by Playfuls Staff |
20th January 2007
A diverse group of companies, academics, investors,
technology leaders and human rights organizations announced today its intention
to seek solutions to the free expression and privacy challenges faced by [more]
technology and communications companies doing business internationally.
The process – which aims to produce a set of principles
guiding company behavior when faced with laws, regulations and policies that
interfere with the achievement of human rights – marks a new phase in efforts
that these groups began in 2006.
Last year, Google, Microsoft, Vodafone and Yahoo!
(Nasdaq:YHOO), with the facilitation of Business for Social Responsibility
(BSR) and advice from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard
Law School, initiated a series of dialogues to gain a fuller understanding of
free expression and privacy as they relate to the use of technology worldwide.
At the same time, the Center for Democracy and Technology
(CDT) was also convening technology leaders, investors and human rights
advocates to discuss how to advance civil liberties on the Internet in the face
of laws that run contrary to international standards for human rights.
Both processes benefited from dialogue, research and policy
expertise on internet filtering and surveillance practices from the OpenNet
Consensus, a coalition of academic institutions including the University of California
Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and School of
Law-Boalt Hall, the Berkman
Center and others.
The new combined group, in addition to developing the
principles, seeks to advance their effectiveness by establishing a framework to
implement the principles, hold signatories accountable and provide for ongoing
learning.
"Technology companies have played a vital role building
the economy and providing tools important for democratic reform in developing
countries. But some governments have found ways to turn technology against
their citizens -- monitoring legitimate online activities and censoring
democratic material," CDT Executive Director Leslie Harris said. "It
is vital that we identify solutions that preserve the enormous democratic value
provided by technological development, while at the same time protecting the
human rights and civil liberties of those who stand to benefit from that
expansion."
BSR CEO Aron Cramer said that the discussions over the past
year have already proven valuable.
"Thanks to the extraordinary commitment of the companies
and other participants in this process we've already learned a great deal about
the obstacles we face and the ways business and other stakeholders can join
forces to address those challenges," Cramer said. “This important dialogue
reflects a shared commitment to maximize the information available via the
internet on the basis of global principles protecting free expression and
privacy. This dialogue could prove a key step in unlocking the communications
potential of the internet.”
Members of the group plan to complete the process in 2007.
