In April 1993, the European Organization for Nuclear Research – CERN (in French: Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire – former acronym for Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) published a document putting in the public domain the technology it had developed for the Web: a browser, a server and a code library. It was the beginning of the World Wide Web. The simplicity of use of the new system, as well as the availability of tools and source code, completely free of royalties, made the World Wide Web grow rapidly. The document in question can be found at the link: https://cds.cern.ch/record/1164399.
Twenty one years have passed and here we are again, in a month that can bring more brightness to the World Wide Web. Brazil, seeking inclusion in the digital scenario, will host a meeting called Arena NetMundial or simply, NetMundial, after revelations that the NSA (National Security Agency of the United States) had spied global leaders, including President Dilma Rousseff.
With only 21 years, the World Wide Web (www.) has deeply changed the patterns of our lives, the education of our children, the way we work, how we follow politics and take part in it, and especially the way we interact. We have witnessed the Internet as a major engine of changes, often disruptive. Approximately 40% of the world population is a user of the web, with an estimate of several billion additional users and devices in the coming years. Today, the Internet is undoubtedly regarded as a general purpose technology, a basic and essential element in the life of almost every citizen and a key component in the economy and government of countries.
However, the other side of the coin has its challenges, threats to freedom of expression and human rights, invasion of privacy, spying, transnational legal disputes, including threats of cybercrime, market concentration – such as the global dominance of Google as a search engine (lack of search neutrality – and reliance on any other websites that aim to/are on the web).
After explaining that, let’s get back to the main subject of this article: Brazil as the host of a rich and relevant discussion on new rules for global governance and the operation of the Internet.
With the approval of the Marco Civil (or the Internet Constitution) (despite pending approval from the Senate and the Presidency) Brazil draws the attention of the international community to the progress of its proposals and the collaborative method of its development as a draft bill. In addition, we are one of the nations with the largest number of users in social networks and, consequently, with the possibility of direct interference in the routine of social movements (such as the one experienced last year with the demonstrations in the streets of the country) with experience on how the web can be a great enabler of social movements, from the most diverse (“vai um rolezinho?” – “are you up for a rolezinho?”) [rolezinhos are large scale gatherings organized by young people usually via Facebook]. The condition of a developing country imposes on us a special sensitivity to understand subjects particularly expensive to nations of the same socioeconomic profile, such as access, inclusion and social development in the context of digital technologies.
The Conference, which will take place this week in São Paulo, will be a milestone, bringing as the core subject the multi-sector model, in other words, a collective construction, in which all sectors contribute to the pursuit of freedom of the web (it is comforting to host an event that first and foremost strives freedom, which was unthinkable 30 years ago, on April 1, 1964). It is worth it to remember that freedom is the raison d’être of the Internet, which is a unique, comprehensive and highly innovative phenomenon: the result of contemporary society. In total, 188 proposals were submitted to the main topics of the conference, from 46 countries.
The main topics included in the proposals for the future of the Internet are related to the protection of online privacy, guarantee of freedom of expression, network security, the role of governments in Internet governance, the assurance of universal access and net neutrality. Therefore, these are relevant discussions to our lives. In addition to contributions from all over the world, more than 1,000 people from 85 different countries, representing companies, nongovernmental organizations, universities and governments, subscribed to participate in the event.
The draft of the document dispels some of the concerns of the sector. “Internet governance must be open, participatory, with multiple stakeholders, technologically neutral, sensitive to human rights and based on the principles of transparency, accountability and inclusion,” it says. Thus, the text advocates as central the concept of “multi-stakeholder” in Internet governance, that is, the participation of companies, civil society, governments, users, companies, the technical and academic community.
I conclude this article informing that the event will be broadcast live worldwide, allowing various forms of remote participation. Fica#a#dica [#hereismyadvice].
In the next article, I intend to share with you my impressions of the Conference.
*Rosely Cruz, attorney, Buscapé Company vice-president Legal Affairs for Latin America, and neolaw. partner.