Brussels – Since the Internet is such a critical platform for economic opportunity and social development, the EU should be a strong advocate for Internet governance that does not involve new governmental controls at the upcoming ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan in October. Industry groups including the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) issued a statement today to encourage EU leaders to use their informal Committee meeting October 2-3 to agree on a joint policy position based on recommendations by all relevant stakeholders.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President James Waterworth, who runs the CCIA Europe office:
“The Internet has become an important platform enabling commerce, social development and freedom of expression. EU leaders must continue to lend their support to efforts that contribute to the development of the information society that benefits all across the world. This means opposing proposals that restrict human rights in the digital age and fighting any proposals for new international government control or state-controlled Internets that lead Internet governance away from the current multi-stakeholder model.
“To facilitate these measures and goals from the EU’s IGF 2014 Statement, the EU should fight to ensure the participation of all stakeholders in ITU conferences and in future UN information society discussions. The EU should also reject any proposal to extend the ITU’s scope to areas like routing Internet traffic or regulating Internet content. The Internet, and the benefits it brings, are too critical to risk turning over control to governments that all too willingly could manipulate this vital platform for their own political or economic gains.”