The (in-)famous German Chaos Computer Club (‘CCC’) postulates in one of its recent website updates eleven theses to improve a ‘livable’ world wide web. They deal with structural inequalities, the digital divide, freedom of information, and anonymity.
As the original text is in German, I provide here a digested translation of their advice to achieve a more liberal and fair Internet:
1. Internet access is a fundamental right and a requirement for participation in cultural and political life.
2. The benefits of the Internet can only fully develope if ‘net-neutrality’ is guranteed.
3. Major IT-projects in the public sector should be assigned after reasonable criteria.
4. Keep public data transparent.
5. Clear rejection of patented software.
6. Modernisation of copyright.
7. Internet providers have no responsibility for the data of their customers
8. Improved protection of private data.
9. Establish the right on anonymity.
10. Prohibition of profiling users.
11. Improve Whistleblower-Protection.
The CCC, founded 1981 in Berlin by hackers, explains its motivation to enter once more the discourse on freedom and the Internet as follows:
since its beginnings [the CCC] realized and propagated the chances and possibilities of a networked life. Many of the original – in the past quite futuristic seeming – visions turned not only into reality but became natural for our society. Indeed, the advent of the Internet into everyday life of almost everyone lead to problems concerning data privacy but also catalyzed democratization, and brought an enrichment from a scientific, social, and artistic perspective. The self-regulating forces of the Internet thereby prohibited various feared dystopia, without further governmental interventions. From our point of view, the current discussion bases on a misjudgment where a need for regulation is detectable and where not.
These points focus numerous important issues concerning contemporary life in cyberspace. Most of the suggestions are very reasonable though it is quite disputable if they can be realized against the interests of major economic players.
Find further information on the Chaos Computer Club here.
Dennis Nguyen 