EPIC Alert
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[1] OECD and Korea Host Ministerial Conference on Future of the Internet
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With the slogan "Shaping Policies for Creativity, Confidence and
Convergence in the Digital World", the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) held the 2008 Ministerial Meeting on
the Future of the Internet Economy in Seoul, South Korea on June 17 and
18. The Meeting, which was the first OECD Ministerial Meeting held in
Asia, brought together Ministers, senior government officials, the heads
of major intergovernmental organisations, industry leaders and
representatives of the Internet technical community, civil society and
organised labour. In all, close to 2,200 participants from 68 economies
attended the Meeting, which was webcast. In addition to the
participants, many more contributed to the Meeting via the Internet.

The Government of Korea hosted the Meeting, which was chaired by Mr. See
Joong CHOI, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission. Opening
addresses were made by Mr. CHOI and Mr. Angel GURRÍA, Secretary-General
of the OECD. A congratulatory address was made, via video, by Mr. BAN
Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mr. Myung-bak LEE,
President of the Republic of Korea, welcomed Ministers and participants
and highlighted the importance of the Internet for the global economy
and society, and the need to strengthen international co-operation in
key areas, including information security. Chairmn CHOI stated in the
summary of the conference:

The growing impacts of the Internet on economies and on society
were highlighted, as was its role in spurring innovation and
growth. While the number of users and high-speed access are
growing rapidly worldwide, concerns were expressed about digital
divides, both within and among countries. Efforts to expand access
need to continue. Mobile devices with Internet access, it was
noted, could contribute importantly in this regard as their use in
developing countries is advancing rapidly; this is expected to
continue.

Other important issues would also need to be addressed.
Users are concerned, for example, about malware, identity theft,
privacy and security. On the technological front, convergence of
information and communication platforms, new generation networks
and high-speed Internet access are benefitting society, but their
rapid development is challenging regulatory bodies, as existing
approaches are often inadequate to respond to rapid changes in
markets. It was suggested that changes in policies and regulations
might best focus on two principles – promoting competition and
protecting consumers.

Chairman CHOI also acknowledged the role of civil society and organized
labor:

Civil society and organised labour urged that policy goals for the
Internet Economy be considered within the broader framework of the
protection of human rights, the promotion of democratic
institutions, access to information and the provision of
affordable and non-discriminatory access to advanced
communications networks and services. They made a number of
recommendations, stressing the need for OECD countries to: i)
defend freedom of expression and, in this context, oppose mandated
filtering, censorship and criminalisation of content that is
protected under international freedom of expression standards; ii)
protect privacy and transparency by, for example, establishing
international data standards that are legally enforceable; and
iii) address the learning and training needs of workers and
environmental issues. In addition, they urged that a civil society
advisory committee to the OECD be established to formalise its
participation in the work of the Organisation.

Chairman CHOI affirmed the ongoing importance of privacy protection at
the Ministerial conference, stating that "the protection of privacy was
identified as a cross-cutting challenge to be systematically addressed
at the earliest possible design stage of technology."

Mr. Angel GURRÍA, the Secretary General of the Paris-based organization
also spoke about privacy protection and described the 1980 OECD Privacy
Guidelines as the "foundation guidelines for most countries' privacy
standards". He remarked that the Privacy Guidelines have "stood the test
of time", but that the growth of business models built around data
mining and the multiplication of social networking sites require that we
understand and ask ourselves: "[W]hat are the risks, what are the
benefits and how to adapt policy to this new environment?"

A major accomplishment of Civil Society organizations of the Public
Voice coalition was the recommendation made by the Secretary General of
the OECD to "begin the process of formalizing the participation of Civil
Society and the Technical Community in the work of the OECD on the
Internet economy".

The OECD Ministerial Meeting ended with the adoption of the OECD Seoul
Declaration, a document signed by Ministers and representatives of 42
countries. Also the OECD released "Shaping Policies for the Future of
the Internet Economy", a report which links the Seoul Ministerial
Declaration on the Future of the Internet Economy to the analytical work
and policy guidance developed for the Ministerial by the OECD. The OECD
also issued Policy Guidance for Protecting and Empowering Consumers in
Communications Services and Policy Guidance For Addressing Emerging
Consumer Protection And Empowerment Issues In Mobile Commerce. Other
important recommendations include the OECD Policy Guidance on Radio
Frequency Identification and the OECD Policy Guidance on Online Identity
Theft.

The OECD offered an important forum for the discussion of policies
concerning the future of the Internet. Civil Society welcomed this
dialogue and urged the Ministers and Members Countries of the OECD to
fully engage Civil Society and Labor Organizations within their own
countries. Ministers agreed to review the OECD Declaration and the
progress made towards the achievement of its goals and principles by
2011.

In a related development, EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva set
out, on June 24, five priority areas for action for consumer policy in
the digital age. She stressed the need "to eliminate the next generation
of unfair commercial practices rapidly arising online" and "to ensure
that in the heated debates surrounding privacy, the voice of the
consumers is clearly heard". She emphasized: "informed consent is the
central privacy issue that consumer policy must next address".

OECD Ministerial Meeting

http://www.oecd.org/FutureInternet

Facebook: How can Internet make the world a better place?

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15089767319

Summary of the Chair of the OECD Meeting (pdf):

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/14/7/40863707.pdf

2008 OECD Seoul Declaration on the Future of the Internet
Economy (pdf):

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/49/28/40839436.pdf

Shaping Policies for the Future of the Internet Economy (pdf):

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/29/40821707.pdf

Shaping Policies for the Future of the Internet Economy: Annexes (pdf):

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/28/40821729.pdf

1998 Ottawa Ministerial meeting on E-Commerce.

http://www.ottawaoecdconference.org/english/homepage.html

European Commission sets out 5 priorities for consumer policy in
a digital age:

http://www.epic.org/redirect/eucommission_5priorities.html

Source: Electronic Privacy Information Center - Alert http://epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_15.13.html

tags: policy-law oecd ministerial meeting epic

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