Appello al G8

Questo è l'appello al G8 che abbiamo contribuito a promuovere come IRP-Internet Rights and Principles Coalition
Fatene buon uso ;-)

Fiorello


Civil Society Statement to the e-G8 and G8
The signatories of this statement are representatives of civil society from around the world
working towards the promotion of Internet freedom, digital rights, and open communication.
We understand that the French Presidency of the G8 is holding a G8 internet meeting -- the "eG8 Forum" -- immediately before the G8 Summit in Deauville, with a view to shaping the
agenda of the G8 Summit regarding key global internet policy issues. This meeting is significant
in that this is the first year that the internet’s role in society and the economy is explicitly on the
G8 agenda.
As key world leaders, your policies have a major influence on internet policy globally.
Regrettably, certain policies being implemented in the most developed economies are
undermining the open and neutral internet -- the very qualities that represent the essence of its
democratic and economic potential. We believe that G8 Member States should use the e-G8
meeting as an opportunity to publicly commit to expanding internet access for all, combating
digital censorship and surveillance, limiting online intermediary liability, and upholding
principles of net neutrality.
Internet Access for All
We are particularly concerned about the increasing trend of nations cutting off citizens’ access to
the Internet and mobile networks in times of crisis, as Egypt, Libya, Iran, China, Nepal, and
Burma have all done. In many if not all of these countries, we see how important access to the
Internet is as a gateway to a plethora of others civil, political, and fundamental human rights.
Many G8 countries are actively pursuing policies that would similarly seek to restrict and control
access; these policies legitimize actions of repressive regimes and threaten the core of the
internet economy. As many nations endeavor to improve basic and universal access, the increase
of restrictive policies in both the developed and developing world is a regressive and deeply
worrying trend.
Freedom from Online Censorship & Surveillance
Simultaneously, repressive regimes are harnessing the internet’s power for their own purposes,
often with the help of multinational corporations based in G8 countries. We urge you to end the
sale of these technologies both at home and abroad, and put an end to these gross invasions of
user privacy and security.
Online Intermediary Liability and Intellectual PropertyTo defend freedom of speech online it is critical that we resist mounting pressure from the
entertainment industry and other sectors to impose greater intermediary liability on online
service providers for the actions of their users through instruments like HADOPI and ACTA.
In this regard, we urge you to follow the example of the Brazilian government’s Principles for
the Governance and Use of the Internet, specifically #7 which reads: “All action taken against
illicit activity on the network must be aimed at those directly responsible for such activities, and
not at the means of access and transport, always upholding the fundamental principles of
freedom, privacy and the respect for human rights.”
1
Net Neutrality
We further call on you to commit your nations to protecting net neutrality -- the principle that all
web traffic should be treated on an equitable basis no matter where it originated or the type of
data being transmitted.
These are some of the key Internet governance issues which we feel merit and require the
attention of the G8. We also draw your attention to two comprehensive declarations of principles
we believe should guide nation states in Internet governance:
● The 10 Internet Rights and Principles developed under the aegis of the Internet Rights and
Principles Coalition
2
.
● Assembly Declaration of the right of Communication, written at the World Social Forum
2011.
3
We would also like to highlight our concerns regarding the planning of the e-G8. We join our
voices to the Internet Governance Caucus
4
which expresses our collective concern about the lack
of representation of civil society at the e-G8 and G8 meetings this year.
Contrary to current best practices in policymaking, the invite list has been limited primarily to
representatives of government and corporate leaders, who already enjoy disproportionately large
influence over Internet regulation. Specifically, we are deeply concerned that corporate interests
will dominate discussions at the e-G8 and G8 summits; issues like strict intellectual property
enforcement and increasing online intermediary liability seem likely to take primacy over
citizen-centered policies like net neutrality, Free Software, and combating online censorship.

1
The full document of which is available at:
http://www.cgi.br/english/regulations/resolution2009-003.htm
2
The English version is available here: http://internetrightsandprinciples.org/node/397 and in
French here: http://internetrightsandprinciples.org/node/400
3
http://fsm2011.org/en/the-right-to-inform-and-be-informed
4
http://www.igcaucus.org/open-letter-president-sarkozy-eg8-meeting-planAs corporations pay $100,000 for seats at the e-G8 table, few representatives of civil society are
present to advocate for the priorities of citizen-users of the world. We are at a critical point in the
history of the Internet and the struggle for human rights. As the elected leadership of some of the
world’s most powerful nations, we urge you to act now to uphold and defend the principles of
digital rights and internet freedom, not just for your citizens, but for people all over the world.
Signed,
Access - www.accessnow.org
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) - www.apc.org
Association pour la Taxation des Transactions financière et l'Aide aux Citoyens (ATTAC) -
www.attac.org
Digital Democracy - www.digital-democracy.org
Digitale Gesellschaft - http://digitalegesellschaft.de
European Digital Rights (EDRi) - www.edri.org
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) - www.eff.org
The Guardian Project - www.guardianproject.info
Internet Rights & Principles Coalition - www.internetrightsandprinciples.org
The Julia Group/Juliagruppen - www.juliagruppen.se
La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) - www.laquadrature.net
May First/People Link - www.mayfirst.org
MobileActive - www.mobileactive.org
Movements.org - www.movements.org
Open Rights Group (ORG) - www.openrightsgroup.org
Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) - www.rsf.org
WITNESS - www.witness.org
VECAM - www.vecam.org