<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"><base href="x-msg://23/"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">Good afternoon:</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">The notice of the North American INET on 24 July about surveillance raises some issues which we should not let pass. </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">This matter cannot be dealt with appropriately in a local context, even in the US.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">This notice gives the strong impression that the American participants believe this to be essentially a local US issue, which is obviously not the case.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">On the contrary, the global dimension of the surveillance that has been revealed is indeed the major source of the distrust, indeed outrage, that has recently arisen.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">Secondly, the notice gives a clear indication that ISOC in the US is already distancing itself from, by comparison the quite forthright position set out in the ISOC communiqué of 12 June, which by the way, has now been endorsed by ISOC-Brasil:</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><a href="http://www.internetsociety.org/news/internet-society-statement-importance-open-global-dialogue-regarding-online-privacy">http://www.internetsociety.org/news/internet-society-statement-importance-open-global-dialogue-regarding-online-privacy</a></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">Let me explain briefly some of the areas of serious disquiet:</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; ">-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>instead of a clear reference to US-organised surveillance, we now have "<span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Helvetica; ">government surveillance programs around the world"</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In Europe we call that 'drowning the fish' or 'noyer le poisson'.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; ">-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>the notice then proceeds to ask the meeting whether "… users have to be willing to compromise?"</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Well, no! The surveillance that has been described infringes on the rights of large numbers of individuals, many of whom are not in the United States.</div><p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; min-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; ">-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The worst part of the ISOC notice for the Washington DC meeting is when they ask the participants:</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>"whether the the vision of an open, innovative Internet can persist in an environment of online surveillance and data collection".</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Well, it was my understanding in any case, that the open Internet is much more than a 'vision', rather a vibrant fact of life to be protected. </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Furthermore, many people reading this might think that what ISOC is actually saying that this surveillance environment is a given, and that Internet users might as well put up with it.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>(That is not what the 12 June communiqué was saying. Thankyou, ISOC-Brasil.)</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; min-height: 18px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; ">Clearly, this will not do. I really think that the ISOC staff in the US need to have a rapid re-think about this and - at the very least - bring the 24 July INET announcement into line with the 12 June Communiqué. I also think that the composition of the Panel should be urgently enlarged, or the event deferred, until more balanced and representative participation can be ensured.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; ">What our friends in DC need to understand, is that this issue is as much a concern for the Internet Society outside the US, if not more so.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; ">Regards</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; ">Christopher Wilkinson.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 15px; "><br></div><div><div>On 15 Jul 2013, at 20:44, Wende Cover <<a href="mailto:cover@isoc.org">cover@isoc.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br></body></html>