Many Worlds. Many Nets. Many Visions.
Critical Voices, Visions and Vectors for Internet Governance
Dear NoC-institutions,
as you know, Germany will host the 14th Internet Governance Forum in November 2019 in Berlin. In partnership with the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) <https://www.hiig.de/>, netzforma* e.V. <http://netzforma.org/>, the Gunda-Werner-Institute <https://www.gwi-boell.de/de> and the Centre for Internet and Human Rights <https://cihr.eu/> we would like to develop a short catalog of claims towards an internet without discrimination. This catalog will have the title “Many worlds, many nets, many visions” and will be published online on many outlets, including the Digital Society blog of the HIIG and the online publication portals of many other involved organizations.
Digital rights are human rights, as they are women and LGBTQI* rights. Our catalogue aims to bring in feminist perspectives on issues like surveillance, digital violence and regulation (eg upload filter, hate speech, the German Network Enforcement Act, Citizen Scoring, Data Storage, Predictive Policing, Desinformation and Privacy). We seek to broaden the debate with contributions from marginalized groups and rethink the prevailing dispositif of security and freedom.
Because as you all know: even though the Internet represents a space of communicative self-actualization for many marginalized social groups (#metoo, #metwo, #ThingsDisabledPeopleKnow), even in digitality these groups are still particularly affected by discrimination. Digital violence, continued exclusion practices and hate speech are still present online. Sexism, racism, anti-Semitism, ableism, trans- and homophobia figure prominently in hate speech. Moreover, membership in more than one group which is targeted online, increases the danger of becoming a victim of digital violence.
Technologies that create, organize and expand the digital are not neutral or unbiased, but are social constructions which are always tied to existing relations of power, domination and (potentially, at least) discrimination. The normalization and standardization of human bodies and lifestyles is implicitly inscribed in the code. Information and communication technologies mirror the structures of social power and domination in our societies. They are saturated with systems of discrimination and exclusion. Seen from the perspective of a member of a marginalized group, topics like content regulation, privacy, access and freedom of expression appear in a different light. As we see ever-greater efforts to regulate digital spaces and innovation it is about time to open the discourse for everyone* affected.
Ensuring Gender Equality and ending all forms of discrimination, including intersectional discrimination, are important international commitments. That’s why we call for an inclusive Internet.
We invite experts and activists from all over the world, representing all stakeholder groups to present their ideas, how the Internet Governance discussion should be further developed regarding marginalized groups and communities. The IGF in Berlin is a unique opportunity to push this debate.
Regarding intersectional intertwining we focus on the categories of sex and gender; class, race and ethnicity; language, age and ability.
Potential subjects might be:
Freedom of expression - Who represents the marginalized in the Internet governance regime? Access and visibility - Which role does civil society / do non profit acteurs play with regard to the establishment of regulation regimes? Privacy - What is wrong with the current Internet governance / regulation system? Data Storage and AI - Which structure do we need to establish to shape Internet governance efforts more inclusive? Which actors should be more closely involved?
We warmly invite you to share your personal views with regards to the challenges and opportunities for an inclusive global internet governance and would be very honoured if you accept our invitation to contribute to our catalogue of claims by a short comment.
Your comment should be short and clear, not more than 350 words. (Structure: Title + Teaser (50 Words) + Text (300 Words))
With this publication we want to show a broad variety of different demands and opinions which could help to broaden our minds, to deepen our understanding and to contribute to the way forward in global Internet policy making.
If you would like to submit a statement we would be thankful if you could send us your acceptance-mail within the next ten days. The deadline for the delivery of the final text is September 10, 2019.
We would be very thankful if you could accept this invitation.
Yours sincerely,
Katharina Mosene
-- <http://www.hiig.de/>Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> <http://www.facebook.com/HIIG.Berlin> <https://twitter.com/hiig_berlin> <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Dr. Ingolf Pernice · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß