Recent events in North Africa and with WikiLeaks show how...
Recent events in North Africa and with WikiLeaks show how easily access to Internet content and services can be disrupted, and raise the question of whether governments have a duty to preserve the Internet, the Council of Europe said Wednesday.…
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It said an April 18-19 CoE conference on Internet freedom will consider whether there should be a global treaty, rather than principles, to safeguard online free speech. Up for discussion are draft governance principles and recommendations for protecting and promoting Internet universality, integrity and openness. The proposed governance principles call for protection of fundamental human rights and democracy. They recommend that governance arrangements ensure full participation of governments, the private sector, civil society and the technical sector, and that countries refrain from acting in ways that might directly or indirectly harm someone outside their jurisdiction. Internet-related policies should aim toward universal access, and stability and resilience should be key objectives of Internet governance, the draft said. It also urged CoE members to maintain the decentralized nature of day-to-day management of the Internet, its open architecture and network neutrality. The proposal for protecting Internet integrity sets out general principles: (1) Governments should do “no harm” to Internet access and use. (2) They should cooperate in good faith to develop Internet-related public policies to avoid adverse cross-border impacts on access and use. (3) Countries should take steps to prevent and respond to significant transborder Internet disruptions, and jointly develop emergency plans for responding to interferences with Internet infrastructure. (4) CoE members should notify potentially affected countries of significant risks of cross-border disruptions, share information with them, cooperate with each other on responses, and, if appropriate, help affected nations resolve the problems. (5) Governments should craft “reasonable legislative, administrative or other measures,” including suitable monitoring mechanisms, to ensure they meet their commitments to the principles. The draft also recommended that CoE members discuss the possibility of developing international law on responsibility and liability for damage, its assessment and compensation, and settlement of related disputes. The documents must be approved by the Committee of Ministers, the CoE said. Panelists at the forum include representatives from the U.S. State Department, ITU, ICANN, Verizon, AT&T, NATO and the European Broadcasting Union, it said.