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Almost a
year ago, Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire, sparking the revolution in
Tunisia. The transitions in the Arab world are a wake-up call to many, and have
made us rethink the balance between interests and values. It was also a wake-up
call to see the transformative powers of new technologies, which were put on
the political agenda and are there to stay.
By Marietje Schaake
By Marietje Schaake
The United
States has put the potential of an open internet and the free flow of
information in closed societies at the core of its foreign policy. On 21
January, 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched her Internet
Freedom Strategy and said: "We stand for a single internet where all of
humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world's
information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it." I
couldn't agree more.
Cablegate
Then, on 18
February 2010, the first of 251,287 classified diplomatic cables were
published, sparking a global debate on access to information and transparency
of government documents.
The U.S.
government responded by taking away Wikileaks' domain and by banning companies
from transferring donations to the whistleblowers. Furthermore, the detention
of Bradley Manning - the young soldier who stands accused of releasing the
classified information - caused human rights concerns from people across the
world. #Cablegate and its fallout have put the US in a less credible position
to lead on transparency and internet freedom.
Extrajudicial
measures
And there
are more worrying developments that seriously threaten precisely that open
internet that Secretary Clinton wishes to see. Two American legislative
proposals are currently under consideration in Congress. These acts (SOPA and
PIPA) focus on enforcing intellectual property rights through the blocking of
websites based on US court orders.
Elements of
the proposals would target the heart of the internet's global infrastructure.
Such extraterritorial and extrajudicial measures affect people all over the
world. Basically, European internet service providers would become subjected to
US court orders or law enforcement. This undermines European laws and
challenges the primary responsibilities and duties of European governments.
An open
internet and the free flow of information are essential if we want the internet
to be a true driver of economic growth and to improve fundamental rights and
freedoms. Besides impact on our own societies, any blocking, censoring or
filtering of the internet in the US or the EU makes us less credible when we
speak to countries like Iran, Syria or China and undermines our efforts to lead
in global internet freedom.
Europe
urgently needs to work out its own internet freedom strategy and should seek
global leadership.
Life and
death
At the same
time, there is the issue of dictatorial regimes who seem ever more ambitious in
their use of technology. The technologies that can help people in fostering
freedom of expression, access to information, or the sharing of documented
human rights abuses are also effective as weapons.
In the
hands of dictatorial regimes or their secret services, using email, Facebook or
a cell phone can become a matter of life and death.
The Ben Ali
regime was very skilled in tracking and tracing people's locations,
communications and information flows, and the regime of President al-Assad in
Syria actually performed a cyber attack on citizens before the protests began
in the streets.
Digital
arms trade
Western
companies play an essential role by providing the technologies that are used
for repression. Most of this trade happens below the radar. This digital arms
trade must stop. If Europe and the US want to lead on internet freedom, they
urgently need to regain credibility by holding companies accountable.
Some steps
in the right direction have been taken. Last week my proposal was adopted to
establish a European Internet Freedom Fund. The fund will help to train and
educate online journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders to circumvent
censorship and evade cyber attacks (by their own governments).
I also
pushed for an unconditional ban on the export of dangerous ICTs to repressive
regimes. Last week the EU announced just such an export ban regarding Syria. We
have a lot more to do.
Side with
the people
No doubt
there will be good speeches and interesting discussions at the Freedom Online
conference in The Hague. But Foreign Ministers Clinton and Rosenthal need to
practice what they preach. This means addressing companies, stopping digital
arms trade, and taking responsibility.
The
transitions in North Africa and the Middle East have proven that we need to
stand with the populations, not with their suppressors. Let EU- and US-based
technology companies choose to side with the people as well.
Freedom Online
- On 8 and 9 December 2011 the city of The Hague hosts the Freedom Online conference. Governments will be reminded of their responsibility for a free exchange of views via the internet. One of the speakers is US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
- Both Clinton and the Netherlands should not just lecture others, but practice what they preach, according to MEP Marietje Schaake.
- In Brussels, Ms Schaake champions the case of press and internet freedom.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of Radio Netherlands Worldwide
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