Here's text of part of Utsumi's speech in Bucharest (link to the fill
document, a word doc, at
<http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/bucharest/speech_utsumi.doc>). He
mentions the new 3rd WSIS theme. "To develop new legal and policy
frameworks, appropriate to cyberspace". Frighteningly broad (is this
the ITU's future, policymaker for cyberspace? WSIS is a very bad
forum for this.)
I think we need to map out issues (security and trust, privacy and
surveillance, transnational issues, etc.) I am cc'ing some friends
at a US org, CDT, who might be interested in contributing. Or at
least should be aware of this for their own work in the US. This
goes beyond Asia & Pacific.
We did some work in DOT Force on inclusion of all in policy making
activities that I think relevant, the action point from the DOT Force
report said:
AP5. Establish and Support Universal Participation in Addressing New
International Policy and Technical Issues raised by the Internet and ICT
a) Support should be provided for developing country stakeholders -
governments, private companies, NPOs, citizens and academics - to better
understand global Internet and other ICT technical and policy issues and
to participate more effectively in relevant global fora;
b) The resource network identified in Action Point 1 should provide
information on decisions that will be taken at such fora, an open platform
for papers by experts, and facilitation of the exchange of views;
c) Support a network of Southern-based expertise - which could access the
resource network identified in Action Point 1- to support the
representatives of developing countries as they seek to participate
effectively in these fora and address these issues in their own context;
d) Global policy and technical fora and organizations working on Internet
and ICT issues should make a special effort to bring representatives of
developing nations into their discussions and decision-making processes;
e) The United Nations ICT Task Force should be encouraged in its stated
goal of identifying options for involving developing country stakeholders
in these new issues.
---
I think there are elements of this action point that should be
supported as general principles if (1) WSIS is to become the forum
"To develop new legal and policy frameworks, appropriate to
cyberspace". And (2) as principles for all policy-making activities
in information society.
See <http://www.dotforce.org>. The Action plan is in the documents
section, a report on global policy participation in implementation
teams section.
Thanks,
Adam
--
(partial text of Utsumi's speech in Bucharest)
Given that the information society covers virtually every aspect of our
lives, there will be many different views as to what should be achieved by
the World Summit. Let me give you my own personal view of why we need a
World Summit. I believe that there are essentially three reasons:
1. To raise awareness among political leaders, at the highest level, of
the implications of the information society and the new challenges it will
bring.
2. To tackle the injustice of the digital divide.
3. To develop new legal and policy frameworks, appropriate to cyberspace.
Let me take each of these in turn, beginning with the need to raise
awareness of the challenges of the information society. The industrial
revolution brought many new labour-saving devices into the workplace and
home. Those who could afford them, and knew how to use them, gained benefits
in terms of higher productivity and increased leisure time.
In the information revolution, we use ICTs to support and enhance our
ability to see, hear and communicate. We use them to enhance our learning,
our knowledge base and our creativity. Again, those who can afford these
tools, and can use them effectively, will reap the benefits. Wise
politicians already know how to use television and the media to win
elections, but many do not yet know how to make the best use of ICTs to run
the government, or to extend the reach of educational programmes or medical
services.
Despite the fact that activities based around the creation, processing and
dissemination of information already account for more than 80 per cent of
employment in the developed world, in the mind of political leaders, issues
concerning ICTs are not yet high on their political agenda.
=46or developing countries, the dawn of the information society poses the
opportunity to leapfrog ahead; to be free of the constraints imposed by the
distribution of natural resources or the terms of trade. ICTs can help too
in nation building for those countries emerging from a troubled history. But
how many political leaders in the developing world are seriously seeking
these opportunities for their people?
The information society will also pose new ethical challenges for our
political leaders which are similar in nature to those posed by genetic
engineering in that the information we generate and collect will give us
much more power to control our environment.
We must help our political leaders develop a common vision of how to turn
these challenges into opportunities, by using ICTs.
The second reason to hold a World Summit is to tackle the injustice of the
digital divide.
Between 1995 and 2000, the volume of Internet traffic grew by four times,
but available capacity grew by 200 times. And the "dark fibre" available on
the most popular routes, such as across the Atlantic, grew by several
thousand times. Haphazard, overzealous planning has led to overcapacity,
which in turn has led to falling prices and falling profits for
telecommunication operators and manufacturers.
Yet, in other parts of the world, investment just can't seem to keep up with
demand. There are still millions of villages that do not even have a basic
telephone connection. It is not a question of lack of resources. It is a
lack of a global policy perspective.
In the year 2000 alone, the telecommunications industry invested more than
200 billion US dollars worldwide. But much of this investment has not paid
dividends, either financially or socially, because we were super-serving the
rich few, rather than providing basic services to the many.
In recent years, we have seen many initiatives designed to tackle the
digital divide, such as the G8 DOT Force, the UN ICT Task Force, the digital
opportunity initiative, and long before that, the Maitland Commission in
ITU. We must learn from these initiatives, but we must not make the same
mistakes. We must be inclusive of all stakeholders. We must seek innovative
ways of mobilizing investment, by seeking a global perspective and securing
justice. We must develop programmes of sector reform based on competition,
private sector participation and, most importantly, with truly global
policies and effective regulation. Otherwise the digital divide will widen
further.
The third issue that the Summit should address is the need for a new legal
and policy framework for cyberspace. Cyberspace is a new land, without
frontiers and without a government yet. Cyberspace is not a parallel
universe: it interacts with our own world and poses many new challenges for
policy-makers. For instance:
=B7 We are increasingly dependent on cyberspace, but how can we protect
against international cyber-terrorism? Who can police cyberspace and how?
=B7 If we pay taxes in the real world, should we also pay them for our
transactions in cyberspace? And to whom? How?
=B7 How can we control crimes conducted in cyberspace? Which
jurisdiction should take precedence?
=B7 How can freedom of expression or other fundamental human rights be
guaranteed in cyberspace? Is there a danger that some would seek to control
content?
=B7 How can we build user trust and confidence in cyberspace?
There may well exist national policies and laws on these issues, but their
effectiveness is limited by the fact that they only apply within national
borders. Yet many of our economic transactions and our intellectual
activities are already conducted in cyberspace, without clear rules and
regulations.
We need a new global governance framework. Developing policy frameworks for
cyberspace-to deal with issues of cyber-crime, security, taxation,
intellectual property protection, or privacy-is something like establishing
a new government in the New World. I recall the early history of colonial
states in the USA or the story of El Dorado in Spanish America. But
cyberspace is an invisible world and much more complex. Its inhabitants are
not only individuals but include corporations, governments and even
sovereign states. They require new mechanisms for coordination. We need a
much more stronger political will to solve the issues than our ancestors did
in establishing a state in their newly conquered territories.
END