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“Digital rights and the UN”: recent and upcoming UN resolutions
The 26th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) opened this week and there are a number of internet-related human rights issues on the agenda, including a new resolution on promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet.…
11 June 2014
Blog
NetMundial: A lot to love and a lot to hate
Access provides analysis of the this week’s NetMundial meeting, noting the highs and lows, and reflecting on what is needed to achieve internet governance that is truly democratic and multistakeholder, ensuring the meaningful and accountable participation of all stakeholders.…
25 April 2014
Blog
Spotlight on Internet Governance Part Four: NetMundial
Last October, in the aftermath of the revelations of mass government surveillance, the government of Brazil and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced a joint initiative that would bring together government, industry, civil society, and academia in a meeting in Brazil in April 2014 to discuss the future of internet governance. This evolved to become the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance, better known as NetMundial, an initiative of 12 governments — Argentina, France, Ghana, Germany, India, Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United States have since joined Brazil– with representatives of civil society, academia, and the technical community participating in various planning committees.…
14 April 2014
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Public interest groups send letter expressing concerns on DOTCOM Act to House
Yesterday, the Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation, Public Knowledge, Access, Center for Democracy & Technology, Freedom House, and Human Rights Watch, ahead of the April 10th hearing “Should The Department Of Commerce Relinquish Direct Oversight Over ICANN?”, sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee restating their support of the NTIA’s decision to transition key Internet domain name functions to the global multi-stakeholder community and the organizations’ concerns regarding the DOTCOM Act. The DOTCOM Act is a piece of legislation that was introduced this past March that would require a Government Accountability Office review and report prior to the NTIA transition, a process that could take up to a year. …
10 April 2014
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Civil society coalition issues letter in support of DNS transition ahead of congressional hearing
Today marks the first in what is likely to be a series of congressional hearings called in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) historic announcement of its intent to transition key Internet domain name functions (DNS) to the global multistakeholder community. In advance of today’s hearing, Access, along with the Center for Democracy & Technology, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, The Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation, and Public Knowledge have sent a letter to Congress expressing our support for the proposed transition.
…2 April 2014
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Access welcomes historic USG announcement on IANA transition to global community
Access has supported greater international oversight of internet resources. We welcome today’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Commerce intends to transition its current coordinating role over the internet’s domain name system — the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, or IANA — to the ‘global multistakeholder community.’
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14 March 2014
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US surveillance program under scrutiny by UN Human Rights Committee
This week the United States will stand before an expert body at the United Nations and be forced to face difficult questions regarding its human rights record, including its performance on the right to privacy. Among the list of issues prepared by the Human Rights Committee for the review and shadow reports by human rights organizations is mass government surveillance and the U.S.’s refusal to recognize the extraterritorial application of human rights obligations.
…12 March 2014
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Spotlight on Internet Governance: Part Three International Telecommunication Union
In many ways the disclosures on mass government surveillance made Edward Snowden defined the global debate on internet governance in 2013. Looking ahead in 2014, Snowden’s revelations continue to shape the internet governance landscape, adding significance to already planned events…
2 March 2014
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Spotlight on Internet Governance 2014: Part Two U.N. Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation
UN Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation (WGEC) Background: The UN General Assembly established the multistakeholder Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation in 2012 under the auspices of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD). With members from government, the…
24 February 2014
Blog
Spotlight on Internet Governance 2014: Part One WSIS Review
2014 was already set to be a critical year for internet governance, with some key meetings planned having the potential to push the needle on much needed reform. But in the aftermath of Snowden’s revelations, it looks like 2014 could be the year for change. With rising political pressure, heightened public awareness and activism, and a new global meeting on the future of internet governance, 2014 could provide the opportunity to advance a positive reform agenda that: preserves the interoperable/global nature of the internet; is secure and facilitates the exercise of human rights, for all users without discrimination or regard for where they happen to connect; is inclusive in decision-making so that policies reflect the public interest. This is the first in a series of blog posts in which we will break down the major international internet governance moments on our radar for 2014.…
11 February 2014
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Vietnam under review at the Human Rights Council: Cyber attacks on civil society a key concern
Amidst reports of declining human rights at home, Vietnam will appear before the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday for a review of its human rights record. Access, as part of a coalition of freedom of expression organizations, is urging the international community to address Vietnam’s deteriorating human rights situation, in particular the increase in cyber attacks against civil society.…
4 February 2014
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Human Rights Day: Back to the basics on privacy – part 2 of 2
The revelations of mass government surveillance and pervasive monitoring of communications that broke earlier this year have led to an erosion of trust among internet users. So much so that organizations responsible for coordination of the internet’s technical infrastructure globally were compelled to release the Montevideo Statement on the “Future of Internet Cooperation.”…
11 December 2013
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Human Rights Day: Back to the basics on privacy Part 1 of 2
The revelations of mass government surveillance and pervasive monitoring of communications that broke earlier this year have led to an erosion of trust among internet users. So much so that organizations responsible for coordination of the internet’s technical infrastructure globally were compelled to release the Montevideo Statement on the “Future of Internet Cooperation.”
…10 December 2013
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UN General Assembly Takes Critical Step to Address Privacy amid Surveillance Controversy
Today the U.N. General Assembly took a critical first step in addressing mass surveillance as a human rights violations with the passage of a resolution recognizing the right to privacy in the digital age.
…26 November 2013
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Message to U.N. General Assembly: Stand up for Right to Privacy in the Digital Age
As negotiations at the United Nations General Assembly over the right to privacy in the digital age grow heated, Access, together with Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch, and Privacy International have written a letter to members of the General Assembly urging them to “take a stand against indiscriminate practices such as mass surveillance, interception, and data collection, both at home and abroad”.
…21 November 2013
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2013 Internet Governance Forum in Review
The 8th annual U.N. Internet Governance Forum wrapped up late last month in Bali, Indonesia. This year’s official main theme was “Building Bridges – Enhancing Multi-stakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development”; however, mass online surveillance and a recently announced 2014 world summit on internet governance dominated many discussions at the IGF.…
7 November 2013
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Brazil, Germany introduce resolution on Right to Privacy in the Digital Age at UN General Assembly
The United Nations is the site of the latest diplomatic response to revelations of mass surveillance by the United States and its allies. Today at the General Assembly, Brazil and Germany formally introduced their draft resolution on “The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age.”
…1 November 2013
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With no votes cast, Azerbaijani election app releases ‘final’ election results
While the October 9 Azerbaijani general election was not expected to meet international standards as “free and fair,” an app developed by the country’s authoritarian government has accidentally released a final vote tally a full day ahead of the election. According to the application, the votes count for tomorrow’s election have the the country’s incumbent dictator, Ilham Aliyev, “winning” the election by a landslide.
…8 October 2013
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UN Human Rights Council discusses surveillance and other internet issues at 24th session
The 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) opened last Monday, and already in the first week, internet-related human rights issues were highlighted as areas of concern by governments, civil society, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, alike. With the international community still reeling from the revelations of mass state surveillance sparked by Edward Snowden’s leaks in May, much, but not all, discussion of internet issues focused on how to protect human rights, in particular privacy, in the digital age.
…16 September 2013
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Broad Civil Society Coalition Delivers Statement to UN HRC on Surveillance and Human Rights
A broad civil society coalition of more than 90 civil society organizations and individuals issued a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) today calling for the protection of human rights in the digital age in the wake of the recently revealed PRISM and US National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program. The statement, which was delivered at the 23rd session of the HRC, by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Reporters without Borders, in particular highlighted the need to protect the rights of whistleblowers and to prevent the establishment of a global internet surveillance system.
…10 June 2013
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WTPF: expected outcomes, revealing debate
The UN World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF) concluded yesterday in Geneva, with the adoption of six opinions to guide international policy on broadband and internet exchange point (IXP) deployment, as well as internet governance. That was exactly the plan–but what happened over the course of the three day meeting is revealing for the future of internet governance reform. …
17 May 2013
Blog
US House of Representatives Bill on IG unnecessary and potentially harmful to diplomacy
Yesterday, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass a bill on internet governance that was superfluous, misguided, and potentially harmful to ongoing international negotiations on internet governance.…
16 May 2013