Internet governance in the home of democracy

I've been on a panel at the Internet Governance Forum in Athens discussing "Openness". With twelve of us on the stage and three hours to fill it felt unwieldy going into it but actually turned out to be an interesting session.

I had three points to make - that principles like universal access are as important on the net as they are in conventional public service broadcasting (supporting social benefits of freedom of expression); that public investment in quality content and providing what the market cannot has just as great a role online, and that governance should be about preserving and securing openness, net freedom and neutrality, not intruding into it or compartmentalising it.

One surreal moment when a Chinese delegate stood up to say they have no internet blocking in China of any kind - only access problems. Strangely these access problems seem to disproportionately affect sites like the BBC.
However, he also said:"There are many millions of Chinese that have no access to the internet and our deepest hope is that they will in the future. That they can communicate. And take part in the future."

There was the usual criticism of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo in their dealings with countries like China. A delegate from RSF confronted the Cisco director on the panel to ask why they sold equipment to the Chinese police.

However, a human rights lawyer from Pakistan made the good point that we shouldn't always see sinister effects in such deals: if someone is rounded up and locked away, when their lawyer comes round under Habeus Corpus, western IT may be able to locate them - without it often no-one has much idea where they might be held.

Software and equipment can help promote transparency and effectiveness too.

All of this was a collision between business interests, principles of human rights and freedom of expression and, as an Iranian delegate pointed out, very different perspectives and values. What is better - compromised co-operation that makes some progress or refusal to compromise that makes no progress?

We may be guilty of adopting too much of a Northern and Western view sometimes.

Round up of blog discussion here.

Del.icio.us links here.

(Btw don't run away with visions of retsina in a sun blessed taverna by the acropolis. It's torrential rain and gales in an anonymous hotel in a drab suburb.)

Comments

[Kempton]

"One surreal moment when a Chinese delegate stood up to say they have no internet blocking in China of any kind - only access problems."

Wow, it is surreal indeed to hear party line from the Chinese Department of Disinformation at the conference. I truly hope this kind of "surreal moment" will soon be part of history.