=?windows-1252?Q?=91Father_of_the_Internet=92_?=warns Web freedom is under attack

[Kadian Davis]

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 at rad.net.id> 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.
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