World leaders sign landmark 'future of the internet' pact:
World leaders from more than 60 countries including the US and the UK have come together to commit to a new agreement aimed at safeguarding the future of the internet.
The so-called Declaration of the Future of the Internet (PDF) will help strengthen democracy online as the countries that have agreed to its terms have promised not to undermine elections by running online misinformation campaigns or illegally spying on people according to the White House.
At the same time, the declaration commits to promote safety and the equitable use of the internet, with the countries involved agreeing to refrain from imposing government-led shutdowns while providing both affordable and reliable internet services.
While the Declaration of the Future of the Internet isn't legally binding, the principles set forth within it will serve as a reference for public policy makers, businesses, citizens and civil society organizations.
US tech giants support the declaration with Google saying in a blog post that the private sector must also play an important role when furthering internet standards while Microsoft president Brad Smith explained in a separate blog post that governments cannot manage the global challenges facing the internet on their own.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @05:22PM (3 children)
Give us dumb pipe!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @06:53PM
>thinking they want to "protect" the internet.
This is just one more flavour of global governance wanna-be tentacles....best to clip it off at the bud if at all possible.
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Wednesday May 04 2022, @02:48PM (1 child)
The problem at this point is that this will be abused. We can currently see it. I, too, at one point thought that the only way we can have a free internet is when the exchange of ideas is free, when the marketplace of ideas can freely flow, because good ideas will prevail and bad ideas will perish.
Bullshit. Doesn't work. Doesn't work for the same reason that capitalism, which is led by the same ideals, doesn't work. The idea of capitalism is that multiple suppliers compete with each other and the demand side distinguishes the best of them by buying their goods, thus the good suppliers will be meeting demand and thrive, while bad suppliers whose supply does not meet the demand will perish.
And? Have you taken a look around your marketplace of goods and services lately? Is that what you want?
Same for the internet. Same for the marketplace of ideas. The game is rigged. Different tools for rigging, but the same outcome. Some "vendors" (read: suppliers of ideas) can rig the playing field, slander their opposition and make people buy their propaganda wholesale, by exploiting the weakness of the demand side, just like it is exploited in the capitalist market: The demand side has an invariably inferior information position.
The ideals of a free market of goods and services fails at the same fallacy as the ideals of a free market of ideas: The incorrect notion that the demand side has all the information to make an informed decision. It doesn't.
And some propaganda experts have discovered that. And abuse that free market of idas, much like advertisers do with the free market of goods and services.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @07:26PM
Content is none of our business. Those who want filtering can buy from a firewall service. We still need a massive dumb pipe that can't be obstructed or meddled with.. ...to dream the impossible dream...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @05:43PM
Hehe...they said Pluralism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralism_(political_theory) [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by deplorable on Tuesday May 03 2022, @05:56PM (16 children)
How about strengthening democracy online by protecting free speech?
What?
Free speech is bad for democracy now?
When did that happen?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @06:20PM (5 children)
When Twitter put a warning label on rightwing lies. Typical one sided conservative freedom.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @06:55PM (4 children)
If we don't believe in free expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
~Noam Chomsky
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 03 2022, @06:57PM (2 children)
Correct. Which is why we all find it so hilarious that someone telling people about your lies is what triggers you so hard.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @07:15PM (1 child)
Thanks, I can't believe it needs to be spelled out for them. Wait, yes I can, they're still defending a literal traitor to the countey so they can pwndalibs.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @12:15AM
Mwahaahaaha we will STOP you having abortions.... Shellfish next, you Godless freaks.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday May 03 2022, @08:43PM
A platform labeling misinformation and lies is also that corporation exercising their free expression.
How often should I have my memory checked? I used to know but...
(Score: 5, Insightful) by mcgrew on Tuesday May 03 2022, @06:30PM (9 children)
That's certainly a US-centric thought. This is probably the only nation in the world where lying is a constitutional right, even if the lies are deadly, like covid misinformation. It's the reason given why a consumer can't sue for false advertising, but a competitor can.
When lies put someone like Vladimir Putin in power, democracy dies. Look at Russia. It almost happened here.
"When did it happen?" Before the Greeks invented democracy.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 5, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday May 03 2022, @06:51PM (4 children)
Any freedom, taken to extreme, is bad for freedom.
That's the problem with living on a planet with more than one person.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 0, Informative) by deplorable on Tuesday May 03 2022, @09:22PM (2 children)
Except the freedom to abort.
Extreme freedom to abort is good for freedom.
(Score: 1) by foreman on Wednesday May 04 2022, @01:56AM (1 child)
sockpuppet in extremis detected.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @07:05AM
you create a new account to tell us that the account you created yesterday is a sock-puppet - how would you know that?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @02:28AM
The problem suggests the solution. Excuse me while I retire to my lab...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @07:04PM
Makes me glad the USA is NOT a "Democracy".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @10:10PM (1 child)
The most deadly things in this world are the politicians allowed to dictate what is "lies" and what is "truth". For those who forgot this lesson since WW2, Mr. Putin is presently providing a replay.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @12:20AM
Yah because I have God to tell me what's truth, as outlined by good Christian senators and congressmen not some commie politicians.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @10:30PM
WTF are you talking about? If you bought a product due to a false advertisement you can certainly sue the company. It's expensive and most ads are carefully worded to not technically be lies, so people often misunderstand them (like "100% fruit juice" meaning of the juice that is in the drink, 100% of that is from fruit), but you're allowed to sue and would win. You rarely hear about it because the companies always settle behind a NDA.
If you saw advertisements with false info you can report that to your state's Attorney General. They may or may not act on that depending on how busy they are. Chances are they won't but the possibility is there. When enough people complain they do normally act. Takes a long time and the fine is normally a slap on the wrist, but it still happens.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 03 2022, @06:59PM
Well the letter is stupid but the Bizarro World definition of freedom of speech as predictably evidenced by this thread is even more stupid.
So here we are, stuck between a rock and a dumb place!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Tuesday May 03 2022, @07:01PM (1 child)
A non-binding pact. Sure that will hold and be worthwhile in the future (/sarcasm off). The paper and ink is worth more then the words in it.
So they had a pampered spa weekend at some luxury resort with fancy dinners etc on the taxpayers dime but couldn't agree on anything worthwhile but they had to do something so they agreed on this. A non-binding feelgood pact. Sounds reasonable ... Well worth our $:s, £:s and such.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @12:24AM
Sounds like perfectly normal "Leadership". What did you think they do at the top? Hard work pffffft!! lol
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Lester on Tuesday May 03 2022, @07:35PM
So we are going to exchange concrete laws of each country that can be enforced with fines for a sanctimonious paper full of ambiguous concepts with vague recommendations.
Big tech boys must be toasting with champagne and laughing. And in a few minutes, USA intelligence agencies will join to the party.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2022, @11:53PM (2 children)
EFF Statement on the Declaration for the Future of the Internet [eff.org]:
(Score: 2) by KritonK on Wednesday May 04 2022, @10:08AM
The EFF statement has a link to another White House page [whitehouse.gov], which actually mentions which are the countries that signed the declaration, as opposed to mentioning that China and Russia didn't:
The United States, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, the European Commission, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, North Macedonia, Palau, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Uruguay.
(Score: 2) by Lester on Wednesday May 04 2022, @05:55PM
While those principles are not implemented, that paper is useless
The question is whether local laws will be kept until more concrete treaties be signed (with fines for transferring data) or from now on thar paper overrides current local laws about privacy.
I'm afraid it is going to be the second. Big tech will complain about any restrictions showing that paper, al USA will back them.
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Wednesday May 04 2022, @02:35PM
You could also have said that "A bunch of useless cunts got together and had a party, and when drunk enough they scribbled some pipe dreams on a napkin and had a good laugh".