An open, secure and inclusive internet urgently requires more leadership
Today, the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) presented its Final 'One Internet' Report, with recommendations to keep the Internet open, secure, reliable and inclusive. One of the main recommendations includes the need for governments to negotiate a list of targets that are off limits to cyber-attacks. "Without more visible and more political leadership the open Internet as we know it might look very different in the near future. Companies, governments and criminals are increasingly pursuing their own interests online - often at the expense of the social, economic and cultural benefits of the open internet. The open internet we all cherish should be supported instead of being further limited”, said D66 MEP Marietje Schaake.
Don’t weaken encryption
One of the most important recommendations of the report is that governments should not compromise or require third parties to weaken or compromise encryption standards, for example through hidden “backdoors” into the technology. Schaake: "Trust in the infrastructure of the internet is essential when the internet of things and the blockchain are on the eve of widespread adoption. The open internet is threatened by authoritarian states like Iran or China, but there is also a danger in Europe that rights and liberties are being traded away in the name of security. In this context it is critical that companies should not become the enforcement arm of governments. The report is critical of the privatisation of the rule of law online, in which states force companies to filter or remove online content. We urge to provide a clear legal framework and sound accountability mechanisms for such activities.”
Algorithms
The Global Commission also recommends to allow the effects of algorithms to be independently assessed in order to be able to combat censorship, access to information, discrimination and profiling. Schaake: “Our trust in the use of online services depends on the way we shape privacy, net neutrality, access to information and freedom of speech. Algorithms increasingly decide what we get to see online, which choices we can make or which offers we receive”.
Inclusion
GCIG is highly critical about the practice of zero-rating, where free internet access is given to specific sources of content, such as Facebook. Schaake: “Internet access is increasingly important for development. Four billion people are not online and the rights of internet users in the Global South are often less protected. Access to the full internet should still be the main goal.”
Other recommendation of the report include
· Private actors should publish transparency reports that reveal the amount of content being restricted or blocked in response to requests by governments along with how and why it is being blocked.
· UN member states should agree not to use cyber weapons against the core infrastructure of the Internet.
· Because of their impact on human behaviour and opinion, governments, civil society and the private sector need to come together to understand the effects of algorithms on the content available to us online.
· Manufacturers and vendors of information and communication technologies must be prepared to accept legal liability for the quality of the technology they produce.
· Insurance markets must rise to the challenge of ensuring that best practices for data protection and security are appropriately rewarded.
The Commission consists of 28 persons which represent a range of internet governance stakeholders as well as geographic regions, including Carl Bildt (ex PM of Sweden), David Omand (ex-Director of GCHQ), Michael Chertoff, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi and many more. On the 29th of June Marietje Schaake will discuss the findings and the recommendations of the report with Carl Bildt in the European Parliament.
