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Under Principle 2 I'd add after "web sites" the phrase "and online forums." As I have stated before, in my opinion the most democratizing aspect of the Internet is the ability of people to organize and communicate in groups. The effective exercise of the freedom of communication on the Internet requires an audience and the ability for many-to-many communication. As I noted to a number of people at the CFP conference <http://www.cfp2002.org/proceedings/> we need an Internet of democracy <http://www.publicus.net/articles/netdem.html> not just based on rights, but also on responsibilities. The future of democracy in the information age is in many ways on the shoulders of civic-minded techies with standing in the Internet meritocracy. It is up to them to build democratic principles (like the freedom of association http://www.opengroups.org> into the technical infrastructure of the Internet, e-mail and the Web. Democracy as an online afterthought or side application will not be cost effective. Democracy online may well find itself priced out of the market of human experience without concerted thought and action today. Read on below and zip your comments to the Council of Europe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> by May 1st, 2002. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org P.S. Share your comments to the COE publicly at: http://slashdemocracy.org/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=15 From: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/media/ Draft Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet (09/04/2002) The Group of Specialists on on-line services and democracy has decided to invite the public to comment on a draft Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet (EN / FR). Please send your comments to the Media Division <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> by 1 May 2002. The full text from: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/media/documents/Draftdeclaration.rtf French: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/media/documents/Draftdeclaration(F).rtf Strasbourg, 8 April 2002 Public version No. 1 GROUP OF SPECIALISTS ON ON-LINE SERVICES AND DEMOCRACY (MM-S-OD) ______ Draft Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet ______ DRAFT DECLARATION ON FREEDOM OF COMMUNICATION ON THE INTERNET The member States of the Council of Europe, Recalling the commitment of member States to the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, as guaranteed by Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Considering that freedom of expression and information on the new information and communication services needs to be reaffirmed; Aware at the same time of the need to balance freedom of expression and information with other legitimate rights and interests; Recalling in this respect the Convention on Cybercrime and Recommendation No. R (2001) 8 on self-regulation concerning cyber content; Recalling furthermore Resolution No. 1 of the 5th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy (Thessaloniki, 11-12 December 1997); Concerned about attempts to limit access by the public to communication on the Internet for political reasons or other motives contrary to democratic principles; Convinced that there is a necessity to state firmly that prior control of communications on the Internet, regardless of frontiers, should remain an exception; Considering furthermore that there is a need to remove barriers to individual access to the Internet, and thus to complement measures already undertaken to set up public access points in line with Recommendation No. R (99) 14 on universal community service concerning new communication and information services; Convinced that freedom to establish services provided through the Internet will contribute to guaranteeing the right of users to access pluralistic content from a variety of domestic and foreign sources; Convinced also that limited liability of intermediaries when they act as mere transmitters or when they provide in good faith access to or host content from third parties will enhance the free flow of information on the Internet; Considering that a balance has to be found between the right of users of the Internet not to disclose their identity and the need for law enforcement authorities to trace the authors of criminal deeds; Welcoming efforts by intermediaries to co-operate with law enforcement agencies when faced with illegal content on the Internet; Noting the importance of co-operation between these agencies in the fight against such content; Declare that in the field of communication on the Internet, they seek to abide by the following principles: Principle 1 - Absence of prior control Without prejudice to Article 10, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, public authorities should not through general measures, including technical measures such as filtering, deny access by the public to information and other communications on the Internet, regardless of frontiers. Neither should intermediaries, such as service providers, exercise or be obliged to excercise prior control of content which does not emanate from them. Principle 2 - Removal of barriers to participation of individuals in the information society Member States should foster and encourage access for all to Internet communications and information services on a non-discriminatory basis at an affordable price, as well as an active participation of the public, such as in the form of setting up and running individual web sites, which should not be subject to any licensing or other requirements having a similar effect. Principle 3 - Freedom of providing services via the Internet The provision of services via the Internet should not be made subject to specific authorisation schemes on the sole grounds of the means of transmission used. Member States should seek to prevent monopolistic offerings of services via the Internet and seek measures to enhance a pluralistic offer which caters for different needs of users and social groups. Service providers should be allowed to operate in a regulatory framework which guarantees them non-discriminatory access to national and international telecommunication networks. Principle 4 - Liability for content of communications When deciding which rules shall govern liability for content of Internet communications, member States should take into due account the situation of intermediaries in the communication chain, who should not be held liable for providing access, transmitting or hosting in good faith. Principle 5 - Anonymity Member States should respect the right of users of the Internet not to disclose their identity. This does not prevent member States from co-operating and taking measures to enable the tracing of authors of criminal deeds, in accordance with the safeguards provided under national law and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Principle 6 - Independence of regulatory bodies Any regulatory bodies in the field of Internet should comply with the terms of Recommendation No. R (2000) 23 on the independence and functions of regulatory authorities for the broadcasting sector, in particular as regards their transparency and independence from political and economic powers. END OF DRAFT ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
