17 Jul, 2008: IP Rights In Standards Impede Competition, Disadvantage Developing Countries (IP-Watch)
"Standards and intellectual property rights appear to be worlds apart and to respond to opposite purposes, according to a recent panel of legal and policy experts. While standards are established to ensure compatibility in technology to the advantage of all users at national, regional or international levels, intellectual property rights are meant to provide an exclusive use, reward innovation, and ...

6 Jul, 2008: Public’ online spaces don’t carry speech, rights (Associated Press)
First Amendment protections generally do not extend to private property in the physical world, allowing a shopping mall to legally kick out a customer wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a smoking child. With online services becoming greater conduits than shopping malls for public communications, however, some advocacy groups believe the federal government needs to guarantee open access ...

6 Jul, 2008: ICAAN – Preventing Hatred v. Censorship of TLD Applications (Digital Journal)
With all the excitement over expansion of IP addresses to be expanded from 4-string to 6-string format, little has been reported on the current and proposed regulations to restrict new domain registration. Watchdogs are deeply concerned over censorship. ....

1 Jul, 2008: Work Remains For ICANN’s New Top Level Internet Domains (IP-Watch)
Internet Technical Body an Authority on Morality? ICANN announced the "biggest extension of the DNS [domain name system] in 40 years" after its decision last week to finish implementation of a new policy for introducing new top-level domains (TLDs). According to the timeline presented at the ICANN meeting in Paris, new TLDs to compete against the existing .com, .biz ...

26 Jun, 2008: ICANN Board Approves Censorship Policy for Domain Names Based on Morality: 2 Board Members Speak Against It
Today in Paris the ICANN Board passed the GNSO's controversial recommendations to censor top level domains based on notions of "morality and public order", and broadly defined "community" wishes. However, 2 ICANN board members, law professors Wendy Seltzer (on behalf of the At-Large Internet Users) and Susan Crawford, made very powerful and compelling statements to protect free expression on ...

16 Jun, 2008: Civil Society & Organized Labour Seoul Declaration (OECD Ministerial in Korea)
Framework for the Future of the Internet Economy. Freedom of Expression. Protection of Privacy and Transparency. Consumer Protection. Promotion of Access to Knowledge. Internet Governance. Promotion of Open Standards. Balanced Intellectual Property Policies. Internet Governance. ...

5 Jun, 2008: IGF 2008 Hyderabad: Programme, Agenda and Format of Hyderabad Meeting

2 Jun, 2008: US Supreme Court Hands Big Win to Free Speech Advocates in the IP World
[Major League Baseball v. CBC Distribution] By Allonn E. Levy, Esq. "An obvious “win” for Free Speech advocates and “netizens” concerned with ensuring open access to information on the Internet, the case also helps the burgeoning field of Internet information consolidators who help consumers collect information and process it. Expect to see the case cited frequently in the ...

15 May, 2008: US Congress Cites Free Expression as Reason ICANN Must Remain Controlled by US Govt.
US Congressmen are up to their old tricks of pretending to care about free expression publicly, while undermining it's practice with their policy decisions -- especially when it comes to free speech on the Internet. Congressman Edward Markey, the Chairman of the Congressional Sub-committee on Telecommunications and the Internet sent a letter urging the US Government to refuse ...

2 May, 2008: Mandate of Advisory Group of Internet Governance Forum Extended
The mandate of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the Internet Governance Forum has been extended. The Special Adviser for Internet Governance to the Secretary-General, Nitin Desai, has been asked to continue as the Chairman of the Advisory Group, which will meet again on 13 to 15 May in Geneva before handing over to a renewed group to prepare the ...

17 Apr, 2008: Internet Bill of Rights Coalition on “Search Engine” (CBC Radio)
Radio interview (.mp3) of Robin Gross and Robert Guerra discuss the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition for an Internet Bill of Rights on CBC's "Search Engine" with host Jesse Brown.

7 Apr, 2008: Draft Programme Outline for the Third Meeting of the IGF in Hyderabad in Dec. 2008

18 Mar, 2008: Public-Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment
Why is Free Expression Important in an Information Society? The UK-based "Freedom of Expression Project" posted "Public Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment". The draft document provides useful analysis on the importance of freedom of expression, open standards, interoperability, respect for privacy, and balanced copyright law as key policy goals for a healthy and robust information society. ...

15 Mar, 2008: 13 May 2008: IGF Open Consultation in Geneva at UN
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is holding its next Open Consultation at the United Nations in Geneva on 13 May 2008. The meeting is open to the public, but registration is required. Check IGF website for meeting details.

13 Mar, 2008: Sign the Petition to EU Parliament to Use Open Standards and Promote Interoperability
If you are a European citizen, sign the petition to "Open Parliament" and encourage the use of open standards and interoperable systems in the European ICT sector. The Open Parliament Petition states that citizens should not have to use the software of a single company in order to communicate with their elected officials or participate in the legislate ...