[npoc] Fwd: [NCSG-Discuss] 'Father of the Internet' warns Web freedom is under attack

[Alain Berranger <alain.berranger@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear colleagues and friends of NPOC,

below a comment for your perusal...The current NCSG messy structure (which
will be even more  messy after adding a consumers' constituency) could
benefit from better delineated SGs like the Internet Masr uses (we also use
these very same groupings at the Global Knowledge Partnership
Foundation)... Of course I think ICANN' specificities would have to and
could easily be worked into such a backbone...

Cheers, Alain (dreaming!)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alain Berranger <alain.berranger@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, Jun 6, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: [NCSG-Discuss] 'Father of the Internet' warns Web freedom is
under attack
To: Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: NCSG-DISCUSS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Thks Amr,

As an aside in your mail: I find the SG structure of Internet Masr quite
sensible... One could easily imagine ICANN using such a logic in
contemplating the evolution of the backbone of its SGs...

Alain


On Tue, Jun 5, 2012 at 5:16 AM, Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi Bill,****
>
> ** **
>
> To be honest..., I’m not sure there is much that can be done in the
> NC/ICANN context unless there is a possible course of action I am not
> currently aware of. Talking to the Egyptian representative on the GAC
> wouldn’t do much good, because she is pretty much on the same page we are.
> I am trying to promote participation in ICANN amongst local Internet
> community members here in Egypt and hope there will be a few applicants to
> the Fellowship program for the Toronto meeting, which is now open. If any
> are accepted, I will also do what I can to get them to attend meetings with
> NCSG. I have personally learnt a great deal about the value of transparency
> and accountability in policy decision-making on this list and hope you
> folks will infect a few other of my countrymen and women as well.****
>
> ** **
>
> In the meantime..., Internet Masr (Masr being the Arabic word for Egypt)
> is officially just a few weeks old right now. I am on the Board
> representing the Individual Internet Users SG (there are five SGs:
> Individual Users, Civil Society, Academia, Private Sector, and Government),
> and we have already worked on a draft document we are calling “The
> Principles for Use of the Internet in Egypt”. After some discussion, we
> have reached a draft that all of our members are satisfied with. I am
> working on translating this from Arabic into English and once that is done,
> we will post the document in both languages online and seek wider community
> feedback so that we can come up with a statement that is widely
> representative of the local Internet community, and will hopefully make
> legislators think twice about their positions on the topic. I will surely
> post the link to the draft on this list. Although I am doubtful, I hope we
> can do all this before the Egyptian parliament holds discussions with
> members of civil society next month in preparation for the writing of our
> new constitution in which the right of access to information will be one of
> the many issues.****
>
> ** **
>
> Thanks.****
>
> ** **
>
> Amr****
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* NCSG-Discuss [mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of
> *William Drake
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 05, 2012 9:35 AM
>
> *To:* NCSG-DISCUSS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> *Subject:* Re: [NCSG-Discuss] 'Father of the Internet' warns Web freedom
> is under attack****
>
> ** **
>
> Hi Amr,****
>
> ** **
>
> Just noticed in my box, sorry.  I'm sure your concerns are shared here.
>  Question is, what if anything would you like us to be doing in the
> NC/ICANN context?  Ideas?****
>
> ** **
>
> Bill****
>
> ** **
>
> On May 24, 2012, at 4:07 PM, Amr Elsadr wrote:****
>
>
>
> ****
>
> Hi,****
>
>  ****
>
> Having spent most of my life in a country with a largely conservative
> society, I would like to share some thoughts on the issue of legislative
> action to combat moral decadence as a result of online exposure to Web
> content. A couple of months ago, an MP belonging to one of the
> ultra-conservative parties now holding a majority in the Egyptian
> parliament proposed a law to force local ISPs to block pornographic content
> in Egypt. Furthermore, the law (which our esteemed legislative branch of
> government has quickly voted in favour of with very little debate) goes on
> to allow the authorities to punish any ISPs that do not comply with the
> ban. Although the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and Information
> Technology (MCIT) and the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) are
> both cooperating with this new legislation, it is a very unpopular law
> amongst the officials who understand the implications (particularly
> concerning cost-effectiveness).****
>
>  ****
>
>
> http://thenextweb.com/me/2012/03/24/egyptian-government-reportedly-preparing-a-ban-on-internet-pornography/
> ****
>
>  ****
>
> Last month, at the annual national ICT conference, our newly ratified NGO
> on Internet policy and development arranged a panel discussion. We invited
> the MP who proposed the law and held a debate in which it was quite obvious
> that he has next to no understanding about Internet policy and what it
> entails. IMHO, this individual is merely a tool following orders passed
> down from his party for what many believe is just a lame attempt at gaining
> public support on a controversial issue. However, with a closer look at the
> dynamics of Egyptian politics, this legislation is probably no more than a
> stepping stone for the powers-that-be to control the flow of information to
> the Egyptian public via the Internet, which has been (to say the least)
> extremely problematic for the former(?) ruling regime. Does any of this
> sound familiar to anyone??****
>
>  ****
>
> Over the years, I have developed what I believe to be a healthy distrust
> of politicians and their motives. With all due respect to others on this
> list who share my background of living in conservative societies, there are
> solutions that do not necessitate banning of content, even illegal content,
> on a national scale; amongst which is one that currently exists in Egypt to
> allow parents to locally block porn sites to their personal computers at
> home without treading on the “slippery slope” of compromises freedom of
> expression on a nation-wide scale. At least here in Egypt, this is a
> well-known fact conveniently ignored by legislators with ulterior motives.
> ****
>
>  ****
>
> Thanks.****
>
>  ****
>
> Amr****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> *From:* NCSG-Discuss 
> [mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<NCSG-DISCUSS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> ] *On Behalf Of *rusdiah
> *Sent:* Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:43 AM
> *To:* NCSG-DISCUSS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> *Subject:* Re: [NCSG-Discuss] ‘Father of the Internet’ warns Web freedom
> is under attack****
>
>  ****
>
> dear all:
> some government control... for political issue... some for industry
> issue.... some for security/defence issue.. but in Indonesia somehow on
> ethical and pornography issues :-)
>
> sometimes we forget because of the scale and power of Internet that
> actually internet supposed to be the tools... to deliver th contents... or
> is it the ends.. ?
> regards, rudi rusdiah - apwkomitel - indonesia
> On 05/24/2012 09:03 AM, Kadian Davis wrote:****
>
> Increasingly Governments are moving towards control of Internet Freedom.
> Freedom of expression, although debatable, is a fundamental right and is
> often the center piece of a democracy. However, Governments are sometimes
> preoccupied with finding ways to protect national security and human rights
> pertaining to Internet usage. I believe that the mechanisms for enforcement
> of copyright laws  or illegal content laws through DNS filtering is
> disproportionate and  is too restrictive. In total, DNS filtering
> undermines security on the Internet and may block legitimate content from
> the Internet. Therefore, this negatively impacts freedom of expression.
>
> It is important to note that the blocking of domain names does not
> actually remove illegal content off the Internet.  As a result, there is
> need for various human right agencies within the government, private
> sector, academia and civil society to negotiate the terms and conditions
> for Internet Regulation.  However, I believe that these agencies should
> have a basic understanding of the Internet before negotiating Internet
> regulation. Moreover, Governments need to realize that harsh regulations of
> the Internet may impede innovation through various ICT tools.
>
> Recently we have seen a few examples pertaining to Internet Freedom see
> below:
>
>   "Iran's telecommunications ministry has barred local banks, insurance
>    firms and telephone operators from using foreign-sourced emails to
>    communicate with clients, a specialist weekly said on Saturday.  "The
>    telecommunications minister has ordered the use of domain names ending
>    with .ir" belonging to Iran, Asr Ertebatat reported." See
> http://j.mp/KDVUWK
>
> In addition, we see that India is pushing for the creation of a forum
> called ‘Committee for Internet Related Policies' (CIRP) to develop internet
> policies, oversee all internet standards bodies and policy organizations,
> negotiate internet-related treaties and sit in judgment when
> internet-related disputes come up. The catch is that India's formal
> proposal is for CIRP to be funded by the U.N., run by staff from the U.N.'s
> Conference on Trade and Development arm and report directly to the U.N.
> General Assembly, which means it will be entirely controlled by the U.N.'s
> member states. See
> http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3423018.ece
>
> We can effect change let us bring these issues to the fore at the various
> (ICANN, IGF, WSIS, IETF etc) Internet Governance meetings.
>
> Regards,
>
> Kadian Davis.****
>
> On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:10 PM, rusdiah <rusdiah@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:****
>
> it is not easy talk about freedom, safety, neutrality, cybercrime, IP
> pirate, CISPA...with different interest... personal interest, national
> interest... business interest of the stakeholders ...
>
> anything that are not following somebody interest will be bad and
> sometimes considered as a crime ... cybercrime...
>
> "either you with me or against me....."
>
> this is the challenge for the future global dialog, not as easy during the
> period of cerf when he started the Internet everybody has one goal... ...
> regards, rudi rusdiah - apwkomitel (association of internet community -
> indonesia)****
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ****
>
>
> http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/228561-father-of-the-internet-warns-web-freedom-is-under-attack
> ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>  ‘Father of the Internet’ warns Web freedom is under attack****
>
> By Andrew Feinberg - 05/21/12 11:07 AM ET****
>
> “Father of the Internet” Vint Cerf on Monday warned that Internet freedom
> is under threat from governments around the world, including the United
> States.****
>
> Cerf, a computer scientist who was instrumental in the Internet’s creation
> and is now employed by Google as its "Internet evangelist," said officials
> in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe are using intellectual
> property and cybersecurity issues "as an excuse for constraining what we
> can and can't do on the 'net.”****
>
>  ****
>
> "Political structures … are often scared by the possibility that the
> general public might figure out that they don't want them in power," he
> said.****
>
>  ****
>
> He sounded the alarm about the International Telecommunications Union
> (ITU), arguing the group is poised to assume the role of global Internet
> cop.****
>
> “There is strong indication that the Internet will enter the picture [for
> the ITU]," Cerf said at the Freedom to Connect conference.****
>
> Cerf said the ITU is likely to try and lock in mandatory intellectual
> property protections as a backdoor for easy Web surveillance.****
>
> Even good-faith efforts at Internet policymaking should be viewed with
> skepticism, Cerf said, because balancing freedom and security "isn't
> something that government alone is going to figure out."****
>
> He criticized the Cybersecurity and Intelligence Protection Act (CISPA),
> legislation passed by the House to encourage companies to share information
> about cyber threats with the government, because it lacks "adequate
> constraints" on how the information is used.****
>
> But Cerf said he has the "optimistic belief" that attempts by hostile
> governments to restrict access will be circumvented by resourceful
> engineers around the world. ****
>
> "If someone stops me from communicating, I'll find a way around it," he
> said.****
>
> Cerf also urged vigilante groups such as Anonymous to stop using
> cyberattacks as a means of activism, saying the hackings are
> counterproductive.****
>
> "I don't think lawlessness is our friend," he said.****
>
> Ultimately, there is a legitimate role for law enforcement on the Web, he
> said, adding that "it would be bad for us as a community to say … that all
> the good things outweigh the bad."****
>
> "That's not a credible position to take," he said.****
>
> Cerf said activists and regulators alike harm themselves by using terms
> like "cybercrime" because they suggest that "every bad thing that happens
> on the Internet is a crime."****
>
> "Some are just bugs," Cerf said, while suggesting a better goal for
> policymakers should be "cybersafety."****
>
> --
> Kadian Davis
>
> "Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that
> man is peace" Psalm 37:37.****
>
>  ****
>
> ** **
>



-- 
Alain Berranger, B.Eng, MBA
Member, Board of Directors, CECI,
http://www.ceci.ca<http://www.ceci.ca/en/about-ceci/team/board-of-directors/>
Executive-in-residence, Schulich School of Business, www.schulich.yorku.ca
Treasurer, Global Knowledge Partnership Foundation, www.gkpfoundation.org
NA representative, Chasquinet Foundation, www.chasquinet.org
Chair, NPOC, NCSG, ICANN, http://npoc.org/
O:+1 514 484 7824; M:+1 514 704 7824
Skype: alain.berranger




-- 
Alain Berranger, B.Eng, MBA
Member, Board of Directors, CECI,
http://www.ceci.ca<http://www.ceci.ca/en/about-ceci/team/board-of-directors/>
Executive-in-residence, Schulich School of Business, www.schulich.yorku.ca
Treasurer, Global Knowledge Partnership Foundation, www.gkpfoundation.org
NA representative, Chasquinet Foundation, www.chasquinet.org
Chair, NPOC, NCSG, ICANN, http://npoc.org/
O:+1 514 484 7824; M:+1 514 704 7824
Skype: alain.berranger