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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Internet Society Welcomes
Decision by the 18th Human Rights Council for the Creation of a Multi-Stakeholder
Panel on Freedom of Expression on the Internet<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 color=black
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:black'>[<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">GENEVA</st1:City><font
color=black><span style='color:windowtext'>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">SWITZERL<font
color=black><span style='color:black'>AND</span></font></st1:country-region></span></font></st1:place>,
03 October 2011</span></font><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>] -- The Internet Society
welcomes the decision of the 18th Human Rights Council (12-30 September 2011, <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Geneva</st1:City></st1:place>) to accept the
proposal made by the Swedish Government for the creation of an Expert Panel on
Freedom of Expression on the Internet to convene at the 19th Session of the
Human Rights Council in March 2012. We applaud the decision to ensure
multi-stakeholder participation in the discussions that will focus on the ways
and means to improve protection and promotion of freedom of speech in line with
international human rights law.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Markus Kummer, Vice
President of Public Policy for the Internet Society, made the following
comments:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>"We welcome this decision.
It reflects the substantial role that the Internet plays in enabling the
realization of a wide range of human rights, such as freedom of expression and
opinion, as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. This decision is very timely. Increased attempts by Governments around
the world to control their citizen's access and use of the global network, and
often with disregard to the basic principles of human rights and due process,
make it urgent to address these issues."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>This development follows on
the release of a report on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (<a
href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/17session/A.HRC.17.27_en.pdf">http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/17session/A.HRC.17.27_en.pdf</a>)
at the 17th Session of the Human Rights Council, as well as the subsequent
cross-regional statement by 40 Governments (<a
href="http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/14186/a/170565">http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/14186/a/170565</a>),
recognizing that the same fundamental rights that individuals enjoy offline are
also applicable to the online world. We also recognize this multi-stakeholder
initiative as a positive contribution to the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) implementation process (Action Line C10 "Ethical Dimensions
of the Information Society").<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>The open, decentralized, and
global nature of the Internet has set the foundation for an unprecedented
growth for the potential of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly
throughout the world. The "Arab Spring" has demonstrated that the
Internet can be an instrumental tool to sustain people's aspirations for
freedom and social development.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>However, the same technology
that benefits billions of people throughout the world has raised significant
challenges for governments and Internet users. Among them, we observe that some
governments control their citizen's access and use of the global network in
order to meet economic, security, or political objectives in an evolving policy
landscape. For example, DNS blocking and filtering is one of the solutions used
by some governments to block access to web sites which have been identified to
distribute illicit content. Other measures used include surveillance technology
or suspension of Internet access. We caution against resorting to technological
shortcuts to achieve public policy objectives. Beyond raising concerns
with regard to respect of due process, freedom of expression, and other human
rights, such actions can threaten the good functioning of the global Internet
as a single, unified, and global communications network.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>The Internet Society looks
forward to seeing the UN Council of Human Rights focusing on the protection and
promotion of people's fundamental rights in the online world, and will gladly
provide its expertise in this domain.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><font size=2
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
font-weight:bold'>About the Internet Society <font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>The Internet Society is the
world's trusted independent source of leadership for Internet policy,
technology standards, and future development. Based on its principled vision
and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society works with its
members and Chapters around the world to promote the continued evolution and
growth of the open Internet through dialog among companies, governments, and
other organizations around the world. For more information, see: <a
href="http://www.internetsociety.org/">http://www.internetsociety.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Media Contact: Wende Cover,
cover@isoc.org, +1-703-439-2773<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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