In an accomplishment to assure and advanced the animal rights of abandon of announcement and privacy, a assorted affiliation of arch advice and communications companies, above animal rights organizations, academics, investors and technology leaders today launched the Global Network Initiative.
(Vocus/PRWEB ) October 28, 2008 -- In an accomplishment to assure and advanced the animal rights of abandon of announcement and privacy, a assorted affiliation of arch advice and communications companies, above animal rights organizations, academics, investors and technology leaders today launched the Global Network Initiative.
From the Americas to Europe to the Middle East to Africa and Asia, companies in the advice and communications industries face accretion government burden to accede with calm laws and behavior that crave censorship and acknowledgment of claimed advice in means that battle with internationally accustomed animal rights laws and standards.
Google has a able almanac of announcement abandon of announcement and attention its users' rights. We accept abutting this action because we apperceive that a advanced ambit of groups alive calm can accomplish abundant added than the aggregation acting alone. The attempt we're announcement today are universal, and our next footfall have to be to accompany on axle added companies and NGOs from about the world. This action is an important befalling to ensure account for animal rights in the ICT industry. The harder plan is still ahead, but this is an important footfall forward. KLD recognizes that abandon of announcement and the appropriate to aloofness are capital to noncombatant society. The socially amenable investment association believes that corporations play a basic role in comestible these amount freedoms. By defining and announcement common standards for Internet and telecommunications companies, the Global Network Initiative can advice assure animal rights in the agenda age. This accomplishment already afresh reflects the different alertness of the high-tech area - corporations, non-profits, academics - to plan collaboratively to advanced the rights and freedoms of online users about the world. This Initiative, while nascent, sets the background for a aggregate bottom-up action and mechanisms for advancing and attention animal rights in agenda media. As the apple added obtains its account and advice from a columnist that is authoritative a progressively beyond - or even absolute - use of the Internet, old problems have to be attacked in new ways. Longstanding censorship issues such as laws arty bent penalties for declared aspersion or even accurate statements that The Initiative is founded aloft new Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy -- accurate by specific accomplishing commitments and a framework for accountability and acquirements -- that accommodate a analytical access for companies, NGOs, investors, academics and others to plan calm in afraid efforts by governments that seek to admit companies in acts of censorship and surveillance that breach all-embracing standards.
The Initiative is accepting launched in the 60th Anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is founded aloft the internationally accustomed animal rights for abandon of announcement and aloofness set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Principles and accompanying Implementation Guidelines crave cogent new commitments from accommodating companies, including: establishing greater accuracy with users; assessing animal rights risk; requesting the acknowledged account for government accomplishments and policies; training employees; arduous animal rights violations; and accouterment whistle-blowing mechanisms through which violations of the Principles can be reported.
The participants admit that amenable aggregation accomplishments abandoned cannot agreement that animal rights are not violated. Instead, governments accept the ultimate albatross to ensure that animal rights are respected, protected, answer and fulfilled. That is why the Initiative establishes cogent new commitments for company, NGO, broker and bookish participants to coact with anniversary added to advance the aphorism of law and the acceptance of laws, behavior and practices that assure and account abandon of announcement and privacy.
Protecting abandon of announcement and aloofness in a altitude of rapidly alteration technologies, articles and casework is a circuitous and consistently evolving task, so accord a allotment of participants to antechamber governments, chat with stakeholders in bounded markets and allotment acquirements from their adventures will be analytical to the success of the Initiative.
The participants aswell appear the accumulation of an alignment to advance and abutment the abiding success of the Initiative. A multi-stakeholder babyminding anatomy for the Initiative is accepting accustomed to abutment collective efforts by all participants and ensure the accountability of the accommodating companies.
The success of the Initiative in establishing a common accepted requires a all-around angle that is broadly based in the advice and communications industry. Therefore, a key antecedence of the Initiative is actively recruiting new associates - from business, academia, investors, and noncombatant association - with a bright charge to the advance of abandon of announcement and privacy.
The Initiative is the aftereffect of a multi-stakeholder action that began in 2006 and was formalized in aboriginal 2007. The accumulation has carefully advised issues and cases apropos to abandon of announcement and aloofness about the world, as able-bodied as accordant all-embracing laws and standards and a amount of all-around multi-stakeholder processes in added industries.
Quotes
Colin Maclay, Acting Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, said:
"The amount of states actively gluttonous to abridge online agreeable and acceptance claimed advice is growing, and the agency active - technical, social, legal, political - are added sophisticated, generally agreement internet and telecommunications companies in difficult positions. In a bearings characterized by rapidly evolving technologies, models and products, with added users - and government absorption - than ever, a able cipher of conduct for companies embodies the a lot of able access to dilemmas that neither civic law nor all-embracing adjustment can bigger boldness at this time."
Dawn Wolfe, Research Analyst, Boston Common Asset Management, said:
"As an breath investor, Boston Common Asset Management expects its portfolio companies to be acknowledging to the countless of risks adverse their all-around operations. Information and Communication Technology companies currently face evolving challenges to their adeptness to bear articles and services, which depend on the aegis of claimed aloofness and chargeless announcement rights in adjustment to thrive. Boston Common angle the accomplishing of these Principles as a able indicator that administration is demography aboveboard action to abate risks to these animal rights and, ultimately, to the companies' adeptness to bear above articles to its customers."
Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President, Social Research and Policy, Calvert Group, said:
"Internet account providers and added ICTs face austere risks accompanying to animal rights about the world. This action has the actual abeyant to become the all-around accepted that guides companies in acclamation these risks and affair their responsibilities not alone to their shareholders, but aswell to the hundreds of millions of users who are aswell their stakeholders about the world. Balancing account for abandon of announcement and the appropriate to aloofness with government behavior and practices is not easy, but these attempt accord companies a reasonable base to adviser their actions."
Leslie Harris, President and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, said:
"The Initiative launched today sets out an ethical and accountable framework to advice companies acknowledge to the growing challenges to aloofness and abandon of announcement in today's agenda world. It is the aftereffect of an amazing two-year accord a allotment of a assorted set of companies, animal rights groups, investors, academics and added stakeholders. Together, we aim to sow the seeds of a all-around accepted that will be adopted by companies and answer by advocates of agenda rights worldwide. We aswell aim to actualize a able appointment for connected collaboration, aggregate acquirements and collective action on agenda freedom."
Robert Mahoney, Deputy Director, Committee to Protect Journalists, said:
"The Internet and adaptable communications accept accustomed journalists a able new voice. But Big-Brother governments are added axis such liberating technologies into accoutrement of ascendancy and repression. Censorship, Internet clarification and wire-tapping are rampant. If they abort to asphyxiate absolute voices, there's consistently jail. One in three journalists confined today formed online. This action is a aboriginal step, but a battleground aboriginal step, against putting the basal animal rights of abandon of announcement and aloofness foreground and centermost in the action amid the accessible and the gatekeepers of advice and information. We achievement that abounding added companies and groups will accompany us, decidedly those from countries area journalists are sacrificing activity or alternative just for accomplishing their job."
Adam M. Kanzer, Managing Director & General Counsel at Domini Social Investments LLC, said:
"This action represents a austere accomplishment to battle with some of the a lot of difficult challenges adverse Internet and telecommunication area companies about the world. These technologies are allowance to body all-around communities, advanced ability and accord to all-around broad-based abundance creation. Their abiding success is carefully affiliated to the axiological animal rights of the users of their articles and services. This action strives to highlight that connection, and accommodate practical, allusive attempt for companies that face government requests that breach all-embracing animal rights norms. It is ashore in all-embracing animal rights law, applied experience, and a charge to accuracy and accountability. We accept not apparent every problem, but we accept complete a able foundation of assurance and acceding to body upon."
Karina Litvack, Head of Governance & Sustainable Investment, F&C Investments, said:
"Information and Communication Technology companies face accretion analysis of how they administer animal rights-related risks in arduous altitude that are generally not of their own making. The Principles appear at the appropriate time and accommodate a admired anatomy of best convenance to advice companies abode these concerns. We animate all telecommunication and internet companies to assurance up to the Initiative and use the Principles and acknowledging accoutrement as allotment of their centralized controls for managing these business risks."
Andrew McLaughlin, Google Director of Global Public Policy, said:
"Google has a able almanac of announcement abandon of announcement and attention its users' rights. We accept abutting this action because we apperceive that a advanced ambit of groups alive calm can accomplish abundant added than the aggregation acting alone. The attempt we're announcement today are universal, and our next footfall have to be to accompany on axle added companies and NGOs from about the world."
Mike Posner, President, Human Rights First, said:
"In today's world, it is burning for Internet providers and added communications companies to claiming government censorship and advance into claimed privacy. These practices generally advance to adverse after-effects for foreground band animal rights activists. Through this initiative, we crop a acute aboriginal footfall in advancing chargeless announcement and privacy, at a time if government arrest with these basal animal rights is on the rise.
"As we move to apparatus this initiative, we will adjudicator our success by whether we can advance a aboveboard arrangement for reviewing and evaluating alone aggregation acquiescence with these standards. The accessible have to accept aplomb that accommodating companies are demography the all-important measures to claiming baseless government interference. Technology have to no best be acclimated to bruise basal animal rights."
Arvind Ganesan, Director, Business and Human Rights Program, Human Rights Watch, said:
"This action is an important befalling to ensure account for animal rights in the ICT industry. The harder plan is still ahead, but this is an important footfall forward."
Meggin Thwing Eastman, Senior Research Analyst for Technology and Communications, KLD Research & Analytics, said:
"KLD recognizes that abandon of announcement and the appropriate to aloofness are capital to noncombatant society. The socially amenable investment association believes that corporations play a basic role in comestible these amount freedoms. By defining and announcement common standards for Internet and telecommunications companies, the Global Network Initiative can advice assure animal rights in the agenda age."
Pamela Passman, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Microsoft's Global Corporate Affairs, said:
"Microsoft's amount mission is to advice accredit abounding added of the world's citizens and societies to apprehend their abounding potential. A key aspect of this mission is to advice accredit the capabilities today's all-around networks and technology provide, such as acceptance to reliable information, opportunities for self-expression, assurance with accessible issues, and the adeptness to affix above borders. Microsoft is admiring to abutment this Initiative to advice advanced basal protections for abandon of announcement and aloofness and to added our charge to amenable leadership."
Jonas Kron, Senior Social Research Analyst at Trillium Asset Management Corp., said:
"Trillium Asset Management Corp. is guided by a acceptance that breath advance can action acceptable allotment to the investor, while aswell announcement amusing and bread-and-butter justice. The Internet provides individuals a able car for announcement - political, social, bread-and-butter and cultural. Unfortunately, it can aswell be acclimated to breach the animal rights we authority dear. Therefore, we are acutely acquainted that these gatekeepers of the Internet have to abode aloofness and abandon of announcement apropos in a proactive and accountable address which protects our harder won rights. We accept these three abstracts represent a advantageous aboriginal footfall in affair these responsibilities."
Deirdre K. Mulligan, Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley School of Information, said:
"This accomplishment already afresh reflects the different alertness of the high-tech area - corporations, non-profits, academics - to plan collaboratively to advanced the rights and freedoms of online users about the world. This Initiative, while nascent, sets the background for a aggregate bottom-up action and mechanisms for advancing and attention animal rights in agenda media."
Mark Bench, Executive Director of the World Press Freedom Committee, said:
"As the apple added obtains its account and advice from a columnist that is authoritative a progressively beyond - or even absolute - use of the Internet, old problems have to be attacked in new ways. Longstanding censorship issues such as laws arty bent penalties for declared aspersion or even accurate statements that "insult" a arch of accompaniment (or added government officials) become even added damaging if the endure breastwork for the wrongfully persecuted, attention oneself beneath the blind of anonymity that the Internet may provide, cannot be absolutely utilized. These attempt abetment the columnist and any added citizens who seek to acquaint and access others by ensuring a able affiliated foreground adjoin the government animality and censorship that is generally accomplished adjoin the abandoned dissenter."
Jerry Yang, Co-Founder and CEO, Yahoo! said:
"Yahoo! was founded on the acceptance that announcement acceptance to advice can adorn people's lives, and the attempt we bare today reflect our assurance that our accomplishments bout our ethics about the world. These attempt accommodate a admired roadmap for companies like Yahoo! operating in markets area abandon of announcement and aloofness are unfairly restricted. Through the aggregate efforts of industry, advocates, and government, we will abide to see technology and the Internet as a way to advance people's lives."
More Information
The Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy and accompanying abstracts can be begin at www.globalnetworkinitiative.org.
Press Contacts
Berkman Center for Internet and Society
Lexie Koss
+1 617 384 9100
lkoss @ cyber.law.harvard.edu
Calvert Group
Melinda Lovins
+1 301 657 7089
melinda.lovins @ calvert.com
Center for Democracy & Technology
Brock Meeks
+1 202 637 9800 x114
brock @ cdt.org
Committee to Protect Journalists
Meredith Greene-Megaw
+1 212 465 1004 x105
mgmegaw @ cpj.org
Domini Social Investments LLC
Geoff Wisner
+1 212 217 1063
gwisner @ domini.com
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Rebecca Jeschke
+1 415 436 9333 x125
press @ eff.org
F&C Investments
Paula Garrido
+44 (0)20 7 011 4190
paula.garrido @ fandc.com
Google
Bob Boorstin
+1 202 346 1221
rboorstin @ google.com
Human Rights First
Matt Dorf
Rabinowitz-Dorf Communications
+1 202 265 3000
matt @ rabinowitz-dorf.com
Human Rights in China
Mi Ling Tsui
+1 212 239 4495
miling.tsui @ hrichina.org
Human Rights Watch
Arvind Ganesan
+1 202 255 8305
ganesaa @ hrw.org
Internews
Annette Makino
+1 202 822 2093
aymakino @ internews.org
KLD Research & Analytics
Amy Blumenthal/Karen Myers
Blumenthal & Associates
+1 617 879 1511
Microsoft
Waggener Edstrom
+1 503 443 7070
rrt @ waggeneredstrom.com
Rebecca MacKinnon
Journalism and Media Studies Centre
University of Hong Kong
Office: +852 2219 4005
Mobile: +852 6334 8843
rmack @ hku.hk
Note: Rebecca MacKinnon is in the Hong Kong time area and can do interviews in Mandarin.
Trillium Asset Management Corp.
Jonas Kron
+1 971 222 3366
jkron @ trilliuminvest.com
World Press Freedom Committee
Mark Bench
+1 703 715 9811
embench @ aol.com
Yahoo!
Tracy Schmaler
+1 202 777 1053 or +1 202 631 9463
schmaler @ yahoo-inc.com
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