[Chapter-delegates] NEWS RELEASE: Internet Society Urges President Obama to Effect ‘Immediate and Meaningful’ Changes to U.S. Government Surveillance Practices

[Winthrop Yu]

On 1/16/2014 11:48 PM, Elver Loho wrote:
> Could you, in the future, also add a link to the same press release on
> a website somewhere, so it would be easier to share via social media?

   +1



> On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 1:38 AM, Wende Cover <cover at isoc.org> wrote:
>> Internet Society Urges President Obama to Effect ‘Immediate and Meaningful’
>> Changes to U.S. Government Surveillance Practices
>>
>>
>>
>> Warns that Internet fragmentation is ‘very real risk’
>>
>>
>>
>> [Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland] – U.S. President Obama is
>> expected to make a speech on 17 January 2014 regarding the recommendations
>> in the report from the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and
>> Communications Technologies: Liberty and Security in a Changing World. The
>> world will be watching for substantive action from the President to effect
>> immediate and meaningful changes to U.S. government surveillance practices
>> that have shaken the confidence and trust of Internet users worldwide. The
>> President has a unique opportunity to open a global dialogue to find ways to
>> protect, as the Advisory Board's report puts it, two different forms of
>> security: national security and personal privacy.
>>
>>
>>
>> "We appreciate the tone of the report and the willingness of the U.S.
>> Government to seriously examine all aspects of this issue," said Bob Hinden,
>> Chair of the Internet Society Board of Trustees. “However, we have serious
>> reservations that the report and the President’s response to it will address
>> the damage already done to the global Internet.  The pervasive surveillance
>> revelations we have all heard about have seriously damaged trust in the
>> Internet ranging from the services and applications, equipment vendors,
>> Internet service providers, technical standards, and the Internet governance
>> mechanisms.”
>>
>>
>>
>> The Internet Society continues to urge all stakeholders, including
>> governmental actors around the world, to consider the effects of local
>> solutions in what has become a global system. Fragmentation of the Internet
>> is a very real risk.  Actions have consequences and we are already seeing
>> breaks in the chain of trust that underpins the global Internet.
>>
>>
>>
>> The damage to the Internet has been deep and, thus, the response must
>> urgently and forthrightly address the consequences, including:
>>
>>
>>
>> • Trust in international privacy and data protection frameworks has been
>> called into question, and this directly threatens the trans-border economic
>> and social power of the Internet. Examples of such frameworks are the Safe
>> Harbor provisions, and agreements on the safe exchange of airline passenger,
>> financial transaction, and law enforcement data.
>>
>> • Proponents of the open multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance such
>> as the U.S. are now reasonably open to criticism for having subverted the
>> current global model, for single-country self-interest. This poses a real
>> threat to Internet governance, as it gives ammunition to those who are
>> inclined to challenge that model.
>>
>> • The disclosures reveal an attack on the Internet at a core technical
>> level, with security-related standards, products, and services being
>> contaminated in the course of reaching the market. The serious nature of
>> this attack cannot be overstated.
>>
>>
>>
>> The Internet Society's view is that the open, inclusive standardization and
>> governance approach remains the model least susceptible to abuse. As we
>> await the President's response, we assert that all stakeholders need to
>> contribute to the development and implementation of
>> internationally-recognized data ethics practices.
>>
>>
>>
>> Kathy Brown, President and CEO of the Internet Society, commented, "The
>> chain of trust has been broken and the decisions we all make in response
>> will be critical to the Internet’s continued development. The Internet
>> Society is committed to continuing its leadership across the Internet
>> community to ensure the Internet is a trusted, global, and open platform for
>> all participants.”
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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> _______________________________________________
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> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>