2008-10-21 IGF, Strasbourg - European Dialogue on Internet Governance

(EuroDIG.org)
Consultations before the 3rd IGF in Hyderabad with a particular emphasis on : "Fostering security, privacy and openness on the internet". European actors interested in Internet Governance issues will meet in Strasburg on 20-21 October 2008, to discuss openly and freely their ideas, experiences and concerns in a fully multi-stakeholder format. The main themes on the Agenda of the 3rd IGF to be held in Hyderabad in December will be addressed with a particular emphasis on issues surrounding security, privacy, and openness on the Internet (concerns such as cutting Internet access, the privacy and security of popular internet banking and commerce applications, etc). Other themes will include universal access, as well as managing Internet critical resources.

Labels: Forthcoming_events, Information_society_and_Internet_policy

UK - Children discuss internet safety

(BBC)
Children from around the world are meeting in London to discuss how they can better protect themselves from the dangers posed by the internet. More than 150 teenagers from 19 different countries will attend the five-day conference and voice their opinions to government and industry. Their aim is to draw up a global online charter to be presented to the UN. see also Canberra kids to give Aussie insight at global online safety forum (Computerworld) and Young Canadians Attend International Youth Advisory Congress on Online Safety and Security Conference (RCMP Media Relations).

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Protection_of_minors

2008-10-20 CoE, Strassburg, Europäischer Dialog zur Internet Governance geplant

(Heise)
Für den 20. und 21. Oktober ist erstmals ein "European Dialog on Internet Governance" (euroDIG) geplant. In den Räumen des Europarats wollen sich dann europäische Regierungen, Unternehmen und Zivilgesellschaft auf das dritte Internet Governance Forum (IGF) im Dezember in Hyderabad vorbereiten. Es gehe weniger darum, eine gemeinsame europäische Position zu formulieren, als europäische Regierungen, Unternehmen und Zivilgesellschaft zu befähigen, mit verschiedenen Positionen und Ideen zum dritten IGF zu fahren, sagte Wolfgang Kleinwächter, einer der Koordinatoren des euroDIG, am Rande des Treffens der Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Paris.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Seizing the Opportunities of the Global Internet Economy

(RAPID)
Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media,OECD Ministerial Meeting "Future of the internet economy" Seoul, Korea, 17-18 June 2008.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Public consultation on Age Verification, Cross Media Rating and Classification, and Online Social Networking

(Europa)
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on age verification, cross media rating and classification, and online social networking. The purpose of the public consultation is to gather the knowledge and views of all relevant stakeholders (including public bodies, child safety and consumer organisations, industry). The gathered information will be fed into this year's Safer Internet Forum 2008, which will be dedicated to the above mentioned topics. The consultation will be open until 31 July 2008.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Protection_of_minors, Rating_and_filtering, Social_networking

OECD - Cybercrime risk to the internet economy

(vnuent.com)
Government ministers from across the world have issued a call for greater vigilance against cybercrime at a meeting on the future of the internet economy. The Seoul Declaration came at the end of a two day ministerial conference on the future of the web in the South Korean capital hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD member countries, the European Community and ministers from Chile, Egypt, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Latvia, Senegal and Slovenia affirmed the declaration. Participants agreed on the need for governments to work closely with business, civil society and technical experts on policies that promote competition, empower and protect consumers, and expand internet access and use worldwide. See also Chair's Summary, Shaping policies for the future of the Internet economy and Annexes.

Labels: Computer_crime, Information_society_and_Internet_policy

DE - Regulation of Broadcasting and Internet Services in Germany.

(Hans-Bredow-Institut)
A brief overview by W. Schulz, T. Held, S. Dreyer in cooperation with T. Wind (pdf) 2nd edition, March 2008

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

OECD - How can the internet make this world a better place?

(OECD)
This is the question OECD is asking the public on YouTube at www.youtube.com/futureinternet. YouTube users can share their opinion with the leaders and opinion shapers attending the OECD Ministerial meeting on the "Future of the Internet" in Seoul, Korea on 17-18 June 2008. The OECD is organising the Ministerial Meeting. Government ministers from more than 40 countries, global business and civil society leaders, academics and technical experts will meet with more than 1000 participants to forge broad principles that can provide an enabling policy environment for the Internet Economy.

Labels: E-government, Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Haut débit, mobilité, créativité: les chances que la France et l'Europe doivent saisir

(RAPID)
Discours de Viviane Reding, Membre de la Commission européenne responsable pour la Société de l'Information et Médias, Assises françaises du numérique "les TIC, levier de croissance et de compétitivité", Paris, le 29 mai 2008.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Les principaux chantiers en cours de l'Europe des télécoms et des médias

(RAPID)
Discours de Viviane Reding, Membre de la Commission européenne responsable pour la société de l'information et les médias, Conférence 'Convergence 2008', Paris, le 30 mai 2008

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

WSIS - Information Society on the move: ITU issues stocktaking report

(ITU) The ITU has released WSIS Stocktaking 2008 Report. This Report is an update on the activities undertaken by governments, business, civil society and other organizations aimed at the achievement of the objectives and targets of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) from end 2005 until mid 2008. The Report was prepared through a consultative process with all stakeholders by placing the draft report for comments on the WSIS stocktaking website. The system is publicly accessible and presents information on WSIS-related initiatives and projects. It is possible to search for information within the database by WSIS action line, project, keyword, geographical location and other specifications. Governments submitted 3812 activities, representing 54 per cent of the total number of submissions. International organizations were second, with 29 per cent, followed by businesses, civil society entities and others. Some 44 per cent of activities submitted had been carried out at the national level, while 30 per cent were of an international nature.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Statistics

EU - The i2010 Agenda - a European Success story in the making

(Europa)
Speech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media. i2010 Conference - Information Society at a Crossroads, Brdo, 13 May 2008.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

FR - Eric Besson prend une leçon de web 2.0 chez Dailymotion

(ZDNet France)
Les dirigeants de Dailymotion ont accueilli le secrétaire d'État en charge du développement de l'économie numérique, pour sa première sortie officielle depuis sa prise de fonctions. L'occasion pour lui de se frotter aux réalités du web 2.0

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Social_networking

FR - La Cnil, le FDI, l'Afnic et l'Isoc appellent à une gouvernance européenne de l'internet

(ZDNet.fr)
Les principaux organismes français encadrant le développement d'internet - la Cnil, le FDI, l'Afnic et l'Isoc France - militent pour que l'Europe pèse d'avantage dans les réunions du Forum international sur la gouvernance de l'Internet (FGI). Les quatre organismes vont donc pousser l'idée de créer un FGI européen dont l'objectif sera de coordonner les interventions au prochain FGI mondial, qui se tiendra du 3 au 6 décembre prochain à Hyderabad (Inde). La Cnil, le FDI, l'Afnic et l'Isoc France ont déjà défini quelques thèmes fédérateurs : la protection des données personnelles, celle des mineurs (lutte contre les contenus illicites) et l'accessibilité des services internet à toutes les populations (développement de contenus multilingues, éducation en milieu scolaire...).

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

CoE - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

(EDRI-gram)
The 9th meeting of the Council of Europe (CoE) group of specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (MC-S-IS) was held in Strasbourg from 31 March to 2 April 2008. At the same time, on 1-2 April, another division of the CoE was holding in a building across the street its 2008 Octopus conference on cooperation against cybercrime. This schedule overlapping is not the only sign that CoE's left hand seems to ignore what its right hand is doing: different divisions are also addressing same issues, though from different points of view and with different results.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

IE - Government appoints internet safety director

(Silicn Republic)
The Government of Ireland has appointed a director to head up the new Office for Internet Safety (OIS), which will strive to make the internet a safer place. The Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan TD has appointed John Laffan to the role and he will take up the position from the beginning of March. see also Establishment of an Office for Internet Safety and an Internet Safety Advisory Council

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Who's who

EU - European Parliament resolution on the second IGF in Rio

(EP)
The European Parliament have released a resolution on the recent Internet Governance Forum meeting in Rio de Janeiro. It considers that, although the IGF is not to adopt formal conclusions, the European Union's responsibility is to support this process, as it gives a positive and concrete context to the shaping of the Internet's future on the basis of a multi-stakeholder approach and calls on the Commission and the Council to keep the IGF high on their agendas. It encourages the organisation of a 'European IGF' before mid-2009 to reinforce the European dimension of the whole IGF/WSIS process.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

UK - Where online kids' worries lie

(Net Family News)
A quick snapshot from a UK researcher halfway through her cyberbullying study: Well-known psychologist Tanya Byron told the Oxford Media Convention that "children are more worried about being bullied in cyberspace than any threat from paedophiles," the Financial Times reports. On pedophiles, she quoted one girl as telling her, "We kind of know who the creepy people are and what they say, and we kind of ignore them." The research shows that, "although children were adept at exploiting the ignorance of their parents about the internet and gaming, many would prefer to be able to talk to their mother or father about their online lives," the FT added.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

US - Video Game Industry Seeks Political Clout

(New York Times)
Capitalizing on its improved respectability, the video game industry intends to establish a political action committee to donate money to game-friendly politicians and candidates. Michael D. Gallagher, chief executive of the Entertainment Software Association, the industry?s lobbying arm in Washington, said that the group?s board approved the PAC?s creation last fall and that the committee would be up and running by the end of March. The association represents major game publishers including the Walt Disney Company, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - The convergent publisher - Print media in the broadband economy

(RAPID)
Speech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media. Publishers Forum, Brussels, 6 December 2007

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Media literacy: do people really understand how to make the most of blogs, search engines or interactive TV?

(RAPID)
The media are changing, and so is citizens' use of such media. New information and communication technologies make it much easier for anybody to retrieve and disseminate information, communicate, publish or even broadcast. The ability of people to critically analyse what they find in the media and to make more informed choices ? called 'media literacy' ? therefore becomes even more essential for active citizenship and democracy. Following an EU-wide survey last year, the European Commission has announced today its plans to encourage the development of media literacy and the exchange of good practice across Europe.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - The convergent publisher - Print media in the broadband economy

(RAPID)
Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media, Publishers Forum, Brussels, 6 December 2007

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

Better together

(Economist)
The internet, supposedly a new realm, is most useful when coupled to the real world

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

Cyberlawyer 2.0

(Economist)
Lawrence Lessig is known for his work at the interface between technology and law. Why is he shifting his focus to corruption?

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Innovating towards the digital future : Lifestyles, society and culture

(Europa)
Speech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media, Microsoft Innovation Day, Brussels, 4 December 2007

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

FR - AOL, Dailymotion, Google, Yahoo et PriceMinister s'organisent pour défendre leur statut

(ZDNet.fr)
Alors que la mission Olivennes s'est engagée à responsabiliser les hébergeurs, cinq acteurs du web se regroupent pour protéger leurs activités. Une initiative pour rappeler qu'ils adoptent « une démarche responsable » face au piratage et à la contrefaçon. Il s'agit de la « première organisation française qui regroupe des sociétés de premier plan du web 2.0 et vise à promouvoir le "nouvel" internet ». L'Association des services internet communautaires (Asic) vient de voir le jour sous l'impulsion d'AOL, Dailymotion, Google, PriceMinister et Yahoo.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Social_networking

IGF - UN Internet forum focuses on fighting sex predators

(AFP)
The second UN forum on governance of the Internet has closed with participants agreeing on the need to protect children from sexual predators using the web to lure victims. See also Brazil Net Forum Takes on Cybercrime(AP) and Net forum tackles cybercrime boom (BBC).

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Protection_of_minors

IGF - Brazil hosts web policy forum

(BBC)
More than 2,000 people who oversee the workings of the net around the world are gathering in Brazil. Policy makers, activists and officials are gathering in Rio de Janeiro for the second Internet Governance Forum. The UN-backed body aims to give those developing policies for the net a place to air problems and hear about others who have succeeded. Sessions at the four-day forum will debate security, international domains and control of core net functions

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

US - NSA cooperation: OK for e-mail, IM companies?

(CNET News)
A new Senate bill would protect not only telephone companies from lawsuits claiming illegal cooperation with the National Security Agency. It would retroactively immunize e-mail providers, search engines, Internet service providers and instant-messaging services too.

Labels: Data_protection_privacy, Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Interception, Terrorism

EU - Microsoft finally yields to EU order

(CNET News)
Microsoft ended its long battle with European regulators by agreeing to comply with key elements of the European Commission's 2004 antitrust order. Under the agreement, Microsoft will make three "substantial" changes in the way it supplies interoperability information to competitors seeking to have their work-group server software work with Microsoft's operating system. The company will provide open-source software developers access to and use of its interoperability information, according to the Commission.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Open_source_open_access

UK - Lawmaker blasts government on Microsoft policy

(CNET News)
A member of Parliament of the United Kingdom has launched a stinging attack on the U.K. government's IT strategy, saying that it has given Microsoft too much control.

Labels: E-government, Health, Information_society_and_Internet_policy

UK - A call for Net neutrality debate

(CNET News)
Web's global nature makes it essential for U.K. and Europe to discuss Net neutrality, says British Computer Society president. Professor Nigel Shadbolt said that, because so much of the Internet's content is derived from the U.S., the U.K. and Europe would be affected by any Net neutrality-related decisions made across the Atlantic. Because Internet users in the U.S. tend to have a smaller range of ISPs to choose from than do users in the U.K., the consensus in the U.K. has been that Net neutrality is a U.S.-centric debate.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Internet_access_and_use

US - Justice Department backing for two-tier internet

(BBC News)
The US Justice Department has said that internet service providers should be allowed to charge for priority traffic. The agency said it was opposed to "network neutrality", the idea that all data on the net is treated equally. The comments put the agency at odds with companies such as Microsoft and Google, who have called for legislation to guarantee equal access to the net.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Internet_access_and_use, Open_source_open_access

2007-09-27 IT, Rome - Dialogue Forum on Internet Rights

(Italy)
The Italian Government, in the framework of the Internet Governance Forum process, and in cooperation with the UN and the IGF Secretariat, will organize a Dialogue Forum on Internet Rights, to be held in Rome on 27 September 2007. The Government of Italy invites all stakeholders - Governments, private sector, civil society, academic and technical communities, and international organizations - to attend the meeting. To facilitate the public debate a dedicated online forum is also available. This initiative aims at facilitating the international multistakeholder debate on the opportunity of defining shared rights, that guarantee the open and multilateral character of the Internet.

Labels: Forthcoming_events, Information_society_and_Internet_policy

2007-09-13 CoE, Strasbourg - Pan-European conference on ethics and human rights in the information society

(CoE)
On 13 and 14 September the Council of Europe will host a pan-European conference on the ethical dimensions of the information society, organised in conjunction with UNESCO and the French Commission for UNESCO. The aims of the conference are:

• to identify ethical and human rights issues connected with information and communication technologies and the way ICT are used;
• to raise stakeholders' awareness of these issues;
• to contribute to the UNESCO code of ethics project and make operational recommendations;
• to promote the development of regional and inter-regional networks and co-operation.

Labels: Forthcoming_events, Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Towards next generation media for the digital age?

(Europa) Speech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media, Conference on the Future of the Media, Lisbon, 17 July 2007

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - Meinungsfreiheit, Medienfreiheit und Medienpluralismus.

(PAID)
Viviane Reding, Mitglied der Europäischen Kommission, verantwortlich für Informationsgesellschaft und Medien. Ziele und Perspektiven europäischer Medienpolitik. 19. Medienforum.nrw Köln, 18. June 2007

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

IGF 2007: Rio here we come

(The Register)
The first UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF), held in Athens in November last year, was widely hailed as a success. It was an undeniably huge achievement to get the Chinese government in the same room as Amnesty International, and then to get them talking. The IGF is unique in the UN's history, designed to grant governments, NGOs, and commerce an equal seat at the table. But last time round, less than a sixth of attendees came from the private sector. Nominet, the registry for .uk addresses, has cooked up a scheme to get more companies involved with the IGF when it rolls into Rio De Janeiro for its second meeting this November.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

UK - Internet best practice contest launched

(ZDNet UK)
Businesses across the UK are being invited to put themselves forward as examples of internet best practice, after Nominet launched a competition. Nominet, which runs the .uk domain registry, is a participant in the worldwide Internet Governance Forum (IGF). It wants to establish a UK-specific version of the forum to show the rest of the world how well the UK manages its internet governance. Both private and public-sector organisations are invited to enter.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

EU - How Europe can Bridge the Broadband Gap

(Ëuropa)
Speech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media, "Bridging the broadband gap" conference, Brussels, 14 May 2007.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

ITU - Launch of the World Information Society Report 2007

(ITU)
ITU and UNCTAD announce the publication of the World Information Society Report 2007. The Report seeks to benchmark progress in meeting the WSIS targets, to be achieved by 2015 at the latest, and evaluates the evolution of the digital divide. It presents 200 pages of analysis of the latest trends in ICTs, exploring whether consumers are 'cutting the cord', the death of dial-up and growth in broadband and 3G. It evaluates the digital divide using a variety of techniques and finds that the strong growth of mobile telephony offers the greatest potential to bridge the digital divide.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

WSIS - World Information Society Report 2007 coming soon

(ITU)
The second edition of the World Information Society Report: Beyond WSIS is going to be launched on the occasion of the World Information Society Day on 16 May 2007. Published by ITU and UNCTAD, this report looks beyond the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS, Geneva 2003 - Tunis 2005) to the creation of an inclusive, people-centered and development-oriented Information Society, open to all. Some of the themes covered in the report are: the evolution of the digital divide, trends in the information society, ICT growth strategies, cybersecurity and WSIS implementation. The report tracks progress in digital opportunity for 181 economies over the past few years since the start of the WSIS process and is accompanied by a series of tables providing the latest statistics on the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) worldwide.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies: A Survey

(UNESCO)
by Mary Rundle and Chris Conley. The Infoethics Survey of Emerging Technologies prepared by the NGO Geneva Net Dialogue at the request of UNESCO aims at providing an outlook to the ethical implications of future communication and information technologies. The report further aims at alerting UNESCO's Member States and partners to the increasing power and presence of emerging technologies and draws attention to their potential to affect the exercise of basic human rights. Perhaps as its most salient deduction, the study signals that these days all decision makers, developers, the corporate scholar and users are entrusted with a profound responsibility with respect to technological developments and their impact on the future orientation of knowledge societies.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy

Beyond Internet Governance: The Emerging International Framework for Governing the Networked World

(Berkman Center for Internet & Society)
by Mary C. Rundle. Increasingly, governments are regulating the "Net" - that is, the Internet and people's activities over it. Because the Net is global in nature, governments are turning to intergovernmental organizations to iron out common approaches. Taken together, these international Net initiatives foray into all areas of government traditionally dealt with by domestic regimes - addressing foreign commercial relations, jurisdiction, infrastructure, security, monetary authority, property, relations between private parties, and citizenship.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy