[FC-discuss] Fwd: Seoul

[Gwen Hinze]

Hi all,

The OECD Ministerial on the Future of the Internet Economy is  
underway here in Seoul at the moment.  A broad group of civil society  
organizations have put together a Declaration to the OECD ministers  
with our recommendations, to ensure that our views get heard  
alongside those of the many business interests represented here.

We are looking for co-signors before we present it at tomorrow's  
closing ceremony. If any of  you/ your chapters would be interested  
in signing on, please contact Katitza Rodriguez Pereda at EPIC  
(katitza at datos-personales dot org) before 12 noon US EST tomorrow.  
(Sorry for the super-tight timeframe)

All best!
Gwen



Begin forwarded message:

> From: Katitza Rodriguez Pereda <katitza at datos-personales.org>
> Date: June 17, 2008 12:14:45 AM PDT
> To: karen banks <karenb at gn.apc.org>, anriette at apc.org, Marc  
> Rotenberg <rotenberg at epic.org>, Sherwin Siy  
> <ssiy at publicknowledge.org>, Gwen Hinze <gwen at eff.org>, Parminder  
> Singh <parminder at itforchange.net>, michael gurstein  
> <gurstein at gmail.com>, willemien.bax at beuc.eu, Anna Fielder  
> <a.fielder at ncc.org.uk>, Ginger Paque <gpaque at gmail.com>, Renata  
> Avila <renata.avila.pinto at gmail.com>, rafik dammak  
> <rafik.dammak at gmail.com>, Carolina Rossini  
> <carolina.rossini at gmail.com>, "Lisa M. Dr. McLaughlin"  
> <mclauglm at muohio.edu>
> Cc: coalition at mailman.thepublicvoice.org
> Subject: Seoul
>
>
> 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, Association for Progressive  
> Communications, Consumers Korea, Jinbonet, CIPPIC- Canadian  
> Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, BEUC - The European  
> Consumers' Organisation, BEUC - The European Consumers'  
> Organisation, Centre for Community Informatics Research, Training  
> and Development, Consumer Council of Canada and many individuals  
> (William Drake, Adam Peake, Urs Gasser, Jisuk Woo, Fouad Riaj   
> Bajwaw, Gerry Morgan Foundation, Carolina Rossini, Lisa M.Dr. Mc  
> Lauglin, Esteba Urbie Restrepo Public Internet Advocacy Center)
>
> The full text of the Declaration is at:
> <http://thepublicvoice.org/events/seoul08/seoul-declaration.pdf>
>
> Find below the Seoul Declaration in Txt
>
> The declaration is open for sign on by civil society organizations  
> and individual CS representatives by Tuesday 12:00 US EST. If your  
> organization / you are interested in signing on, please email  
> Katitza Rodriguez Pereda of EPIC at katitza at datos-personales.org.
>
> Many thanks and all best,
>
> ---
> June 2008  1 “The Civil Society-TUAC Seoul Declaration”
> CIVIL SOCIETY - TUAC
> “THE   SEOUL DECLARATION”
>
> 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 “harmful content.”  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’s  
> 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 at eff.org
Tel.: + 1 415 436 9333 x110

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