Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF), scheduled to be held from 3rdto 6thAugust 2014. We are organizing four workshops at this event.
The APrIGF - a regional iteration of the annual Internet Governance Forum that discusses global issues in Internet governance - will serve as a platform for discussion, collaboration and exchange at a regional level, and will aggregate national Internet governance discussions where possible, all for the ultimate advancement of Internet governance in the Asia-Pacific region. The thematic focus of APrIGF 2014 will be "Internet to Equinet: An Equitable Internet for the Next Billion".
The workshops being organized by SFLC.in at AprIGF will be structured as interactive panel discussions that centre around the broad topics of intermediary liability, Internet governance, privacy, and FOSS. More details regarding the workshops are given below:
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Minimising Legal Risks of Online Intermediaries while Protecting User Rights
The Asia-Pacific region has seen frequent blocking of services and websites due to user-generated content that is deemed to be illegal. There needs to be a debate on safe harbour provisions for intermediaries and take-down provisions in legislations so as to ensure that the citizens' right to freedom of expression is protected in an environment that also leaves ample room for innovation.
The panel will discuss the following issues:
- Take-down and put-back provisions employed by various countries in the region
- Safe harbour provisions for intermediaries
- Need for classification of Intermediaries for the purpose of a take-down regime
- Recommendations for a balanced intermediary liability regime
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Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance: The Way Ahead
NETmundial, the Global Multi-stakeholder Meeting on the future of Internet governance held in Sao Paolo, Brazil, saw active debates surrounding the benefits of competing governance models of multilateralism and multi-stakeholderism, with the outcome document finally adopting a consensus of democratic multi-stakeholder process. However, this debate is far from over and with the road-map for the proposed IANA transition process to be discussed, APrIGF can contribute to the dialogue in a meaningful way.
The panel will examine the following questions:
- Is there a need to look beyond the respective roles of stakeholders as stated in the Tunis agenda?
- Which model preserves the public interest of users?
- How can Governments and businesses best perform their role as trustees of the public interest of interest users?
- How can Governments implement the bottom-up model of Internet governance
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Surveillance: Restoring Trust on the Net
The revelations made by Edward Snowden have brought to light the arbitrary and excessive mass surveillance programmes carried out by nation states world over. This unprecedented act of mass surveillance has eroded the users' trust in various online platforms, and the Asia-Pacific region is also not exempt from the issue of arbitrary surveillance. Under the circumstances, there is a pressing need to discus the issue and stress the importance of just, fair and equitable surveillance procedures.
The panel will discuss the following issues:
- Mass vs. targeted surveillance
- Safeguards to prevent arbitrary surveillance
- Protection of user data and the role of Online Service Providers
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Connecting the Next Two Billion: The Role of FOSS
FOSS has now assumed even greater significance in light of revelations related to arbitrary surveillance conducted by States. FOSS can be used to build shared community infrastructure that will protect users from privacy abuses. As most online applications run on free-software, there is also a need for greater collaboration between the industry and the free-software community so as to ensure security and robustness of infrastructure. As the next two billion comes online, FOSS will have an important role to play in building a safe and secure Internet and robust communication platforms.
The panel will discuss the following issues:- Relevance of FOSS as an access enabler and source of robust, cost effective and freedom-preserving software
- The importance of FOSS in preventing arbitrary surveillance
- Co-operation among businesses and free-software community to develop secure
- Building community communication infrastructure using FOSS to restrict the
- Dependence on centralised services
