In asian style

Recent years have shown significant progress in the development and application of modern information and telecommunication technologies, which, potentially, can be used to contradict the maintenance of international stability and security ...

Something like this could begin another novel about the life of mankind in the post-industrial world, destroyed by a despotic government (s?), Where instead of progress and technology there was only total control, some kind of anti-utopia, in the spirit of the works of the science fiction genre.

But even in books, the main characters are well able to distinguish their own fantasies from reality, cruel, stupid, and yet predictable. Therefore, do not be fooled. The above quote is the beginning of the most amusing document found on the UN e-government site and signed by the permanent delegates of Russia, China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan - the world editorial on the Internet, so to speak.

But first things first. The “Code of Conduct”, presented to the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the 66th meeting, is written in English and hardly contains the expansion of the freedoms of Internet users, deeper government involvement in dialogue with the people or initiatives to create truly e-government. Already from the first quotation it can be understood that the representatives of these four countries see in the global network exclusively the enemy, the spy and the terrorist. If it cannot be caught (and in fact, how to catch oneself by the tail), then you need to create effective control tools.

And even despite the fact that the adoption of the “code” is voluntary, it seems that something more is brewing inside the four delegates who signed the document - and if in China you need to provide passport information for Internet access in a public place, then nothing in Russia there is no such thing yet, but "effectively controlling and preventing the creation of terrorist, extremist" and other crooked-wing communities, our security forces and politicians (which I think are the same in today's Russia) have been dreaming for a long time. The fact that this document was shown in the United Nations only about the desire to post-factum inform the world political community — I don’t know how in China, and in the former USSR, the apparatchik “do not spend money on failed projects”. That is, anyway ...
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The key conclusion arising from this pamphlet is that the signatory countries want full control over what is happening on the Internet on the territory of a single state (even if it’s impossible to draw a clear border), not forgetting to curtsy towards the public - they say This is multifaceted and should involve representatives from business and civil society.

And today would not be so sunny if the document did not call on the participating countries to "respect human rights and fundamental freedoms", along with "the fight against crime and terrorist activity, during which information and communication technologies are used, including social networks."

Since everyone in the Russian open spaces likes streamlined language that can be pulled up by their ears or another place to practice, all signatories will by all means “stop the spread of information inciting terrorism, secession or extremism, and also stop the spread of information undermining political, economic and social stability, as well as spiritual and cultural environment. "

In the harsh reality, this suggests that if behind a simple PDF there really is something more, especially against the background of the frequent conversations of our politicians about “Internet activity” and omnipresent control, then soon any tool of communication or even networking can be cut off from the Russian audience. With Facebook organized revolution in the East? Did Twitter help coordinate punks plundering stores in London? There is a solution!

Against the background of the upcoming elections, the initiative of states “to lead all elements of society, including information and communication partners, to closer relations with the private sector, to understand their own role and responsibility with respect to information security,” also looks interesting.

As for the rest of the UN member countries, they took this document very coldly, which is not surprising. Despite the fact that in four countries that adopted the code of “honor” the number of Internet users is relatively large, we can hardly compare with the western neighbors and distant countries in the percentage of Internet penetration into the life of a simple man in the street, and, perhaps more important, in the level of awareness this philistine what is the Internet in principle.

Attempts to adjust the virtual world to territorial sovereignty, according to many, are failures. Not only for the reason that here we finally have found the long-awaited freedom and are not ready to part with it, but also because fundamentally (or, if you like - architecturally) these two paradigms cannot successfully overlap each other.

And if suddenly our politicians still do not understand that the global network has long been a free domain for everyone, then in principle we all have a chance to prove it. Otherwise - do not be surprised if someday they leave you after the next update of the status of Vkontakte or a sharp tweet addressed to the politician, who are now being actively taught to "listen to what people are saying."

In the comments gave a link to the text of the letter in Russian - enjoy .