아래와 같은 한국 시민사회의 WSIS에 대한 선언문을
WSIS intersessional 회의장에 배포했습니다.
2003년 7월 18일
WSIS intersessional Paris 참가단
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Statement of Korean Civil Society Network for WSIS
This statement has been prepared after diverse issues regarding
information society were reviewed and discussed at Korean civil society
workshop for the world summit on the information society (WSIS), and
contains the common consensus of Korean civil societies to information
society. The groups and individuals who signed at the bottom are those who
support this statement. And this statement is open to criticism and will
be updated continuously.
I. Vision of Information Society
The information society should be based on human rights, peace, social
justice, human development and sustainability.
Although information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be used as
a useful tool for human development, cultural and economic development and
progress of democracy, it itself does not guarantee these development. For
these, there should be first legal and structural mechanisms that enable
such development and progress, and also there should first be the right
social mind and culture.
The information society should continue in the efforts to address solution
of poverty, abolition of discrimination, respect for human rights,
maintenance of peace, protection of the environment and the progress of
democracy while ICTs needs to be served for such purpose.
Furthermore, ICTs does not always contain in itself positive aspects. In
the process of the introduction of new technologies, inequality can
accelerate and human rights can be violated, which is to be taken
seriously. This is why it is important that the development and
introduction of ICTs should be taken into consideration of social and
cultural values and the aspects of human rights, not just zooming-in on
productivity and efficiency.
II. Principles
A. Respect for Human Rights
1. Respect for Human Rights
Respect for human rights should be one of the basic principles upheld by
the people in the information society. In particular, the notion of human
rights in the information society needs to be re-defined, and any effects
that these processes of “informitization” have influenced on the human
rights should be reviewed.
2. Protection of the Socially Marginalized People
Special measures are required to protect the rights of such socially
underprivileged people as women, children, disabled people, and
irregular·migrant workers.
B. Freedom of Expression
3. The information society has expanded opportunities and areas for the
general public to express themselves thanks to the emergence of various
information and communication medium such as the Internet. The increased
opportunities and various media for freedom of expression should be pro
actively respected and perfectly guaranteed in the information society.
4. The information society should be free from the government’s
censorship. Unfortunately, however, being exposed to open criticism
through the Internet, the government and national authorities are trying
to limit the freedom of expression on the Internet, saying that it is
subversive or harmful to minors. The international laws and constitution
dictate that the limitation of the freedom of expression must be kept to
the minimum based on clear legal basis and such principle should continue
to be upheld. On the Internet in particular, not only regulations as
defined in dictionaries but also all activities that limit the freedom of
expression must be prohibited.
5. Government should pro-actively protect the freedom with which people
can express their opinions anonymously, which means freedom of anonymity,
in the information society. The development of ICTs is increasing
surveillance and censorship, and threatening the freedom of communication
which is fully guaranteed by the international laws and the Constitution.
6. It should be noted that the censorship and surveillance by the
government and private sector which is rising with the advent of
advanced ICTs can limit the freedom of expression and thoughts. All
censorships and surveillance which limit the freedom of expression and
thoughts must be banned.
7. As ICTs is being increasingly used for commercial purposes and
intellectual property rights regimes on the Internet is getting strict,
the cases in which the access to and utilization of the media for
communication and expression is limited because of economic reasons and
lack of education are increasingly seen. This leads to a rise in social
and economic discrimination and therefore should be prevented through
public efforts.
8. The statements that discriminate the socially marginalized people and
social minorities should be regulated as an act of discrimination. The
discriminatory statements of the people with vested rights in this society
who have easier access to and utilization of the ICT media indirectly
violate the freedom of expression of the socially marginalized and
minorities.
C. Establishment of ICT Infrastructure and Sustainablity
9. ICT infrastructures should be established based on the principles of
‘Universal Service’ and ‘Public Access’.
10. The government should guarantee that everybody can have access to
information at low price through public access point.
11. The principle of universal service should be continuously applied to
such traditional media as TV, radio and moving video.
12. Investment in Infrastructure and Universal Service
– The investment in infrastructures should expand in a way that the
principles of fair market competition, public and universal service are
respected.
– The establishment of infrastructures must neither only rely on the free
market nor ignore the principles of ‘universal service’. Each nation can
adopt their own mechanism suited to their own social and economic
situations. For instance, a democratic institution can establish
infrastructures with the participation and supervision of workers’ unions
and civil societies.
13. Establishment of Infrastructures based on Sustainablity
– The development of ICTs should be based on sustainability. Environmental
pollution must be minimized and efforts to make the information society
environmentally friendly through the development that is not harmful to
the health of the public are necessary.
– When used computers are transported to the third world, the effects of
electronic wastes on the environment must be considered.
– Since environmental problems are not confined with the borders of one
nation, international efforts are required across the borders to address
such problems in the information society.
14. ICTs and Environment Protection
ICTs can be used as a tool for the protection of the environment. For
instance, the destruction of environment can be prevented when information
on environment-related technology and others is shared.
D. Solution to ‘Information Inequality’ and Guarantee Access to
Information
15. The issue of how to reduce digital divide is becoming a great
challenge to the information society. ‘digital divide’ should be
understood in broad sense. This refers not only to the inequality between
the advanced countries and developing countries but also to the inequality
caused by sexual, physical, regional, economic, social, political and
cultural discrimination.
16. Addressing the problem of ‘digital devide’ means more than just ‘equal
access to networks’. It means equal access to information in reality. It
includes access to infrastructures, increase of skills and intellectual
abilities (capacity building) to utilize such infrastructures, access to
basic softwares and contents and production of contents the communities
need.
In this context, the lack of infrastructures or their high price, poor
educational infrastructures, lack of systems to make public information,
limited access to basic softwares and contents due to the protection of
intellectual property rights, all types of social discrimination, economic
structures that worsen economic hardships, ownership and control of the
media can be reasons for broadening digital divide and should be
recognized as obstacles to equal access to information and communication.
17. The rights of equal Access to Information
Equal and free access to information should be recognized as one of the
basic human rights.
18. Protection of the Disableds’ Access to Information
– Studies have shown that access to information is affected by social and
economic status. Disabled people usually suffer from poor, social and
economic situations and therefore the gaps (digital divide) between these
people and non-disabled people are enlarging as ICTs is progressing. This
requires fundamental solutions.
– The ability to use ICTs should not have direct relationship with one’s
economic and social status. Information policies and measures should be
prepared in a way to make sure that everybody including the disabled
people can use ICTs freely and without discrimination.
19. Nobody should be, in any case, prohibited from communicating with
others and accessing all information and communication media.
– The development of ICTs should take place in a way to overcome physical
obstacles of equipments, hardwares and softwares. For this, the government
should make every efforts to provide full support with policies and
finance.
– While the development of ICTs should consider universal services for the
disabled, the difficulties that the disabled with specific handicaps such
as hearing problems and blindness experience in using hardwares and
softwares need to be investigated for appropriate measures.
20. Such disparity is not a problem that is only confined to South Korea.
It is a global problem caused by fast informitization all around the
world. This shows an urgent need for the global community to come up with
a global solution to the problem..
E. Production, Distribution and Sharing of Knowledge in the Information
Society and Intellectual Property Rights
21. Information and knowledge in Information Society
– Information and knowledge are common assets and public properties shared
by all mankind without any restriction in production and utilization.
Therefore, information and knowledge are not ‘privately held asset’ but
‘social environment’ which everybody can enjoy.
– The intellectual property rights regime should recognize the historic
and social obligation and the communities’ contribution to production of
information.
– Rather than ‘the principles of market’, policy support should be applied
in the production of knowledge to make sure that unique values and
operating principles are respected in each of knowledge areas. A lot more
support should be provided to the public production of knowledge by
educational and research institutions and voluntary production areas of
civil societies such as CopyLeft Movement. In addition, such knowledge as
traditional medicine which is shared by the whole community should be
protected.
22. The Rights of Public Access to Information and Intellectual Property
Rights
– Public Domain is the most effective way to reduce digital divide within
the nation and among different countries. Public domain means information
which everybody can access and use equally and freely as an intellectual
infrastructure. As a solution to such digital divide, the production of
public information should be encouraged, and measures to improve the
access to such public information should be sought out.
– Academic studies and research results from public institutions should be
included in public domain.
– Open source and free software are themselves part of public domain and
should be encouraged as a way to enhance the production of and access to
major public information.
– Intellectual property rights must not prevail over the right to access
information. Overly protected intellectual property rights infringe upon
the right to access information thereby broadening digital divide.
23. The balance must be restored between intellectual property rights and
users’ rights & public interests.
– The current trend of overly protected intellectual property rights
seriously infringes on the rights of users stated in Article 27-1 of
Universal Declaration of Human Rights(the right of citizens to participate
in cultural activities, the right to enjoy benefits of development and
application of science – Everyone has the right freely to participate in
the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in
scientific advancement and its benefits.). For the purpose of finding the
suitable balance between intellectual property rights and the rights of
users, the existing regimes of intellectual property rights should be
reviewed comprehensively.
– Fair use must be guaranteed. In the case of digital contents in
particular, individuals’ use for non-commercial and personal purposes
should be considered to be as fair use.
– The use of the Internet by individuals and communities should not be
restricted by intellectual property rights.
– Each nation or autonomous communities should have the right to make
decision freely without any outside pressure regarding intellectual
property rights law and other regulations and policies to ensure progress
in knowledge base and culture. For this, WTO’s TRIPS and other
international regulations should be made more lenient.
24. Integrity of Life and Basic Human Rights should be put first before
intellectual property rights.
– Intellectual property rights for intellectual products must not be
overly protected so that basic human rights (right to access information,
privacy, freedom of expression, etc) is infringed.
– Intellectual property rights which are related to discoveries and human
inventions should not hurt the integrity of life and human and environment
and health.
-Intellectual property rights must not be abused as a way to oppress
people with different political views, the socially underprivileged and
minorities.
F. Protect People’s Privacy
25. The value of privacy should be guaranteed in general. It should be
fully considered first to expand the field of individual privacy; to
guarantee the right to unite and struggle against surveillance authorities
such as government and company; to establish the social system to weaken
the surveillance powers; and to develop technical and intellectual
capacity building to protect the invasion of privacy.
26. The Right to Anonymity
The right to anonymity should be guaranteed as a justifiable means not
only to protect individual privacy, but also to guarantee the freedom of
expression of social minorities. The right to anonymity should not be
fundamentally-limited in any case. Whether to adopt real name policy or
anonymity policy should depend on each community’s decision. It is
desirable to develop socially-tolerant attitude to expressions by
anonymity. Even if there is any ill-intentioned expressions by anonymity,
it is desirable to try to make down the public confidence of that
expressions.
27. Expand the capacity of individual to control over one’s own personal
information: All people should have the capacity to control over their’
own personal information. Anyone who is going to collect and use others’
personal information should fully respect their rights to control over
their own personal information.
① Privacy principles in accordance with at lease OECD (Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development) guidelines on privacy (1.
Collection Limitation Principle / 2. Data Quality Principle / 3. Purpose
Specification Principle / 4. Use Limitation Principle / 5. Security
Safeguards Principle / 6. Openness Principle / 7. Individual Participation
Principle / 8. Accountability Principle) should be generally applied to
any surveillance case regardless of public or private field, inner or
outer area of organization etc.
② The government should make efforts to raise citizens’ mind and
consciousness for their privacy by training system and technology, and
also enforce the system and policy to protect people’s privacy.
28. Reform existing social system to expand the capacity to control one’s
own private information: Structural powers of government and market tend
to prevent from realizing the capacity to control people’s own personal
information. Social efforts to reform existing social system should be
enforced to expand the capacity to control one’s own personal information.
① Between the surveillance subject and object, there are imbalance of
authority and inequality of information. This makes the object’s capacity
against surveillance weakened. Surveillance objects should be able to
collectively participate in the surveillance conduct and to recover their
capacity to control their’ own personal information.
② Sensitive personal information such as somatic information should be
absolutely protected.
③ It is difficult to distinguish whether the surveillance conduct is
indispensable to develop the human dignity of surveillance object because
of the information imbalance between the surveillance subject and object.
Liberty of choice to avoid the surveillance conduct should be given to the
surveillance object, as far as there is any other way not or lower to
infringe the privacy for achieving the purpose of surveillance.
④ To recover the capacity to control one’s own personal information,
imbalance of authority between surveillance subject and object should be
dissolved. The surveillance authorities should be decentralized as
possible.
29. Article 12 in UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights prescribes that
privacy is one of basic human rights. (No one shall be subjected to
arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to
the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.) Privacy
should be equally guaranteed regardless of nationality.
G. Security
30. Each government should establish security management system of public
sectors to ensure network security. Also they should promote to develop
such models as to establish self-regulation security order of private
sectors and to encourage the cooperation between the government and
private sectors by carrying out the following activities; to raise the
mind for security of private sectors and civil societies; to encourage
exchange and distribution of security information, research and
investment, and providing incentives for these activities.
31. Even in security measures, personal information should be rigidly
protected in accordance with the judicial procedure and institution.
32. In cyber-crime, standard to judge the intention and physical damage
should be strictly limited.
H. Democratic Governance
33. Just the Development of ICTs itself cannot bring E-democracy. It is
necessary to decentralize the political authorities, for example, to
delegate decision making authority to pertinent communities so that
members of society can actually participate in the policy and decision
making processes.
34. All the policy and decision making processes in the information
society should be open, transparent, democratic and participatory.
– Not government’s unilateral announcement on the policies or formal
consensus structure of people’s opinion, but all members of society
including women, disabled, youth and migrant workers should be able to
actually participate in the policy and decision making process
– It should be open enough to allow all stakeholders’ participation in all
levels of planning, decision making, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation processes.
35. To guarantee the transparency in the policy and decision making
process, all of the national and governmental information should be opened
to the public in principle. It can be helpful to use ICTs for this
purpose.
36. E-government should be aimed to realize democracy in the information
society by transparently opening the administrative affairs and
information to the public and guaranteeing people’s participation in the
policy and decision making processes, as well as just cutting down the
expenses for the service and providing convenient services. Also these
should be adopted to the process in establishing e-government.
37. Market Environment
– Government should make efforts to establish fair, confidential and
transparent market environment, and regulate private monopoly.
– Government should promote to spread open source and open standard for
transparent and fair competition of market.
– Corporate information should be opened to the public for fair market
competition.
38. Open standard
Technology standard cannot be unilaterally fixed by specific company or
government. The standard should be fixed on the basis of open and full
participation of all stakeholders from the first step to prepare and make.
I. Roles of government and civil society
39. Roles of government
– Government should manage separately following the two; the policy to
develop technology and promote industry, and the policy to guarantee the
citizens’ freedom and rights and to keep the public accountability.
– Government should make efforts to establish fair, confidential and
transparent market environment, and regulate private monopoly.
– Government should provide training system to understand human rights in
the information society and make efforts to create proper culture for
human rights.
– Government should not play the role of regulators of information flow
and content on the internet arbitrarily.
– National decision-maker for information and communication policies
should be free from any private interest relationship which can influence
on specific policy.
40. Roles of civil society
– Civil society should make efforts to establish self governance system of
each community and to create and activate autonomous policies and
cultures.
– Civil society has a rights to participate in the policy and decision
making processes at national and international levels as a stakeholer.
Civil society should play a role to protect human rights and public values
from government’s arbitrary authorities and market interests.
J. Education on Human Rights and Educational Informatization
41. Human being should not be considered as a mere human resource, and
education should not focus on just developing human resources. Education
should be the process to understand society and people, to make social
relationship, and to realize one’s abilities and ambitions.
42. ICTs can contribute to better education through using multi-media and
intensifying educational information in quantity and quality. All people
should be able to make practical implications of ICTs without any
discrimination. In order to do that, education which can enhance the
capacity to use ICTs should be included in the curriculum of public
education and social re-training system.
43. An information society is not attained just by the development of
technology itself, and it needs to switchover people’s mind. Entire
education procedures including public education and social re-training
system should hold the curriculum of ‘human rights in the information
society’. Also, the management of education should be based on the human
rights in principle.
44. Inequality in education has the danger to cause social discrimination.
Thus, government should make efforts to minimize the information
inequality of students.
K. Strengthening Public Value and Diversity of Culture
45. Culture should be based on the public value and diversity, and
developed in the principle of cultural democracy. Culture should be a
subject to approach on the views of human development, creativity, social
support, diversities & differences, and usage & enjoyment.
46. Culture should be understood on the basis of identity, tradition and
particularity of the corresponding country and its communities. The
progress of ICTs should contribute to developing quality of lives through
coexistence and exchange between various cultures.
47. Government should reinforce the principle of cultural democracy
through the development of ICTs for harmony among the cultural, social,
ethical, productive, political and economical functions in the society.
48. Culture is not a tool or means for economy, nor can it be limited to a
commercial product. Culture is a process of forming the identities of
every individual and group belonging to its society, which preconditions
maintaining variety of life. As ICTs progress, culture should also be
newly understood as a function for coexistence and cultural exchange from
that of old industries and trades.
49. In the field of health and education, in particular, a public
investment is needed to promote easy-access to confidential contents on
the internet.
L. Safe Labor Environment and Securing Workers’ Rights
50. Workers’ Rights of Having Access to information
– Workers’ rights of unhindered access to communication media and
information sources in their workplaces should be protected as one of
workers’ basic rights.
– Special attention and effort for marginalized people such as irregular
workers, women, disabled people, and migrant workers are necessary to
guarantee their equal access to information.
51. Banning Surveillance on workers
– Workers’ privacy and dignity should be secured in any workplaces and
they have the rights to be treated fairly in workplace. As ICTs is getting
developed, it becomes difficult to distinguish between official work and
private life, by the hour or space. Currently, surveillance equipment and
system have also become more developed. The conduct of companies to
supervise its workers is definitely controlling workers and infringing
their privacy.
– When a company collects private information on a worker, consent from
the worker should be mandatory. Whenever collecting the approved
information, it should be carried out on the basis of principle which
follows at lease OECD guidelines on privacy.
– When a company is going to implement a machine or a policy that can
infringe workers’ privacy, a prior notice should be clearly delivered to
the workers or the representative of the union, and workers or
representative should have the rights to participate in the decision
making process.
– Articles that can regulate or restrict surveillance on workers should be
added to the privacy protection act or labor standard act.
52. Education on Workers
When the environment of workplace changes due to the implementation of new
ICTs, workers have the right to learn the new system.
M. Global Cooperation and Support on the Least Developing Countries (LDCs)
53. International system in the information society should be not
subordinated to unilateralism, militarism and each country’s economic
interests. Each country should develope an equal, cooperative
relationship. It is important to considerate more of the needs of the
developing countries than the advanced countries. This means technical and
financial support from the advanced countries should be extended upon the
developing countries. Developing countries should be able to participate
in the decision making process for global policy in principle.
III. Action Plan
A. Freedom of Expression
1. No Censorship by the Government
– Contents regulation system conducted by the government with its
arbitrary judgement is to infringe the freedom of expression, and
governmental institute to regulate internet contents such as Information
and Communication Ethics Committee in South Korea should be abolished.
– To restrict the contents regulation of Administrative Branches, any
internet contents which is the subject to regulate should be clearly
prescribed by the law at a minimum level.
– Regulation of illegal conducts on the internet should be enforced
according to the fair judgement and process by the existing law system.
– When new act and system are introduced, it should be first assessed what
influence shall they potentially effect to freedom of expression and human
rights.
– However it needs to regulate the contents on the internet, it should be
conducted transparently and freely on the basis of the democratic
governance structure with the full participation of stakeholders including
civil society, users and consumers. It shall not be caused to absolutely
cut off the common people’s access to any internet contents due to such
reason of protecting minors and youth.
2. Guarantee the free expression by anonymity and no surveillance
– The expression by anonymity is to protect the expression of social
minorities and marginalized people. It can make the interior discloser
more active. Anonymity should be fully guaranteed. The system to disclose
the users’ identity on the internet which is conducted by the government
shall not be approved.
– Any lawful, systematic and technical conducts to monitor the expression
on the internet such as the system to disclose the users’ identity or
network monitoring & surveillance system shall not be approved.
3. Protect socially marginalized people and social minorities
– It should be necessary to promote the social and cultural policy to
loosen the violence and discrimination on social minorities and
marginalized people in internet.
– It should be necessary to promote the fair participation of social
minorities and marginalized peopleincluding women in the decision making
process for the media and international communication system.
– The education to respect others’ expression and human rights, and to
express sensibly should be included in the system of public education and
re-training program.
B. To Establish the Information and Communication Infrastructure and
Sustainable Development
4. The government should enforce regulation policies on key
telecommunication business not to abuse their monopolistic position. To
the key business, a policy of sharing the circuit lines should be based
thoroughtly on the principle of fair competition, public and universal
service.
5. Public Access Point : The government should promote to establish the
public access points so that local residents can easily use the internet
with low price. Public institutions such as public libraries and schools
can be the public access points. And the governments should support to
establish multi-media center in public. It should be promoted to expand
public service zone even in wireless services.
6. ICTs should be used to develop a global early warning system so as to
avoid natural disaster.
7. International cooperation, and expansion and dispersion of
environmental information
– Since environmental problems are not confined with the borders of one
nation, international efforts are required across the borders to address
such problems in the information society. To offer the right environmental
information to the third world can be the means to solve the significant
environmental problems.
– Experience, technique, and information of environment should be expanded
and dispersed globally so that energy policies such as nuclear industry
can be converted into reproducible energy policy.
– It should be promoted to establish the online service to provide the
diverse environmental information for practical uses.
– It needs to make domestic and global networks in order to immediately
cope with environmental issues in each country. To solve environmental
problems ultimately, it should be dealt at a global level.
8. ICT Waste Treatment
– The exact statistical treatment for ICT waste should be developed, for
example, how much ICT waste is usually generated from all the process of
production, and they managed.
– It is urgent to develop techniques to recycle ICT waste.
9. New products should ensure the backward compatibility.
10. Hardware or software companies should continue the after-service for
the existing products, even if they does not produce them any more.
C. Solve the information inequality and guarantee the right of access to
information
11. Lawful amendment and systematic improvement to solve the information
inequality
The rights of disabled’s access to information should be concretely
described in the law. And the ordinance and principles for enforcement
should be amended concretely.
12. To bridge the digital divide, it should be expanded to provide all
sorts of information and communication facilities for the low-earning
disabled people.
13. To promote the disabled’s access to ICTs, it needs to develop and
provide facilities and softwares following as the types of each
difficulty, and to strengthen the education of ICTs for the disabled.
① Visual handicap
: hardware – phonetic composition facility, braille printer, CCTV
: software – audio output program
② Auditory handicap
: communication field – special phone, interpretation by the finger
language, subtitle broadcasting, communication based on the text, hearing
aid etc.
: software – voice■text and interpretation program by the finger language
③ Difficulties of limb and body, and brain disease
: solution of the barrier of physical spaces – to expand the digital
library and guarantee easy use
: hardware – to promote the development of diverse in&output equipments
for the disabled who is not comfortable with both hands(glasses mouse
etc.)
: software – to promote the development of diverse programs to provide in
& output equipments including substitutional communication program to help
brain disease people to understand each other, and guarantee the
compatibility with the OS of each program
14. The rights of disabled’s access to information should be guaranteed,
and it needs to carefully try not to hamper existing social relationship.
15. Guarantee the rights of disabled’s participation in the decision
making process of ICT policies for disableds.
D. Creation, Distribution and Sharing of Knowledge in Information Society
and Intellectual Property Rights
16. Governments should provide proactively policy and financial support to
civil societies organizations which are working to promote, for instance,
open source softwares and free softwares and Copyleft Movement with a
strong belief in creation of public domain and information sharing.
17. Knowledge created by national universities and research institutes
that receive public financial support should not be kept by individuals
but shared by the public as public domain.
18. Public information, academic findings, medical and educational
knowledge, legal information, and corporation information related to
public interests are considered to belong to public domain by their very
nature, and for this reason, access to and utilization of these
information should not be restricted by the intellectual property rights
including copyrights.
19. Open Source Software and Free Software
– In order to facilitate the development of such open source softwares and
free softwares as Gunu/Linux System, UN and other international
organizations and each nation need to provide aggressively financial and
policy support.
– For such reasons as escape from powerful vendor ownership, information
security, cost savings, governments and public organizations should
introduce open source softwares and free softwares and come up with legal
and institutional framework.
20. Open Access
– Financial support is required to encourage non-commercial open access
journals and publications.
– Studies and academic findings which have been accomplished with the
public support should be made public.
– Efforts should be made at international level to promote open access
archive movements which are aimed at facilitating search for and access to
public information.
– Public organizations need to strive to establish open archives for
public information and relevant public knowledge.
21. Database, regardless of creativity, should be excluded from the realms
of protection by intellectual property rights as it is not the result of
artistic creations but the functional outputs. The database is the output
centered around data collection and rather than creativity.
22. Various technological protection measures designed to protect
copyrights of digital information should be nullified once they expire
after a certain period and are no longer effective.
23. Internet domains are not just another form of ‘trademarks’ but are
being used among diverse groups for political, economic and personal
purposes. Therefore, these values should not be disregarded by trademarks
in internet-related domains.
24. Web-sites of all public organizations should be designed in a way that
free access is available through all types of browsers including free
software browser.
25. Computer programs considered to belong to public domain such as
on-line banking program, public organizations’ internet service program,
softwares for accessing public information database should be made to
allow free use and installation in all types of operating systems and
browsers.
26. Internet service providers (ISPs) and other third parties should not
be held responsible for violating copyrights in a effort to protect
copyrights. ISPs are not the right parties to make legal judgements and if
they are held responsible for violating copyrights, it would cause the
daily surveillance and controls on information users.
27. Digital libraries are an important tool to reduce information gaps.
Public information in the digital libraries should be accessed first on
line. And the right of readers( downloading and print out) to access other
information should not be limited. However, technological and financial
solutions can be found not to excessively limit originators’ rights.
28. Supports from governments in the form of new business model
development and public policy are necessary for helping creators continue
their creation activities without relying on intellectual property rights.
29. Non-commercial use of digital contents and individual reproduction
should be regarded as fair use and thus be protected. In this context,
Non-commercial exchanges among individuals of files on the internet
through the utilization of P2P technology must be protected.
30. In the event that the domain names and URL of original websites on the
internet, hyperlink, frame link, mirroring and other rights should not be
restricted.
31. International conventions governing copyrights, patents and trademarks
should keep to minimum their restrictions regarding effective periods and
contents to allow each nation to have freedom with which they can take
steps suited to their own situations. WTO’s TRIPS and WIPO, which impose
intellectual property rights system on each nation, should be reviewed or
scrapped to give the nations more freedom. Furthermore, advanced nations
should not exert pressure on developing countries or the least developing
countries.
32. Such policies as the restriction of patent holders, for examples,
compulsory license and parallel import, which is intended to serve public
interests should be implemented without interference of other nations.
33. Effective periods of patent and copyright should be decided in a way
to find the right balance between patent and copyright holders’ interest
and public interests.. Given fast technological developments, the
reduction of effective patent and copyright periods need to be considered,
and international conventions should reduce their roles in order to allow
each nation to freely decide the effective patent and copyright periods.
34. Computer programs are different from other cultural and artistic
creations(They are more functional and modifications are required for
different user environments. And the computer programs require steady
upgrades and there is no benefits returned to society after patents expire
due to fast technological developments). Therefore, the computer programs
should not be protected in the same way as other creations are protected,
and should be excluded from the realms of patents or the protection period
should be reduce in reality.
35. Attempts to make the realm of patents go beyond all human activities
including abstract ideas should stop and the patents already issued to the
aforementioned areas should be made nullified. For instance, software
algorithm, business model and medical treatment should not be protected
with patents.
36. Legal frameworks are needed for the protection of local knowledge and
intellectual properties and in this, the contribution of local communities
should be acknowledged.
37. Living organisms existing in nature should be excluded from patents
whether they are separated and verified. They are the common assets of the
mankind and for this reason, the separation and verification of the living
organisms should not be the subject of patents.
38. ‘Supervision Technology’ which could enables automatic transmission of
internet protocol address, supervision of users’ activities, accessing
private information through mailbox should not be used.
39. Alterations and revision of webpages for non-commercial use should be
acknowledged as freedom of expression.
40. Knowledge and technologies should be transferred to developing
countries to help them be quipped with better technological capabilities
and competitiveness in global markets in the form of assistance and
special treatment. However technologies whose safety has not be verified
should not be transferred.
E. Guarantee People’s Privacy
41. Privacy protection act (or resolution whose effects are equivalent to
laws), which at least follows the OECD Guidelines on Privacy, should be
enacted. In addition, all laws and international treaties concerning
privacy protection should be examined for the review of compliance with
the above guidelines.
42. In case of permitting the third party’s use of one’s personal
information, selective consent right should be ensured for each question
of what item is to be used, who will use it, which purpose it is to be
used.
43. A system should be established to make sure that the details of
supervision activities are disclosed regularly to those subject in
surveillance.
44. National database project for personal information should be assessed
in considering the risks of governmental surveillance. These databases
should be reviewed in terms of public interest as well as human rights and
democracy
45. Personal information databases run by the government should be set up
for each individual purposes and should not be integrated.
46. Single, unique personal identifier which enables the profiling of
different kind of personal information databases should not be used.
47. Opt-in policy should be used for the collection and processing of bio
information like personal DNA or disease record.
48. Mandatory training program should be introduced to schools and
workplaces to teach people about the right to have their privacy
protected.
49. Independent privacy commission should be established and alternative
dispute resolution rights must be protected for privacy protection
policies and system, supervision of their implementation, investigation of
privacy violation cases, suggestion of improvements and resolution of
privacy violation cases.
50. The right of the Privacy Commission to suggest its opinions
concerning the enactment and revision of privacy laws and regulations
should be protected.
51. Privacy audit system should be introduced to guarantee consumers’
collective participation in companies.
52. The right of organisations’ members to collectively agree on such
matters as company’ surveillance of workers should be protected.
53. Privacy impact assessment should be introduced at the planning stage
of all privacy related public polices. And this assessment should be also
applied to private company’s service practice which deals with
considerable number of customer’s personal information or employ a certain
number of workers.
54. The central government affairs of personal information should reviewed
and transferred to municipal government offices.
55. International Cooperation
– UN should review laws and policies that infringe upon foreigners’
privacy and take measures to correct violations, for example,
SEVIS(Students and Exchange and Visitor Information System) in USA.
– UN should strive to review each nation’s procedures for approving
foreigners’ entry into the nation and correct the violation of foreigners’
privacy.
– The international civil society should be able to control the activities
of each nation’s intelligence agencies including Echelon.
F. Security
56. The government should establish privacy violation investigation notice
system, additional service and security breach incident notice system over
such regulatory systems as security authentification system so that
security can be maintained according to market competition mechanism. And
damage claim systems should be established for security breach incidents.
57. Since ISPs have concerns about their technological investments and
development and provision of additional services as far as back up data
storage and maintenance period for personal information log record is
concerned, the principle of best practice should apply rather than binding
legal systems.
58. To ensure the stability of internet network, intergovernmental
management system that could share the responsibility and cooperate
together for the stable operation of hidden primary root server and its
copies should be put in place.
59. In relation to cyber crimes, a third party service providers should
hold users responsible for their activities. The service providers do not
have the right to make legal judgement regarding users’ activities.
60. The programs to develop capacity building to use information systems
should include programs designed to develop security capabilities.
G. Democratic Governance
61. If public hearings for the government’s laws and policies serve their
intended purposes, rightful feedback for the suggestions and opinions
should be communicated back to people. Before such policies are
implemented, sufficient public discourse and discussion should take place.
62. For transparent decision making, all public and national information
should be disclosed with the exception of such minimum information as
national security-related confidential information and the revision of
relevant laws should take place for this. Disclosed information should be
available through public agencies’ websites.
63. Public institutions’ websites and all services of E-government should
not exclude people using specific softwares and should be designed to
enable access by anyone. Furthermore, softwares used by the public
institutions should be open source and free softwares so that they do not
belong to specific vendors.
64. In establishing e-government, the effects of it on human rights and
democracy should be discussed. In this process, the position of
stakeholders should be as much respected as possible.
65. When databases containing administrative, medical, educational and
driver’s license information are established, the prior evaluation of
their impacts on the public’s right to control personal information and
human rights should be done. And in this process, the participation of
stakeholders in the policy and decision making process should be fully
guaranteed.
66. Personal information databases such as medical information database
and resident information database should not be integrated for the purpose
of convenience.
67. E-government means more than just electronic process of documents.
E-government should be deigned in a way to encourage democratic
participation and prevent human rights violation.
H. Education on Human Rights and Informatization in Education
68. Education in public education course should not be limited just to the
utilization of information technology. For better understanding of
information-oriented society and media literacy education and basic human
rights education should be included in regular education course and
re-education course. And through such education, a certain set of values
should not be forced upon students and instead free discussion should be
encouraged since value system is being just formed now. For this, teachers
should first receive education on human rights.
69. Teachers and students alike should be better informed of their rights
to information not just through regular course but also school activities
and cultures. For instance, they should know that their rights are
violated when their personal information is gathered and their posessions
are searched without their consents and that they have a right to reject
them.
70. Open and free softwares should be actively introduced for the purposes
of education and research at schools.
71. Infrastructures should be provided by the government so that students
can access the internet at schools.
72. In addition to regular education courses, members in society,
housewives, the elderly and unemployed should be able to receive education
on the utilization of information-related tools and technology. And for
such education, not only technological aspects but also basic features of
information based society and human rights should be taught to these
unpriviledged people.
I. Public Nature of Culture and Reinforcement of Diversity
73. As we need bio-diversity in nature, we need diverse cultures.
Therefore the policies designed to encourage cultural diversity should be
considered as an essential element for the sustainable development of
information society, and each nation should have a right to choose freely
their own cultural policies and organizations.
– Production, distribution and protection of local contents including
minority culture and local culture should take place in a supportive
environment and diverse thoughts and opinions should be freely produced
and suggested through diverse sources.
– They should be protected through education on importance of creative
contents and digitization of scientific and cultural heritage.
74. In formation society, each nation should establish the principles of
diverse languages and adopt polices for using various languages which
prevents a certain language from growing too powerful. International
organization and agencies should put emphasis on the importance of
language diversity and raise strong objections to policies favoring
certain languages.
– Each nation should support development of on-line translation tools
which will enable access to contents written in foreign languages.
– Such tools as standardized language table and code, dictionary and
general and application softwares should be developed to create contents
written in local languages.
– Non-written languages should be preserved through audio support.
75. Libraries, museums and other public facilities are a very critical
element for society as cultural infrastructures. The government should try
to make sure that everybody can have fair and free access to cultural,
knowledge and information services through cultural infrastructures.
76. Mass-media plays an important role in protecting cultural diversity,
democratic discourse, media pluralism and people’s rights to access
quality information and knowledge. Each nation should adopt and implement
policies to reinforce the public nature of mass media services.
– Mass media services should be provided by more than one organization.
77. Production and distribution of culturally diverse contents should be
guaranteed. For this, concentrated ownership of the media should be
avoided and a legal framework should be established to support local media
and non-commercial media.
J. Safe Labor Environment and Protection of Rights of Workers
78. Such public information infrastructures as independent media center,
public channels(satellite channels, broadcasting networks, cable and
frequency) should be aggressively established in order to reduce gaps in
formation benefits for workers and facilitate communications.
79. Workers have a right to use intranet without any supervision of the
company to freely communicate with one another and do union activities.
80. Women·migrant·disabled·irregular workers need special support to
access information and communicate with one another.
– Measures should be taken for female workers not to be sexually
discriminated against and projects should be undertaken for the creation
of communities for female workers.
– Measures should be taken to guarantee language diversity of migrant
workers and protect the right to access information.
81. Labor union websites should be made in a way to allow anyone to easily
access information and have free communication and websites and bulletin
board operation rules should be freely decided without any intervention.
The websites should be open for criticism and run in a way to protect
privacy.
82. Banning of Surveillance on workers
– What is provided for by international standards set forth by ILO should
be reflected in collective bargaining agreements.
– When the company seeks consents from workers for gathering of personal
information, workers should be able to choose freely based on the
understanding of its impacts on themselves. They should be able to take
back their consents without any disadvantages when the consents are not
sought under circumstances described above.
– Even if a system has been established with the consents of workers to
gather information, requests can be made for the abolition of such system
if it is found that such gathering of information is not necessary. And
workers can make requests to the company for information regarding the
purpose of information collection, commencement date of collection and
supervision period, collection system and record details and persons and
department in charge.
– The company should not use gathered information for purposes other than
the ones agreed upon by the workers and should not use such information as
a basis to discriminate workers.
July, 2003
Korean Civil Society Network for WSIS
Endorsement:
Korean Progressive Network (Jinbonet), PeaceNet, Labor News Production,
Korean Federation for Environment Movement, Korean Labor Net, People’s
Solidarity for the Participatory Democracy, IPLeft, Korean Confederation
of Trade Unions, Korean Christian Network, Media Center, Civil Network for
Cultural Reform, Korea Women’s Association United , Citizens’Action
Network, Korea Contingent Workers Center, Asia Pacific Workers Solidarity,
Research Institute for the Disables’ Rights and Interest, Kangwon Branch
of the Korean People’s Artists Federation
2003-07-17
