FYI:
>Warning of Thorny Online Issues Ahead, Cyber-Rights Groups Form Internet
>Democracy Project
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Amy Weil, ACLU, (212) 549-2561 or 2666
>Andrew Shen, EPIC, (202) 483-1140 / [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thursday, July 6, 2000
>
>NEW YORK -- Seeking to strengthen civil society online, the American Civil
>Liberties Union (ACLU), Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
>(CPSR) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) joined
>together today to launch the Internet Democracy Project.
>
>"The goals of the Internet Democracy Project are to encourage
>participation by non-governmental organizations in Internet governance and
>to promote the principles of a civil society," said Hans Klein Chair of
>CPSR.
>
>As the unique medium of the Internet develops, Klein noted, key governance
>decisions about central resources and operations are being made by
>quasi-governmental agencies, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned
>Names and Numbers, known as ICANN.
>
>ICANN is a new global organization originally chartered by the United
>States Government to administer the Internet addresses and the Domain Name
>System which govern what a Internet site can be called and how it can be
>found.
>
>"There is real need to focus the attention of civil society on the
>seemingly technical issues that organizations like ICANN are addressing,"
>said Barry Steinhardt Associate Director of the ACLU. "If our voices are
>not heard while the governance structures are being created it may be too
>late," he added. Increasingly, ICANN has been setting policies on issues
>that will have a significant impact on the free expression and privacy
>rights of Internet users for example by crafting policies that favor
>commercial interests over those of non-commercial speakers.
>
>As one of its first priorities, the Project will sponsor a forum on "Civil
>Society and the ICANN Elections" on July 13 in Yokohama, Japan. Yokohama
>is the site of the next ICANN board meeting and related meetings. The
>forum will feature speakers from around the globe and will include
>discussion of principles by which the Internet should be governed. In
>addition to its work on ICANN, the Internet Democracy Project will also
>look at the impact of other Internet governance structure on civil society.
>
>"ICANN may be the most prominent organization in some corners of the
>globe, but it is hardly the only group that will affect the future of the
>Internet," said Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of EPIC. "Our work will
>be broader and we will encourage the participation of the Public Voice at
>every opportunity," continued Rotenberg.
>
>The Project's upcoming agenda will include:
>
># Statement of Principles -- Developing support for a statement on "Civil
>Society and ICANN Elections," which is to be discussed in Yokohama. The
>Internet Democracy Project will continue to seek support for the statement
>that speaks to the need for transparent and representative governance, a
>balanced approach for intellectual property protection, the need to ensure
>minimal and equitable costs for domain registration, and other key issues
>for the management of ICANN.
>
># Informational Clearinghouse -- The Internet Democracy Project will
>promote public education about Internet governance and encourage public
>participation in Internet policymaking. IDP will publish a newsletter,
>establish a web site (www.internetdemocracy.net), and produce a sourcebook
>on Internet governance issues.
>
># ICANN Election Resource -- The Project will serve as a non-partisan
>educational resource for voters in the upcoming election of At Large
>members of the Board of the ICANN. The Project will also foster dialogue
>among voters and ICANN's current and potential Board members about
>important public policy issues. The Project will ask the candidates to
>express their position on civil society issues and widely publish their
>answers.
>
>The Internet Democracy Project is non-partisan and will neither support
>nor oppose the election of any candidates.
>
>The Internet Democracy Project is online at
>www.internetdemocracyproject.org.
Respectfully,
Jay Fenello,
New Media Strategies
------------------------------------
http://www.fenello.com 770-392-9480
Aligning with Purpose(sm) ... for a Better World
------------------------------------------------
"If we want to change the world, we have to
begin by changing ourselves" -- Deepak Chopra
