Confederation of European Computer User Associations

CECUA Euro News Flash

The Peoples Internet

The network society has provided us with new tools. Some of them have replaced older forms of communication, other tools have changed the pattern of working and everyday life. However, as the development of the networked society continues, more questions than answers arise of how to protect the rights and take into account the needs of citizens and ordinary users. Legislation and regulations as applied to this new networked society have been adapted mostly to protect the interests of enterprises, and not the ordinary user and citizen.

In order to face this situation we need to recognise the different nature of different kinds of regulations that cover areas such as the relationship between citizens/state, employee/employer, user/abuser, buyer/supplier, etc.

If we do not act, we take the risk that ordinary citizens will refrain from using this new medium of communication and thereby we risk holding back an important stage of development of the networked society which can provide very considerable benefits to citizens, commerce and government

The development of the Internet has been explosive. Its use has expanded from being predominantly a tool of communication for the few to a mass media, where people can obtain information, buy goods, exchange views and send personal letters via email. The network society has provided us with new tools. Some of these have made already existing ways of communication more effective (electronic filing, emails instead of typewritten notes etc.), other tools have changed the pattern of working and everyday life. However, legislation and regulations as applied to this new networked society has been adapted mostly to protect the interests of enterprises, and still fails to take into account the rights and needs of citizens and ordinary users.

As more and more people use the Internet as a communication and information tool a moral codex or a bill of rights for the Internet seems necessary. By now we have more answers than questions on how to ensure privacy, how to prevent criminal activity, malicious acts, hackers etc. on the Internet. Also we need to answer such questions as: what is the validity of a reply to an email?

In answering the many questions that arise from the new networked society we need to realise that different problems need different solutions. In fact it is different kinds of regulations that cover areas such as the relationship between citizens/state, employee/employer, user/abuser, buyer/supplier, etc.

The relationship between the citizen and the state requires that all countries have their own but proper legislation that ensures the privacy of its citizens. That is, as an example, the protection of the use of public registers containing personal information, from use by other public authorities.

Seen from the perspective of the employee/employer one can ask if a manager is allowed to look at the content of the e-mailboxes of his employee? In fact the email system could be seen as equivalent to the policy of letters to individual persons in a company. This could easily be left for the individual company or the labour market partners to deal with.

A third example, is the user/abuser problem of the Internet. The Internet's global nature means that a person in one part of the world can create massive destruction's, as was the case with the "I love you" virus. In such cases international regulations can only set some guiding-lines, it is the countries themselves that has to have equivalent laws to prosecute offenders.

But there are also other areas of the network society that need attention such as the relationship between the buyer/supplier. It is a question whether we have appropriate regulations to tackle issues such as: May the tracks left by citizens' Internet surfing be exploited by commercial enterprises? May a buyer regret and cancel an electronic purchase, and is there a time limit? What rules apply to international e-commerce? Those questions need national legislation as well as international agreements, because the network society is global, and citizens surfing the net, purchasing goods or sending emails can do it from one country or continent to another.

It is therefore necessary for the citizens to be given precise details of the rights they have in the networked society. One method is the Bill of Rights as proposed by the CECUA. Supplementary to this, the IT rights of citizens could also be formulated on the basis, for example of International legislation and agreements, national legislation, guidelines and circulars, self-regulation, where trade organisations, consumer organisations and others commit themselves to guarantee schemes or making schemes which are not stipulated by law. This is suggested in the report Digital Denmark - Conversion to the Network Society.

It is essential that the IT-rights of citizens should be specified in relation to encryption, legal and illegal tapping and monitoring, email, e-commerce and electronic registration.

Information on these rights should be provided on a continuous basis, for example on a special home page, administered by a European or international forum. Moreover, consideration should be given to providing legal expertise for any questions about the IT rights of citizens. Eventually as a hot-line service for the citizens.

One major issue is how should we, in future, ensure that communication by all citizens and enterprises is not intercepted against their will and without their knowledge. The debate on Echelon has made this an even more vital demand. Techniques for encoding information so that it is incomprehensible to unauthorised persons (i.e. encryption) is the means for creating secure communication via open networks, for example the Internet. But of course we also need to ensure that criminal investigation authorities can continue the fight against crime, within the framework of democratic control.

One of the most important preconditions for the development of the network society is that citizens and enterprises can use encryption to secure their data when it is sent via digital networks such as the Internet. Therefore, it should be stated that in the network society there is a fundamental right to free encryption without the possibility of illegal interception.

These will be the first important steps in order to ensure the contained credibility of the Internet. If we do not act, we take the risk that ordinary citizens will refrain from using this new medium of communication and thereby we risk holding back an important stage of development towards the new networked society.