Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Inside the Big Tent
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
At our European Zeitgeist event, held annually near London, we traditionally erect a large marquee for a partner dinner and entertainment. This year we wondered if there was anything else we could do with the space once Zeitgeist was over. In that instant, the Big Tent was born.
Canvas aside, the term "big tent" has, of course, a political connotation.
Wikipedia
defines it as "seeking to attract people with diverse viewpoints...does not require adherence to some ideology as a criterion for membership." That just about sums up the idea behind last week’s Big Tent conference, which focused on debating some of the hot issues relating to the internet and society.
We invited the advocacy groups
Privacy International
and
Index on Censorship
—both of whom have criticised Google in the past—to partner with us in staging the debates, and sought diverse viewpoints among the speakers and the delegates.
Topics on the agenda included: what was the role of technology in the revolutions in the Middle East? What are the limits of free speech online? Do we need tougher privacy laws or are we in danger of stifling innovation? Can technology and access to information be used to help prevent conflict?
The result was a stimulating day of debate featuring the likes of
Big Brother
television producer
Peter Bazalgette
,
Mumsnet
founder Justine Roberts and the U.K. Culture Secretary
Jeremy Hunt
alongside Googlers including Eric Schmidt, Google Ideas’
Jared Cohen
and the Egyptian activist
Wael Ghonim
, and a highly engaged and knowledgeable audience of NGOs, policy advisers, tech businesses and journalists.
You can watch
highlights on YouTube
and see event feedback on
Twitter
. We hope to bring the Big Tent to other regions over the coming year.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director of External Relations, EMEA
European Foreign Ministers Call for Internet Freedom
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
It’s always nice hear ringing words in defense of freedom of expression, particularly when it comes from those who help shape Europe’s foreign policy. Foreign ministers from two countries - Sweden and the Netherlands - who have been leading on this issue took time out from busy European Union meetings to come together in Brussels and express their support for an open Internet where information flows freely.
Dutch Foreign Minister
Uri Rosenthal
, pictured at right, called on Europe to take a firm stand in favor of Internet Freedom. His speech represented a clarion call for action, ranging from increased funding to “support to cyber-dissidents operating in repressive circumstances” to convening a joint summit on the issue with Canada in the fall. These priorities are central to the Netherlands’s new human rights policy.
Minister Rosenthal also called on European companies “to commit to joint codes of conduct that guarantee Internet freedom, like the
Global Network Initiative
(GNI).” Three years ago, we helped found the GNI and we recently brought the initiative’s director Susan Morgan to Brussels.
Some 100 Brussels movers and shakers crowded into the International Press Centre to hear the minister speak at a conference organized by the
European Centre for Political Economy
.
Sweden’s Carl Bildt, picture at left, gave an animated keynote speech. When told that the G8 in Paris would discuss plans for a “civilized” Internet, the Swedish Foreign Minister quipped. “If we have a "civilized" Internet, we also will be forced to have a civilized telephone system, a civilized television, and we could even continue with civilized politics.” Minister Bildt’s full speech is can be found
here
.
The Minister attacked repressive governments, pointing to recent net crackdowns practiced by governments in Egypt, Syria and Libya. “A dying dictatorship is defined by its ability to destroy the Internet,” he said. In contrast, a free Internet brings gigantic benefits. "When you set people free you set the conditions for society and the economy to develop." Bildt’s conclusion was simple: "The most important instrument of change in our time is the Internet."
In coming months, we plan to keep pressing our free expression agenda in Brussels - and throughout Europe. We will be vigilant to point out threats to the free Internet, both inside and outside of Europe. We also will be speaking about Google free expression efforts such as our
transparency tools
. Watch this space.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Internet freedom: how should Europe battle online censorship?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
European foreign ministers endure a grueling schedule. Next Monday afternoon, Swedish Foreign Minister
Carl Bildt
and Dutch Foreign Minister
Uri Rosenthal
are taking time out from a crucial European Foreign Ministers’s summit in Brussels to issue a call for Europe to wake up to the dangers facing Internet freedom.
The event comes at a crucial time. Protests sweeping the Arab world demonstrate the power of the Net to give voice to the once silent. With two billion people online, the Internet has accelerated access to information.
On the other hand, governments around the world are attempting to suffocate this freedom.
Reporters Without Borders
counts more than 150 bloggers and Internet publishers imprisoned around the world, and 60 governments censor the web in one form or fashion. Google and YouTube services have been blocked in more than 25 countries.
Although no one should compare democratically elected governmens in Europe and elsewhere to repressive regimes, we have also seen an alarming trend among western governments. People acting out of the best of intentions -- protecting children, a goal that we of course share, are undermining the fundamentals of an open Internet. Courts around Europe are considering
forcing neutral platforms such as Facebook and Google to preview content before it is posted -
and to remove it just because the subject doesn’t like it.
Fortunately, Sweden and the Netherlands have taken a lead to make Internet free expression a priority, even as most of Europe has remained silent.
On Monday, come and hear leading voices for free expression discuss how Europe could step up its fight for Internet freedom and the free flow of information. One of Brussels' leading think tanks,
ECIPE
, is hosting the event. Google is sponsoring. Everyone is welcome to attend.
When
: May 23, 16:00-17:45
Where
: International Press Centre, Residence palace (Maelbeek room), Rue de la Loi 155, Brussels
RSVP to:
info@ecipe.org
Programme:
16:00
- Welcome
16:15
- Opening of Conference by Uri Rosenthal, Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs
16:30
- Panel discussion: Internet freedom of expression: what should be the EU agenda?
17:10
- Keynote Speech by Carl Bildt, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
17:45
- End
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, EMEA, Google
Cloud Computing – how to keep your data open and portable?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Next week, the
Openforum Europe
will host a roundtable discussion on openness and portability in the cloud - a topic that features strongly in the ongoing discussions about how to make Europe “cloud-active”. Speakers include:
Professor Guido Scorza
- the founder and President of the
Institute for the Policies of Innovation
. A lawyer and research fellow in the legal aspects of new technology, Scorza is a visiting lecturer at the Universities of Bologna and Rome. He writes extensively and speaks on legal aspects of software and the rights of competitors and consumers.
Brian Fitzpatrick
- head of Google's '
Data Liberation Front
', a team of engineers who work to make it easy for people to export their data out of Google's services and into the document format of their choice. This allows users to more easily switch between services and providers in the cloud.
Dimitri Tatari
- Director General of the Emilia-Romagna Region’s ICT department and a member of the working team involved in
OSEPA
(Open Source Software Usage by European Public Administrations). Mr Tatari has been involved in the open source software project of the Emilia-Romagna region for the last three years.
The Round Table will be chaired by
Graham Taylor
, CEO, Openforum Europe and the rapporteur will be
Flavia Marzano
. As is usual at an OFE roundtable, the
Chatham House Rule
will apply.
Date:
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Time:
18:00-20:30. A light buffet and refreshments will be served.
Where:
Google EU office at Chaussée d'Etterbeek 180, right next to Park Leopold. That's just a 5 minute walk from the Parliament and the Commission.
Registration:
Please
sign up here
if you’d like to attend.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Posted by Angela Steen, Policy Analyst, Google
Join us in fighting for freedom of expression
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Three years ago, a group of companies including Google, Microsoft and Yahoo joined with non-profit organisations such as
Human Rights Watch
, investor groups such as
F&C Investments
, and universities such as
Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society
to create
the Global Network Initiative
. Our goal is to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy online by setting minimum ground-rules on dealing for government requests for information.
Notably, all the initial corporate participants were American. While many Europeans expressed interest in the project, none signed up.
Susan Morgan
, a UK native who is the GNI’s executive director, came to Brussels this week, urging Europeans to join the organisation.
In her presentations to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the press, Ms. Morgan pointed to some recent success in attracting Europeans. This year, both the Swedish investment fund
Folksam
and the UK-based NGO
Index on Censorship
signed up. The challenge ahead, Ms. Morgan said, is to bring onboard European corporations.
Members of the GNI commit to a set of principles on how they will handle government requests to hand. The GNI has also reinforced company practices of conducting human rights assessments prior to launching new products or opening new markets. But the greatest potential for the GNI is as a forum for common action - the realisation that companies, NGOs, investors and academics acting together can have a far more powerful impact when we act in concert rather than alone. This Initiative is by no means a panacea, but it’s the kind of forum where we believe progress can be made real.
The issues of freedom of expression and privacy impact companies across the ICT sector; as recent events in the Middle East have shown, freedom of expression and privacy has become a business priority – even for organisations that are not “internet companies.”
European politicians such as Swedish Foreign Minister
Carl Bildt
, Dutch Foreign Minister
Uri Rosenthal
and MEP
Marietje Schaake
have expressed interest. Any effort that is limited to the United States is bound to fall short. Put simply, the GNI needs European organisations to help it reach its full potential.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Supporting free expression and privacy online: the Global Network Initiative comes to Brussels
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
All over the world – from the Americas to Europe to the Middle East to Africa and Asia – companies in the communications and tech sectors face increasing government pressure to comply with domestic laws and policies in ways that may conflict with the internationally recognized human rights of freedom of expression and privacy.
In response, a
multi-stakeholder group
of companies, civil society organisations (including human rights and press freedom groups), investors and academics has spent two years negotiating and creating a collaborative approach to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy in the ICT sector, and have formed
the Global Network Initiative
to take this work forward.
Susan Morgan, the Global Network Initiative’s executive director, will be in Brussels on Wednesday 4 May to give an early evening briefing about the organisation’s work - and in particular, how it is seeking to attract European support and members.
Please join us at Google's office to hear Susan's briefing, find out about the important work the GNI does and enjoy a post-work drink.
Date
: Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Time
: 18:00-19:00
Where
: Google EU office at Chaussée d'Etterbeek 180, right next to Park Leopold. That's just a 5 minute walk from the Parliament and the Commission.
Registration
: Please
sign up here
if you’d like to attend.
Prior to joining the GNI in June 2010, Susan spent ten years working at British Telecom on corporate responsibility, communications and strategic relationships. She spent the first seven years of her career in the non-profit sector, and is a graduate of Durham University, UK.
Posted by Angela Steen, Policy Analyst, Google Brussels
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Inside the Big Tent
European Foreign Ministers Call for Internet Freedom
Internet freedom: how should Europe battle online ...
Cloud Computing – how to keep your data open and ...
Join us in fighting for freedom of expression
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