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Tuesday, April 05, 2011

EU/US agree to prise open 3rd party ICT markets

I do hope this applies to China? It is essentially a bilateral attempt to extend the World Trade Organisation's Information Technology Agreement to broaden both scale and scope and eliminate non-tariff barriers, which the EU has previously pushed for.
And if so, on what conditions will EU and US companies be selling their ICT equipment, notably Deep Packet Inspection kit? On Hillary and Neelie's terms, as in the ten principles laid out? Or those ten principles of the multistakeholder Internet Rights & Principles Coalition? Its worth comparing the two, which establishes at least some overlap albeit that one is written in trade liberalisation-ese and the other in human rights-ese:

EU/US Principles of ICT Trade with 3rd Parties
P
Internet Rights & Principles Coalition
Transparency of rules affecting trade in ICT and ICT services
1
Universality and Equality: All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights, which must be respected, protected and fulfilled in the online environment.
Open networks for consumers to access and distribute information, applications and services of their choice
2
Rights and Social Justice: The Internet is a space for the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights and the advancement of social justice. Everyone has the duty to respect the human rights of all others in the online environment.
Cross-border flows of information
3
Accessibility: Everyone has an equal right to access and use a secure and open Internet.
No requirement to use local infrastructure for ICT services
4
Expression and Association: Everyone has the right to seek, receive, and impart information freely on the Internet without censorship or other interference. Everyone also has the right to associate freely through and on the Internet, for social, political, cultural or other purposes.
Governments should allow full foreign participation in their ICT services sector, through establishment or other means
5
Privacy and Data Protection: Everyone has the right to privacy online. This includes freedom from surveillance, the right to use encryption, and the right to online anonymity. Everyone also has the right to data protection, including control over personal data collection, retention, processing, disposal and disclosure.
Efficient and maximised use of radio spectrum
6
Life, Liberty and Security: The rights to life, liberty, and security must be respected, protected and fulfilled online. These rights must not be infringed upon, or used to infringe other rights, in the online environment.
Independence of regulatory authorities overseeing ICT services
7
Diversity: Cultural and linguistic diversity on the Internet must be promoted, and technical and policy innovation should be encouraged to facilitate plurality of expression.
Simple authorisation of competitive telecommunications services
8
Network Equality: Everyone shall have universal and open access to the Internet's content, free from discriminatory prioritisation, filtering or traffic control on commercial, political or other grounds.
ICT service suppliers must have the right to interconnect with other service providers for access to publicly available telecommunications networks and services. Public telecom services suppliers should be able to negotiate and obtain interconnection with major suppliers at cost-oriented, non-discriminatory and transparent rates.  
9
Standards and Regulation
The Internet's architecture, communication systems, and document and data formats shall be based on open standards that ensure complete interoperability, inclusion and equal opportunity for all.
International cooperation with a view to increasing the level of digital literacy in third countries and reducing the 'digital divide'.
10
Governance: Human rights and social justice must form the legal and normative foundations upon which the Internet operates and is governed. This shall happen in a transparent and multilateral manner, based on principles of openness, inclusive participation and accountability.

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