Publications
Publications
Briefing note: UN Human Rights Council 26th session
The 26th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC26) will take place in Geneva from 10 to 27 June. A wide range of internet-related human rights issues will be discussed at this HRC26 session, including racism and the internet, online freedom of expression during elections processes, and technology-related violence against women. These discussions signal a continuing trend at the HRC of a focus on the internet and human rights.…
18 December 2015
Report
Shadow Report to Human Rights Committee on US Surveillance Policy
During the 110th session, the Human Rights Committee conducted its review of US human obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The shadow reported used the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance to address the US government’s failures to protect the rights to privacy and expression. It also examined the US government’s failure to comply with the Committee’s interpretation of the extraterritorial application of the ICCPR.…
18 December 2015
Publications
4 Criteria for Specialised Services’ Definition
In September 2013, the European Commission made a proposal for a Telecoms Single Market which includes a large range of areas such as roaming charges, spectrum and the open internet. Access, together with EDRi prepared an analysis of on one of the major points of discussion in the text: the so-called “specialised services”. This analysis lays out the 4 criteria this definition should include in order to avoid a broad interpretation that would lead to anti-competitive practices and undermine the ability to exercise free expression online.…
18 December 2015
Publications
Briefing note: Human Rights Council 25th session
The 25th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) will take place in Geneva from March 3rd to 28th. This briefing note provides information on internet related human rights issues in the upcoming session of the HRC. Overall, we can see the continuing trend of the HRC addressing internet and human rights issues in increasingly diverse aspects of its work. This is the Council’s 25th session and will see internet issues considered across a broad range of topics, including in the context of peaceful protest, good governance, freedom of region and belief, the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, human rights defenders, cultural rights, and the rights of persons with disabilities to education. The right to privacy in age of mass government surveillance is also increasingly on the Council’s agenda. This briefing note was prepared by Deborah Brown (Access), Joy Liddicoat and Shawna Finnegan (Association for Progressive Communications)…
18 December 2015
Publications
Who is protecting net neutrality in Europe?
On Monday 24, February, the Industry, Research and Energy Committee of the European Parliament will vote on the proposal for a Telecom Single Market. The Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in charge of the text being voted on, the conservative Pilar del Castillo Vera, put forward provisions that would undermine net neutrality and the future of the open internet. An alternative proposal to the text made by the socialist MEP Catherine Trautmann have already been supported by the Greens group. While this new text could still be improved, it does bring needed legal clarity and close the dangerous loopholes left in Ms Del Castillo’s proposal. Access, together with EDRi, provide an comparative analysis of these two proposals.…
18 December 2015
Publications
Access Opinion on the European Commission’s Connected Continent Proposal
Last September 2013, the European Commission tabled a Regulation aimed at completing a European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent (also known as the Telecoms proposal), in which she proposed to include provisions on “network neutrality.” While we welcome any proposal that would enshrine the guiding principles of the open internet into European law, we regret that the proposed text contains several loopholes that, if not properly addressed, could constitute a serious threat to fundamental rights and innovation in Europe. The following analysis, divided by themes, will focus on the provisions contained in the proposed Regulation that relate to net neutrality (Articles 2, 19, 23, 24, 25 & 26).…
18 December 2015
Publications
Access’ Amendments to the Commission’s Connected Continent Proposal
Access broadly welcomes the Commission proposal for a Regulation on a single market for electronic communications achieving a Connected Continent (2013/0309), particularly the aspects which have the potential to enshrine the guiding principles of the internet – network neutrality -?-? into law. However, we regret that the proposed text contains several loopholes that, if not properly addressed, could constitute a serious threat to fundamental rights and innovation in Europe. This document contains Access’ proposed amendments to the Commission’s text which aim to address these loopholes and to ensure that the internet remains an open and dynamic platform for innovation, competition and the flourishing of human rights in Europe.…
18 December 2015
Publications
Initial Analysis of UN Draft Resolution A/C.2/68/L.40 on WSIS Review
UN draft resolution A/C.2/68/L.40 with modalities for the WSIS+10 review was released in the General Assembly’s Second Committee on November 14, 2013. The draft resolution clearly calls for a WSIS Summit to be held in 2015, and for the preparatory process to be led by inter-governmental committee. Access worked with the Center for Technology & Democracy, Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade (CTS | FGV), and Global Partners Digital on initial analysis of the draft resolution. …
18 December 2015
Publications
Internet Governance Processes: Visualising the playing field
Already a pressing global issue, internet governance is growing in importance in international debates. With internet governance debates taking place across a range of forums, this visual timeline was developed in an effort to better focus civil society advocacy efforts by understanding where main discussions about global internet governance are taking place. This timeline aims to: 1) identify forums where internet governance is being discussed/decided over the next few years; and 2) identify avenues for participation for civil society to influence those processes.…
18 December 2015