[Chapter-delegates] Privacy and the civil society Madrid Declaration

[Carlos Vera Quintana]

Can we have an official position of ISOC to publish and share with our 
members?

Carlos Vera
ISOC ECuador

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Frederic Donck" <donck at isoc.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 3:23 AM
To: "Delegates Chapter" <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
Subject: [Chapter-delegates] Privacy and the civil society Madrid 
Declaration

> Dear Chapter delegates and individual ISOC members,
>
> Recently there has been growing interest amongst our membership in
> the areas of data protection and privacy. This is also an area of
> great interest to ISOC. We are very pleased to see our Chapters and
> individual members taking such an active interest in these issues.
>
> Recently, The Public Voice (www.thepublicvoice.org) has asked
> individuals and organisations to support its Global Privacy
> Standards for a Global World The Civil Society Declaration Madrid,
> Spain 3 November 2009. This document can be viewed at
> http://thepublicvoice.org/madrid-declaration.
>
> As we understand it, The Public Voice proposes to formally release
> this document at a Civil Society organised conference on 3 November
> 2009 entitled
> "Global Privacy Standards for a Global World" prior to the 30th
> International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy
> Commissioners in Madrid.
>
> Some ISOC members and Chapters have publicly expressed their support
> for the declaration.
>
> We would like to take this opportunity to outline the procedure
> Chapters must follow when taking public positions and/or making
> public statements.
>
> Specific officials of Chapters, acting on behalf of their Chapter,
> may make public statements and establish public positions as long as
> they meet the following requirements:
>
> 1. They must advance the purposes of the Internet Society, which
> includes advancing the purposes of a Chapter in good standing.
> 2. They must not be contrary to any position of the Internet
> Society.
> 3. They must be prepared and presented in a professional manner.
> 4. They must be clearly and unambiguously identified as originating
> from the Chapter of the Internet Society.
> 5. It should be unlikely they will give rise to any significant
> legal or juridical liability.
>
> Where there is any question or doubt regarding the appropriateness
> of a public position or statement, a Chapter is expected to consult
> with ISOC at least one week prior to its release or announcement.
> Chapters must also notify the ISOC no later than the same day of the
> release of any public position or statement.
>
> ISOC Finland Chapter has asked us to advise whether ISOC will be
> supporting the Civil Society Madrid Declaration.
>
> ISOC does not propose to express its support for the Civil Society
> Madrid Declaration because we have some concerns about the way the
> declaration is expressed.
>
> We also consider that it would not be appropriate for ISOC to
> support a document which might be viewed as seeking to remind
> governments to apply their own laws and asserting without evidence
> that there "is growing collaboration between governments and vendors
> of surveillance technology that establish new forms of social
> control".
>
> Further, the document does not identify the privacy laws and privacy
> institutions which are asserted to have failed to take into account
> the described factors. Without knowing what these are and how they
> are said to have failed to take them into account, we cannot assess
> whether or not this statement is correct.
>
> It is also unclear what are the "new strategies to pursue copyright
> and unlawful content investigations" which are said to pose
> "substantial threats to communications privacy, intellectual
> freedom, and the due process of law". Without knowing what those
> strategies are, we cannot comment on whether or not they pose
> substantial threats to privacy.
>
> Further, whilst devices or applications that observe and/or record
> personal information may raise potential privacy issues, we do not
> agree that the response should be to impose a moratorium on the
> development or implementation of new technologies such as RFID etc.
>
> Accordingly, we ask that you do not express support for this
> Declaration as an ISOC member or Chapter.
>
> You may, of course, support the Declaration in your personal
> capacity.
>
> Thank you very much,
>
> Best Regards
> Frederic
>
> Frederic Donck
> Director Public Policy
> Internet Society
>
> www.isoc.org
>
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>