G-8 Leaders to Call for Tighter Internet Regulation
Posted in: Governance at 25/05/2011 18:56
Leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized countries are set to issue a provocative call for stronger Internet regulation, a cause championed by the host of the meeting, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, but fiercely opposed by some Internet companies and free-speech groups.
The G-8 leaders will urge the adoption of measures to protect children from online predators, to strengthen privacy rights and to crack down on digital copyright piracy, according to two people who have seen drafts of a communiqué the G-8 will issue at the end of a meeting this week in Deauville, France. At the same time, the document is expected to include a pledge to maintain openness and to support entrepreneurial, rather than government-led, development of the Internet.
To read this New York Times report in full, see:
www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/technology/25tech.html
Also see:
Sarkozy Seeks Global Net Rules
French President Nicolas Sarkozy Tuesday called for tighter regulation of the Internet, as policy makers and the private sector clashed over the role of governance online at the e-G8 summit in Paris.
In his opening speech of the two-day gathering of major Internet representatives, the French president called for the Web's major players to be responsible and help governments create global governance for issues ranging from copyright to privacy.
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576343023926886188.html
France attempts to "civilize" the Internet; Internet fights back
For some time, French Pres. Nicolas Sarkozy has talked about his dream of a "civilized" Internet, but this dream has long been a nightmare for those who worry that "civilization" is really a code for "regulations favorable to big business and the national security state." To make his vision a reality, Sarkozy helped to create this week's e-G8 meeting currently underway in the Tuileries Gardens next door to the Louvre -- and the critics are fuming.
"I was invited to the e-G8 and declined," said author and activist Cory Doctorow recently. "I believe it's a whitewash, an attempt to get people who care about the Internet to lend credibility to regimes that are in all-out war with the free, open 'Net. On the other hand, I now have a dandy handwriting sample from Sarkozy should I ever need to establish a graphological baseline for narcissistic sociopathy."
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/05/france-attempts-to-civilize-the-internet-internet-fights-back.ars
David Cameron to resist French plan for internet regulation
David Cameron is to resist calls for international regulation of the web by Nicolas Sarkozy at the G8 summit. The French president will table proposals for controls on the internet on the first day of the conference of world leaders in Deauville, Normandy.
Cameron's officials stressed they believed there were many hurdles and mechanisms before anyone could regulate the net internationally. "We will not be regulating the internet any time soon," said a Downing Street official.
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/may/24/david-cameron-resist-internet-regulation
Activists Fear Sarkozy's Efforts to Tame Web
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is holding a summit in Paris this week with some of the world's most powerful online luminaries. Netizens worry that Sarkozy's motives might be suspect -- and that he could leave a legislative mess like the one in Germany.
Nicolas Sarkozy is all too familiar with the pitfalls of the Internet. It wasn't long ago that the French president became the victim of an online attack himself, when unknown hackers hijacked his Facebook account and, in his name, circulated the false report that he would not be running for another term in office.
www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,764305,00.html
French President Calls for More Regulated 'Net
Nicolas Sarkozy, President of FranceFrench president Nicolas Sarkozy told attendees of the first-ever e-G8 forum in Paris Tuesday that the Internet needs more regulation. All but saying the "anything goes" character of the Internet as its today is unsustainable, he called for governments to regulate the virtual world much like they do the real one.
"The world you represent is not a parallel universe where legal and moral rules and more generally all the basic rules that govern society in democratic countries do not apply," the BBC quoted Sarkozy as saying at the event.
www.pcworld.com/article/228576/.html
Rupert Murdoch uses eG8 to talk up net's power to transform education
Rupert Murdoch, the News Corporation founder and chairman, used his address to the eG8 Forum in Paris on Tuesday to call for more investment in education and "unlocking the potential" of the world's children.
Murdoch said it was not a question of putting a computer in every school, but concentrating on opening up opportunities for youngsters to flourish by using targeted and tailored software.
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/24/murdoch-eg8-invest-education-technology
