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Why does APC
need an Internet Rights project?
APC
has long been in the forefront of campaigning for the Right
to Communicate and the right of people and organisations to
have free and affordable access to the Internet. It has provided
resources and training to support strategic use of the Internet,
and helped those who do not have ready access to traditional
media to make themselves heard using the Internet. APC has
played a vital role in expanding use of the Internet in the
less developed countries and its Women’s
Programme (APC-WNSP) has led the way in redressing gender
inequalities in the design, implementation and use of electronic
communications.
Recent
shifts in the governance and development of the Internet have
challenged the APC to engage additional areas of Internet
Rights. In the past there was a widespread belief that the
Internet could not be regulated, that it would, by its very
nature, remain an 'open space' for the sharing of information
and expression of opinions by those that have access to it.
This
belief is now considered questionable. It is becoming clear
that securing the Internet as a space for open debate and
discussion will require hard work, and collaborative action
with the many other organisations and individuals that are
confronting this challenge.
In
its work for an open, affordable and accessible Internet,
APC will continue to adopt an integrated approach to the variety
of issues involved in this area: access, cost, Internet governance,
ownership and control, freedom of expression and privacy.
Our Europe, Africa
and Latin American projects will
address all these and other issues, but will also reflect
the different contexts and priorities of each region
Lawrence
Lessig, in his book “Code and other laws of cyberspace”, has
pointed out that four things regulate the Internet:
- laws
(by government sanction and force)
- social
norms (by expectation, encouragement, or embarrassment)
- markets
(by price and availability)
- architecture
(what the technology permits, favours, dissuades, or prohibits)
Until
recently, it was the social norms of Internet communities,
together with a very open architecture based on supporting
these norms, that regulated the Internet, and was responsible
for its free nature. However, the market, in the form of rapid
commercialisation, and law from governments are now becoming
the main forces of regulation. Together, these two forces
are pressing for fundamental changes in legislation and in
the architecture of the Internet that, unless countered, could
cause it to “flip over” from a place of freedom to a place
of extremely oppressive control. It is in this context that
APC’s Internet Rights project is being developed.
A
central aspect of the project will be to build coalitions
on Internet Rights issues and to work together with a wide
range of other organisations campaigning on Internet Rights.
However, APC is a specialised community, an “International
Internet Community for Environment, Human Rights, Development
& Peace”. We have particular interests we need to protect.
Our members and their users have their own set of “social
norms” that guide the way our communities are regulated. On
some things we operate stricter standards than are the social
norm for the Internet as a whole, on others, we are more liberal
than the general norm. In deciding where we stand on key Internet
Rights issues, such as privacy and censorship, we have to
consider how these issues affect the communities we represent.
Essentially,
our project is designed to address the needs of important
sectors of “civil society” on the Internet, not just to defend
the interests of Internet “users” as individuals. Our primary
aim is to provide the resources, tools and assistance needed
to defend and extend the space and opportunities for social
campaigning activity on the Internet and to ensure a favourable
legal situation for free expression on issues of public interest
against the many threats to it that are emerging.
We
can no longer simply rely on the social norms of the Internet
to preserve its free and open nature. The needs of civil society
are often in conflict with the commercial and governmental
interests now trying to control the Internet through their
domination of state legislation and governance of Internet
standards. We need to defend and lobby for the interests of
the communities we represent in these areas.
Revised:
April 17 2001
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ICT Policy & Internet Rights
