March 5, 1997

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

This will read a bit dry, but it is an important document that we need to get into the Zundelsite archives. It came to us hot off the "Human Rights" mill and is a press release sent out by the Open Society Institute - Regional Internet Program Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation, a New-York based, private and grantmaking foundation that promotes the development of open societies around the world, both by running its own programs and by awarding grants to others.

The Open Society Institute--New York, as per this press release, develops and implements a variety of U.S.-based and international programs in the areas of educational, social, and legal reform, and encourages public debate and policy alternatives in complex and often controversial fields.

The Open Society Institute--New York is part of an informal network of more than 24 autonomous nonprofit foundations and other organizations created and funded by philanthropist George Soros. It can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.soros.org.

I am going to great lengths below to list this press release to show that we will be in classy company, we hope, once the Zundelsite struggle moves to the United Nations level. It will be very interesting to see to what extent these prestigious entities will actually come out in favor of free speech for all members of the global community, not just the so-called politically correct.

Here is the press release. Titled 'Open Internet Policy Principles' - Adopted by Group of International Experts", it states:

March 5, 1997 -- New York/Washington, D.C. -- The Open Internet Policy Principles, a set of recommendations to guide the use of the Internet and related technologies, were adopted today by a group of international experts*. These Principles are intended as a framework for government officials, parliamentarians, and nongovernmental organizations as they consider the impact of the Internet in their own and other countries. The experts included European and American parliamentarians, government officials, nongovernmental organizations, and the academic and business communities.

In its Preamble, the Principles state:

"The Internet is an inherently open, decentralized communications infrastructure which is ideally suited to support the free exchange of ideas, a rich political discourse, and a vibrant economy."

With regard to policymaking and the Internet, the Principles point out that policymaking ought to be undertaken "by policymakers who are well informed about the unique nature of the net and have direct experience with its use; and, with substantial input and comment from the user community."

Other Principles address the following subject matters:

* Access to Infrastructure: "Access to the global Internet and other interactive communications infrastructures is essential for all citizens of the world to enable full participation in the global society and developing digital economy;"

* Freedom of Expression: "There should be no regulation of Internet content by government;"

* Communications Privacy: "Users of the Internet should have the right to be free of unlawful government interception of or access to communication and information online;"

* Right of Anonymity: "Users should have the right to communicate without disclosing their identity;"

* Unfettered Right to Use Encryption: "Users should have the right to use any form of cryptographic technology they choose to protect the privacy of their communications;"

* General Legal Framework: "The Internet does not exist in a legal vacuum. For the most part, existing laws can and should regulate conduct on the Internet to the same degree as other forms of conduct. Such laws may differ from country to country, but should conform with the applicable binding human rights obligations contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights;"

* Objectionable Content: "To enable Internet users to shield themselves and their families from objectionable or unwanted content, priority should be given to 'downstream filtering' by users;"

* Civil and Criminal Law Enforcement: "(...) combating online crime, while protecting civil liberties, can best be accomplished with additional resources and training of law enforcement agencies, not by enactment of new laws;"

* Access to Government Information: "Governments should enable citizens access to legislative, judicial and executive branch information through the Internet;"

* Overseas Development Assistance: "Overseas development assistance programs should strive to promote full access to the Internet;"

* Market Structure: "There should be no a priori limitation to market entry by Internet service providers (...)."

The Principles are based upon the results of a conference organized by the Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation (PHRF), Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation/Europe (PHRF/Europe) and the Regional Internet Program of the Open Society Institute (OSI-RIP) held in Brussels, Belgium on November 23, 1996. (An Annex with diverging opinions is attached to the Principles.)

"The Open Internet Policy Principles are the first phase of a larger project. As a next step, a case study will be undertaken of the telecommunications framework in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, to apply the principles developed in Brussels to the particular circumstances of these emerging democracies," explained Don Bonker, Chairman and President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation and a former Member of Congress. Representatives from these nations participated in the drafting of the Principles and the Brussels deliberations.

"We hope that the Open Internet Policy Principles will lead to the development of model legislative and regulatory frameworks with global application," added Maartje van Putten, PHRF/Europe's Chair and Member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands.

Jonathan Peizer, Chief Information Officer of the Open Society Institute clarified why the Baltic countries were chosen: "They are the most progressive countries with regard to use of the Internet in Central and Eastern Europe. OSI-RIP has been funding Internet-related activities in those nations since 1994. This, however, is our first major policy initiative for the Internet."

The Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation (PHRF) is a worldwide, voluntary, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization committed to the promotion of human rights. PHRF works directly with parliamentarians to: enhance understanding of the meaning and importance of human rights; strengthen institutions for the protection of human rights; improve access to information about human rights conditions; foster international cooperation in the promotion of human rights; offer training and technical assistance to human rights advocates, especially parliamentarians; call attention to human rights abuses that violate internationally recognized standards; and nurture constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and other protections of human rights. PHRF can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.phrf.org.

Experts at this important meeting included representatives from: European Commission, European Parliament, Netscape Communications Corp., Oracle Corp., Ministry of Education and Science (Latvia), Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Estonia), Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Latvia), Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union, Voters Telecommunications Watch, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, Center for Democracy and Technology, Riga Information and Technology Institute (Latvia), PT Finland, Baltic Institute of Finland, University of Leuven (Belgium), University of Groningen (Netherlands), Villanova School of Law (USA), Ghent University (Belgium), Levicom Ltd. (Estonia), Xs4all Internet BV (Netherlands), National Criminal Intelligence Service (Netherlands), Open Society Institute/Soros foundations network, Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation, and Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation/Europe.

Thought for the Day

- An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. -

(Albert Camus)

Comments? E-Mail: irimland@cts.com

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