The Open Internet is an ongoing project that was founded in the interest of upholding the prosperity, innovation and fundamental rights and liberties that are provided by a free and open Internet.
The Open Internet is an ongoing project organized by a group of active citizens that in the true spirit of the Internet aims to facilitate the progressive and open participation of civil society members in the name of Internet freedom.
The Open Internet was initially developed as an open platform by...
Individuals, government officials, concerned citizens, and civil society organizations are invited to express their support of the Principles in Defense of the internet by sending an email to info@open-internet.org, therefore giving consent have their signature included on The Open Internet site.
All expressions of support for the Principles in Defense of the Internet found here are given in their personal capacity, independent of political or other interests.
The Fundamental Freedoms of Internet users are currently under threat. This coming December the ITU, the UN agency responsible for Telecommunications, will convene in Dubai. The meeting is, however, not like any other. It is being heralded as an opportunity to radically transform the Internet.
As a consequence of some of the proposals presented by the 193 member nations of the ITU, the organisation itself could become the ruling power of the Internet. All decisions that concern technical development, agreements and rules, would then go through the United Nations. This would end the present bottom-up model of open, transparent and participatory governance entrusted to multiple actors - governments, supranational institutions, non-governmental organisations, and large and small private operators all of whom have been equally involved in the development and growth of the Internet.
The success of the present governance model cannot only be seen in the phenomenal numbers of users, market figures, or the earnings of its operators. It is also responsible through the decision-making, participation and transparency for the empowerment of people like never before, through the creation of a global open society that champions participatory democracy.
In contrast, some support the centralisation of Web governance, where the decisions that affect our freedom, innovation and economic growth would be taken within a forum of national governments on the basis of "one state, one vote." Such a system is unacceptable to those who wish the dynamic development of the Internet and its positive effect on global society to continue. Many ITU member states have records that demonstrate their disregard for fundamental freedoms and rights. It is one thing to establish international principles and rights to protect network users and quite another to give states and the economic operators, who manage the communication networks, the power to regulate traffic, access and availability of content. We cannot underestimate the threat that these proposals pose to the Internet as an essential tool of a global democratic civil society.
For this reason, we believe the time has come to assert the following principles to protect the freedom of the grassroots Internet and its users. To oppose the efforts of those who wish to shackle the Internet by centralised inter-governmental regulation from above:
We hope that the representatives of all the Governments represented at the ITU will affirm these fundamental principles and support the position of the countries currently opposing the extension of the ITRs to include Internet governance.
The ITU, in considering the International telecommunications Regulations could ensure that people all over the world have access to telecommunications services that are competitive, efficient and effective. They could make explicit reference and enshrine the guiding principles that have transformed the telecommunications industry over the past two decades: liberalisation with competition overseen by independent regulators and market-based agreements for services. That would ensure the continued development of the sector for the economic and social benefit of the majority of global citizens rather than the few.
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