Freedom of Information in the Global Information Society: The Question of the Internet Bill of Rights

University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Law Review, Vol. 1, pp. 81-95, 2008

15 Pages Posted: 10 Aug 2009

See all articles by Joanna Kulesza

Joanna Kulesza

University of Lodz - Faculty of Law and Administration

Date Written: November 4, 2008

Abstract

The evolution of today’s information society focuses around the issue of the Internet and its development. In order for this new medium to fully take its role, it is necessary for the international community to set clear rules for the sharing of competences in the borderless cyberspace between states. As a solution to this problem, which endangers the integrity and functionality of the web, a wide international consensus covering the principles of sharing competences among the states, should be proposed. Such a compromise might be construed within the organization called upon by the United Nations to this very purpose, that is the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). An important part of such a consensus should be the discussion on the set of basic rights for the widest possible range of cyber-citizens. It is quite clear that the developing information society needs a new approach towards the issue of human rights. Existing rights need to be redefined, new ones – identified and applied in an uniform manner. The laws regulating the scope of information allowed in a community differ from country to country, as the individual communities differ in their values. The question of allowed by law Internet content is however not of what the allowed liberties should be but whether and how a common ground for their regulation can be found. The answer to that question is of great importance, as it may shape the future of the net itself. The IGF was the first organization to deal with the issue of Internet rights, embodied in the proposal to commence work on a unique Internet Bill of Rights - a document (or a set of documents) to list all the traditional and innovative rights, that each member of a 21st century information society should be in disposition of. The idea of the Internet Bill of Rights is aimed at applying the so-far known rights and liberties onto the members of the cyberspace and their activities. At present there is quite a lot of activity taking place in the cyber-societies, aimed at protecting civil rights on-line. It is quite clear, that all those efforts must be focused in one direction - a change of the present internet governance scheme, with the goal to protect newly defined rights in the cyber-realm.

Keywords: Internet governance, international law, cyberspace, human rights, internet bill of rights

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Kulesza, Joanna, Freedom of Information in the Global Information Society: The Question of the Internet Bill of Rights (November 4, 2008). University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Law Review, Vol. 1, pp. 81-95, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1446771 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1446771

Joanna Kulesza (Contact Author)

University of Lodz - Faculty of Law and Administration ( email )

Kopcinskiego Street 8/12
Lodz, 90-232
Poland

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.wpia.uni.lodz.pl/en/about/staff/joanna-kulesza.html?preview=1

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