Confederation of European Computer User Associations

CECUA Euro-news flash

The Global Internet Society: Freedom or Anarchy?

The Global Internet Society has been described by some as a unique opportunity for the forces of democracy by empowering citizens by allowing them for the first time free access to the same information, at the same time, as is available to governments and large corporations. However, it has also empowered those who would like to destroy the current values of democracy for their own various ends.

In this NewsFlash, Mr. Tilo Steinbrinck examines the issues threatening our society and moral values and discusses what needs to be done to preserve these values in the Global Internet Society.

Issues such as „child pornography", Hitler's „Mein Kampf", descriptions of how to produce bombs and explosives now freely available to everybody on the Internet have set the alarm bells ringing. - But why? What are the fears and what are the real dangers of the Internet? What can be done to protect ourselves from them? What do those people actively involved with using the Internet really feel, think and observe? What are the duties and necessary actions of responsible citizens in society, government, industry, schools, families, etc. to preserve our cultural, moral and social values whilst at the same time enhancing our new found freedom of access to information and the democratic process?

Can codes of good conduct, self-commitment, self-control, self-rating by the Internet industry, through filters for youth protection, through adequate legal prevention and prosecution of intentionally harmful and criminal content and its presentation in the Net and with awareness actions be enough? Mr. Steinbrinck thinks so.

During 1999 these questions instigated the European Commission, Brussels to launch a number of studies with content / service providers and users of the Internet. They should report on own findings and on experiences already won in North-America and other parts of the world.

Then in September 1999, the Internet summits in Munich and Paris 1999 discussed these issues and agreed on the need to find moral and ethical standards for the Internet - for the content and its presentation, for the quality of the services, the guarding of human civil rights, data protection and data security, for the protection of minors and disabled, avoidance of misusable, harmful and criminal contents etc.- As best way to obtain these goals were esteemed

· a self-commitment of all players of the Internet to keep a code of ethics,
· to stay away from harmful and criminal contents and its presentation
· to find ways to guarantee the level of personal, company and financial data protection
required by legal norms for information technology

The summit results were supported by the European Commission, the US administration, government officials from many states, representatives of the Internet industry, scientists working in this field and the users - naturally CECUA.

An explicit code of good conduct for the Internet had not been developed, yet - but is regarded as absolute necessary for this wide international net-work in which national or international legal rules and conventions are not achievable in due time. The CECUA Citizens Charter is to be included into these efforts. Main players as AOL, Bertelsmann and others have confirmed that they already now follow what they feel and think as ethical standards in their business. By their contract agreements they are able to exclude content providers if they practice unethical behaviour e.g. pornography, dirty language etc. Important themes were: self-regulation, self-rating of contents by the providers, filtering of harmful and criminal contents by user-groups and single users - and keeping at the same time the principle of freedom of speech and information. -
The Bertelsmann foundation with the aid of well-known international experts presented a catalogue of key recommendations

· self-regulation of the Internet content
· Internet industry: developing and implementing codes of conduct
· Sharing responsibility: self-regulatory agencies enforcing codes of conduct
· Governments: supporting and reinforcing self-regulation
· Self-rating and filtering systems: empowering user choice
· Internet filtering: ensuring youth protection and freedom of speech
· Hotlines: communicating and evaluating content concerns
· International co-operation: acting against content where it is located
· The legal framework: limitations on liability
· Law enforcement: co-operation and continuos training
· A „ learning system": education and constant evaluation These industry proposals concentrated on self-regulating, self-rating and filtering.

In September / October 1999 as follow-up of the conferences, the EU Commission, Brussels / Luxembourg, Information Society Directorate-General under the „EU-action plan to promote safer use of the Internet" contracted a study-project „Incore" (Internet Content Rating) to the „Internet Watch Foundation, Cambridge UK". This organisation together with experts from content / service providers and users / users organisations were asked to find out the actual status in Europe and propose further steps.
From CECUA side participated Stuart Goold, secretary general, Prof. Stuchlik, Magdeburg and the author, both from ADI Germany, an IT users association, member of CECUA. Incore should give recommendations - on the basis of American experiences e.g. with the filtering systems RSAC, SafeSurf and others which are easy available in Europe. In EU member states tests were executed with parents, teachers and students from qualified high schools.
Some of the main results were: In Finland and Sweden the rate of families which have access to the Internet reaches already 40 - 50 %, in most other EU member states this figure is considerably lower: e.g. in Germany and other EU states 5 - 20 % (in Germany this apparently depends on the fact where the school is situated, in West or former East Germany; there it stays at 5 %). Computers, learn programs, Internet are taught and used in most schools. Special Internet promoting policies exist in many European regions. But in comparison with the Internet often other subjects and activities enjoy higher priorities: music, theatre, sports etc.
The dangers in the Internet are seen and the protection of youth in different stages of age are regarded is important. Therefore the Incore project and the intentions of the EU-Commission were welcomed and appreciated as really citizen-near approach. Before the project, Internet rating and filter systems were not known; the idea and concept got principal support. The practical installation of the systems RSAC and SafeSurf were quickly done by the „freaks" in the schools, but for parents and teachers this proved as an insurmountable barrier. - As the systems were in English (evidently only a very small minority of approx. 1 - 2 % of the population in Europe outside UK and Ireland speaks so much English that they are able to handle such systems in the English language). Thus for the average parents and teachers filters, guidelines, handbooks and other support must be in the native language - easy to understand and easy to handle. RSAC and SafeSurf work with a catalogue of categories / parameters as:

· sex, nudity, violence, language, intolerance, potential dangerous behaviour, personal information, financial information, interactivity, context
Partially these categories were accepted, but the European parents, teachers and the students came with additional important remarks and demands:

· Internet rating and filter systems seem to be not enough mature (e.g. comics were blocked)
· Filter systems must be in the own language - at least for the parents and teachers
· Systems must be more user-friendly - in the explanations/ instructions/ handbooks, user interface,for the installation, setting of categories / parameters etc
· A filter system should not make the whole system slow and sluggish
· Rating and filter systems should consider the fears and dangers
Regarded as more relevant and important for European concerns as

· racism
· terrorism
· weapons, use and misuse; construction of explosives and bombs
· glorification of war, military and armed forces
· violence, glorification of strength, power and brutality
· political extremism left / right; glorification of nazism
· drugs, instructions for production, sales of drugs
· criminality, glorification of brutality and crimes - specially in games
· piratery, e.g. software and music
· blasphemic aspects
· virus, hacking practices

It is feared that Internet contents, products and services in the same way are offered and pressed into the information markets as the cheap and mediocre mass films and series of the international media industry which lead to violence in schools, among young people and in the families, to criminality, loss of culture, general disorientation and to doubtful idols and ideals etc.
These anxieties and reservations specially arise with the merging of the media TV, film, Internet. The flooding of products of TV and film and its effects in America (and also Europe) on schools, young people, cities and society are observed with considerable scare. On the other hand rating and filter systems should not censor too much and not block harmless sites e.g. Disney and comics. Raise of awareness by special actions was regarded as important.- To a certain degree filters," white" or „green lists" recommending or blocking contents and sites, coming from youth protection organisations, churches etc could assist parents and teachers. But they must always come from the own state and culture in the own language.- At the end of the project in December 1999, it was recommended to the EU Commission to continue these studies, to develop guidelines, assist awareness actions and help to encounter the dangers connected with the Internet - with the aim of a generally safer use of the Internet in Europe and world-wide. Thus the actual result is:

The Internet: Ethical Society YES, Anarchic Society NO.

With codes of good conduct, self-commitment, self-control, self-rating by the Internet industry, through filters for youth protection, through adequate legal prevention and prosecution of intentionally harmful and criminal content and its presentation in the Net and with awareness actions. We hope and expect that the EU Commission, the national governments and the groupings in our society will foster and support those measures.