With an aim to get the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to facilitate increased participation of civil society at the upcoming World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF), various civil society groups from across the globe signed this open letter addressed to ITU General Secretary Dr. Hamaroun Touré. The Internet Democracy Project is one of the signatories. More
This post originally appeared as a column in “Down to Earth” magazine, which did a cover story on Internet Governance in its January, 2013 issue. It comments on India’s stance on the new ITRs. My colleague Rishab Bailey represented the Internet Democracy Project at the WCIT in Dubai, as part of the Indian delegation. More
The Internet Democracy Project has joined forces with other civil society organisations participating in the ITU’s WCIT Conference in Dubai in requesting the ITU Secretary General and the Chairperson of the WCIT meeting to ensure that the continued barriers to civil society participation in the WCIT and the ITU are removed at the earliest. The text of the letter that was sent to the ITU Secretary General and the WCIT’s Chairperson today can be found below. Other civil society organisations and their members are encouraged to endorse this statement. Please email WCIT12civilsociety@gmail.com to add your support. An updated list of signatories can be found here. More
On 8 November 2012, the Internet Democracy Project organised a workshop at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) on Criminal law and the free and open Internet: Tensions and ways forward in democratic societies. What were the most important issues raised in the workshop? A report. More
During the Best Bits pre-IGF meeting in Baku, the Internet Democracy Project collaborated with a group of civil society organisations and individuals from around the world to formulate a joint position on the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) that will be reviewed at the ITU’s upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai. The statement was subsequently submitted to the ITU’s WCIT public comments system. The text of the statement and the original list of signatories is below. More
After pressure from civil society around to world to increase the transparency and inclusiveness of the upcoming ITU World Conference on International Telecommunications, the ITU has provided a public comments system on which anyone concerned can leave their inputs. The Internet Democracy Project joined forces with four other Indian organisations — the Centre for Internet and Society, Delhi Science Forum, Free Software Movement India and Knowledge Commons — to share the following input. More
Following the commotion that surrounded the Indian government’s recent orders to block Internet content and restrict the use of sms, FICCI organised in Delhi, on 4 September, a panel discussion on “Legitimate Restrictions on Free Speech Online”. The intention was to start a wider dialogue on how the Indian government can improve its responses to instances of hate speech. Secretary of the Department of Telecom, Mr. R. Chandrashekhar, who was among the panellists, seemed to take the opportunity most serious: he specifically asked the audience to focus their comments on suggestions for improvement they might have. Moreover, his excellent summary at the end of the event made amply clear that he had listened very closely indeed to the feedback that was provided. The Internet Democracy Project got a chance to contribute to the debate. More
The Internet Democracy Project has joined civil society organisations and academics from across the world in expressing concern over proposals currently in the ITU that will affect the Internet if accepted. Our joint letter expresses to member states and government delegates our concerns about the closed nature of the ITU process as well as about specific proposals that would threaten Internet openness and the exercise of human rights online. Civil society organisations and academics are welcome to join the list of signatories. If you would like to add your name, please write to signon@cdt.org. More
In preparation for the Stockholm Internet Forum, Anja Kovacs was asked to submit a written contribution, detailing what she believes is the biggest emerging threat to online freedom. Here is what she wrote. More