (by which repeat illegal download offenders can have their internet connection cut off). Yet many activists are concerned that “intermediary liability” of service providers - mandated directly or encouraged indirectly - could legitimize the cutting off of Internet service without prior judicial due process. The next round of negotiations on ACTA will take place in Switzerland in late June or early July. According to Luc Devigne, the European Commission's lead ACTA negotiator, all chapters of the agreement will be discussed at this meeting. He also said that there are no current plans to release the updated text following future rounds of talks. Top Focus on the Role of Internet Intermediaries [Piracy/IPR Enforcement] In discussions on piracy and similar issues, attention often focuses on the role and responsibilities of Internet service providers and other ”intermediaries”. On 16 June the OECD, with the support of the Norwegian government, is organizing an Experts Workshop on this subject. The goal of the OECD Workshop on “The Role of Internet Intermediaries in Advancing Public Policy Objectives” is to discuss and identify best practices and lessons learned from experience to date of Internet intermediaries in advancing public policy objectives. In particular, the Workshop aims to identify the roles and responsibilities that Internet intermediaries are undertaking for actions by users of their platforms; where they exist, the nature and extent of these responsibilities and their positive and negative implications. The Workshop will bring together about 30 speakers to debate and brainstorm these issues. Participants are experts from the technical and academic communities, policy-makers, and private sector representatives. In April the OECD published an interesting report on The Economic and Social Role of Internet Intermediaries in which, for instance, regulators' categorisation of types of Internet intermediation and liability exemptions are described. Top UNESCO Launches World Anti-Piracy Observatory [Piracy/IPR Enforcement] In April UNESCO launched a World Anti-Piracy Observatory (WAPO), a free on-line platform that provides information on anti-piracy measures and policies implemented by Member States in many parts of the world. The Observatory, which will be updated regularly, makes available comprehensive information on copyright legislation, news and announcements of events related to the fight against piracy worldwide, and best practices. Free awareness-raising and capacity-building tools can also be downloaded. “WAPO is a valuable tool for national authorities that seek to improve their legal policies and frameworks, as national officials will now be able to access and effectively utilise approximately 100 examples of national solutions to piracy”, explains UNESCO. “It is also a useful reference tool for authors, creators and other right owners who need to enforce their rights in a foreign country.” WAPO is available in English, French and Spanish. Top Protection of Rights Many Threats to the Freedom of Expression [Protection of Rights] In February four high-level international officials adopted a joint Declaration on ten key threats to freedom of expression in the next decade. “Some of the historic challenges to freedom of expression have still not been addressed successfully, while new challenges have arisen due to technological, social and political developments”, noted the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. With regard to the Internet the Rapporteurs criticize, for example, “efforts by some governments to control or limit this medium”, state interventions, such as blocking of websites and web domains which give access to user-generated content or social networking” and “pricing structures which render the poor unable to access the Internet. ” Threats to freedom of expression resulting from the war on terrorism, such as increased use of surveillance techniques, are also identified, as are commercial pressures ”leading to cost-cutting measures such as less local content, cheap, shallow entertainment and a decrease in investigative journalism”. Laws making it a crime to defame, insult, slander or libel someone or something, still in place in most countries is another threat to freedom of expression. Furthermore, violence against journalists remains “a very serious threat” with more politically motivated killings of journalists in 2009 than in any other year in the past decade, say the Rapporteurs who criticize the insufficient attention to investigating these killings and bringing those responsible to justice when they do occur. The latter issue was recently addressed in more detail by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). At its meeting in March the IPDC unanimously adopted a Decision on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity calling on governments to report to the UNESCO Director-General on their investigations into the killing of journalists. Top Calls for Guarantees for the Right to Know [Protection of Rights] On 2-3 May UNESCO celebrated World Press Freedom Day with an international conference of media professionals entitled 'Freedom of Information: the Right to Know', in Brisbane, Australia. On the last day of the conference the participants adopted a Declaration calling on governments to enact laws guaranteeing the right to information, “Press freedom and the right to know are essential to promoting democracy and ensuring respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms”, says the Declaration, in which the right to information is defined as “the right of everyone to access information held by public bodies at all levels, local, national and international”. As most countries have not yet adopted legislation giving effect to this fundamental right, the Declaration calls on UNESCO Member States to ”enact legislation guaranteeing the right to information in accordance with the internationally-recognized principle of maximum disclosure”. Member States should also ”bridge the digital and knowledge divide by overcoming low literacy levels and poor Internet connectivity, and by making information available in local languages and in a form that is easily understandable by diverse audiences”. The theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day is especially topical in Brazil where the House of Representatives recently approved a General Law of Access to Information. This Law, which regulates access to information within the public administration, represents a great step forward for Brazilian democracy, says UNESCO. Top More Protection of Privacy in Social Networks? [Protection of Rights] Lately Google has been criticized for not respecting the privacy of its users in several of its services. In recent months there have also been many calls for more protection of personal data in social networks. In March the International Telecommunication Union's recently established Working Group on Child Online Protection (WG-CP) held its first meeting. The potentially harmful effects of social networking was one of the topics discussed. It was proposed that the Group work to encourage social networking service providers to self-regulate in relation to ownership of user created content as well as to draft and publish their terms and conditions in plain language that can be understood by youngsters. Self-regulation is not enough, says the Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TADC), a forum of US and EU consumer organisations which develops and agrees on joint consumer policy recommendations to the US government and the European Union. In May TADC issued a Resolution on Social Networking in which EU and US governments are called upon to enact or revise privacy legislation. A number of specific rules are suggested. One should, for example, forbid making access and the use of a social network contingent on agreement by the user to the use of his or her data for marketing purposes and users should retain the ownership of data posted online. In the same month the EU Article 29 Working Party representing European data protection authorities http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/privacy/news/docs/pr_12_05_10_en.pd to 20 social network operators that have signed the “Safer Networking Principles for the EU.” In the letters the Working Party stresses the need for a default setting in which access to the profile information and information about the connections of a user is limited to self-selected contacts. Any further access, such as by search engines, should be an ”explicit choice of the user”. Recently the Working Party met with representatives from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). The groups exchanged views on the mutual roles that they can play on reviewing the OECD Privacy Guidelines and on international cooperation in the field of enforcement. Top Telecoms/Infrastructure Rush to Provide Broadband [Telecoms/Infrastructure] If we want to boost the economy and spread the benefits of the information society it is vital to accelerate broadband rollout, says a growing number of policy-makers. Major initiatives are now under way in various parts of the world, and international organisations are getting involved too. In May the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, and UNESCO announced the establishment of a top level global Broadband Commission for Digital Development which will define strategies for accelerating broadband rollout worldwide. “In the 21st century, affordable, ubiquitous broadband networks will be as critical to social and economic prosperity as networks like transport, water and power,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré when launching the Commission.“Broadband will also be key in helping us get the Millennium Development Goals back on track,” he added. The Commission will meet in Geneva mid-2010, and deliver its findings to the UN Secretary-General in September. As well as expert input from the Commissioners, there will be analysis of the challenges and opportunities in deploying broadband in nations at all stages of economic develop-ment, with practical recommendations on the possible routes towards the goal of high-speed networks at affordable prices. The Commission will comprise some 30 leaders in government and the private sector from various parts of the world. One of them is Julius Genachowski, chairman of the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) which recently sent its own National Broadband Plan to Congress. The latter aims to connect 100 million households to affordable 100-megabits-per-second service and provide affordable access in every American community to ultra-high-speed broadband of at least 1 gigabit per second at anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals, and military installations. For such purposes public support will be given through the Universal Service Fund. Another member of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission is Neelie Kroes, the EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, who recently presented A Digital Agenda for Europe in which broadband deployment has a key role. The EU Commission calls for an increase in Europeans' access to fast and ultra fast internet. The 2020 target is internet speeds of 30 Mbps or above for all European citizens, with half European households subscribing to connections of 100Mbps or higher. Like the FCC in the United States, the EU Commission envisages public support in order to reach these goals. “Without strong public intervention there is a risk of a sub-optimal outcome, with fast broadband networks concentrated in a few high-density zones with significant entry costs and high prices”, says the Commission. Recently Brazil's government, too, presented a National Broadband Plan. Here public support has a major role. The government will put up $6.1 billion to boost access to broadband Internet services among low-income households and reestablish Telebras, the former state telecom monopoly, which will operate a 23,000 km of fiber optic cable. Not only governments are keen on developing broadband. In February Google announced that it is planning to build, and test ultra-high speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. Top ITU to Get Involved in Content Too? [Telecoms/Infrastructure] In October the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will hold its Plenipotentiary Conference, a key event at which ITU Member States decide on the future role of the organization, thereby determining the organization's ability to influence and affect the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) worldwide. In the future ITU's role may become broader and even more important than today, it seems. In an interview in April about the changing role of the organisation, Alexander Ntoko, a top strategist at ITU, said: “We used to have three distinct industries: telecommunications, broadcasting and computing. With convergence, ITU is seeing itself having a broader role because its members also have broader roles...So the main trend would be aligning ITU’s mandate with the changes taking place today in telecom, where there’s convergence...” “We think that there might be some additional dimensions to, for example, our standards activities, which could include what you can regard as more involvement in content”, Mr Ntoko went on while admitting that content is “a very tricky matter” as it has strong links with culture and religion. In the future the issue of enforcement may arise to a greater degree too. “We are getting more and more requests in this area also”, said Mr. Ntoko. Top Media – General World Summit on Media for Children in June [Media – General] On 14-18 June the city of Karlstad in Sweden is hosting the World Summit on Media for Children and Youth. This year's theme is 'Towards a New Global Vision for Chilrden and Media'. A Research Forum will be organized in cooperation with the Summit by the International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media at Nordicom, Gothenburg University. Here scholars from various countries around the world will share their knowledge on topics such as media literacy and education, and children, media, consumption and health. World Summits are held every three years to draw to the attention of key players in broadcasting the importance of issues relating to children and to assist the developing world to provide opportunities for quality children’s media in the future. Read more Top Indigenous Broadcasters Pursue Collaboration [Media – General] On 10-12 March indigenous broadcasters representing Australia, Canada, Hawaii, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, South Africa and Taiwan gathered for the second World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference in Taiwan. Much collaboration seems to be under way. The theme of the three-day event was ‘Facing the Challenges in the Digital Age for Indigenous Media’ and the programme covered a range of topics including new media challenges and the changing role of indigenous broadcasters in revitalising native languages and cultures. A key outcome of the first conference in 2008 was the establishment of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network (WITBN) representing nine indigenous television broadcasters. Since then senior executives of the member organisations have been meeting on a six-monthly basis to plan, develop and implement a range of key initiatives. This has resulted in the development of the first WITBN-produced series, Indigenous Insight, a weekly 30-minute summary of the key news and current affairs stories provided by member organisations. A programme exchange scheme has also been introduced. The sharing of knowledge and information between members is important too. To that end, two one-day workshops covering programming and news and current affairs were held prior to the start of this year's conference. Read more The next WITBN conference – to be held in northern Norway in 2012 – will be hosted by NRK Sami Radio. Top Bill Gates Sponsors African Journalism Initiative [Media – General] At a Pan African Media Conference in Nairobi in March the Highway Africa project announced an initiative that aims to improve development journalism. The initiative is supported by a US$750,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Reporting Development Network Africa (RDNA) programme will provide opportunities for journalists, editors and media industry leaders, to explore innovative news platforms and build related technology skills aimed at increasing attention to critical issues impacting the continent. RDNA will focus on three core elements: an annual forum for media leaders to discuss critical issues; training workshops for journalists and editors to build skills in new media and expertise in development-related subject matter and an online portal connecting media to development journalism resources Highway Africa - which convenes Africa’s largest annual gathering of African journalists - is the flagship programme of the School of Journalism at Rhodes University, South Africa. Read more Top Indian Press Council Report Put on Hold [Media – General] A recent article in the International Herald Tribune describes the increased use in Indian media of “paid content” or “paid news,” in which space for articles in newspapers, magazines and the electronic media is sold without it being labeled as such for readers. Rumors about shady practices in the Indian media have circulated for years, especially since the 2009 parliamentary elections when the sale of media space was reported to have reached new heights, writes Akash Kapur in his column 'Letter from India' in the Herald Tribune. Questions were raised in Parliament and last July the Press Council of India, a government-sanctioned monitoring group, formed a two-man committee to look into the allegations. According to the article, the committee recently completed a draft report that was due to be released publicly, but the release was put on hold after a strong show of opposition from media owners. Nonetheless, many of the report’s key findings have been leaked into the public domain, says Mr. Kapur. Much of the recent attention in India has focused on paid political content. Such practices come in for particular condemnation in the Press Council report, which argues that paid political content is not only unethical, but also illegal. In 2009 the chairman of the Council, Hon’ble Mr. Justice G.N. Ray, was elected President of the World Association of Press Councils (WAPC), an umbrella organization of Press Councils and similar bodies in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world committed to championing the cause of free speech and freedom of a responsible press. Top Time to Apply for Development Journalism Prize [Media – General] On World Press Freedom Day in May the EU Commission launched the Lorenzo Natali Prize for 2010. This international prize is awarded in partnership with Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers to the best journalism on development, democracy and human rights. In 2009 more than 1 000 journalists from 130 countries took part. Interested journalists have until 31 August 2010 to apply (http://www.nataliprize2010.eu). The winners will be announced at an award ceremony in Brussels in December. Prizes worth a total of €60 000 will be awarded to 17 journalists in the different sections: Africa, Europe, Arab World/Middle East, Asia and Latin America/Caribbean. Top |
About the newsletter On the International Agenda is a newsletter from NORDICOM providing you with news on some of the major policy developments at the international level of importance to the media sector. We concentrate on news from intergovernmental organisations, such as UNESCO, WIPO and ITU, but also report on policy-related work and positions taken by non-governmental organisations, professional associations and more informal networks active in the field. |
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