“You touch my Skype - you violate my right to self-expression and communication”: Internet access is recognized as a fundamental right (finally)
Translation from share.skype.com/sites/en/2009/06/you_touch_my_skype_you_touch_m.html
The author of the original post is Jean-Jacques Sael, employee of the GR division of Skype in Europe
In terms of our desire to develop innovations and the rights of users on the Internet, the past few weeks have been simply amazing. It's time to talk about it.
Last month, we were all surprised when the European Parliament took a firm stand and went against the governments of EU member states, by an overwhelming majority accepting an amendment to the proposed new rules governing telecommunications, which makes it possible to disconnect Internet users from the network only by a court decision ( not by administrative order).
Then, last week, the French Constitutional Court, relying on the fundamental principles of the French Republic, as formulated in the 1789 Declaration of Human Rights, confirmed that it was unacceptable to disconnect users from France in the network who were suspected of downloading illegal materials.
Firstly, it violates the presumption of innocence. Secondly, and this is critically important, the court stressed that measures to disconnect the user from the network fall under the definition of a restriction on the freedom of expression and communication - the freedom to speak, write and publish. (See the text of the decision and, in particular, article 16, which clarifies that "[...] pouvoirs flow conduit à restreindre l'exercice, par toute personne [...] ". Yeah, all run to your favorite online translator :)
When the Council of Ministers of Communications met at a scheduled meeting on June 12, the governments of EU member states, as expected, officially refused to accept the will of the European Parliament, which means that the review of the rules for the telecommunications industry in the EU will resume in the autumn when the parties try to reach a compromise on amendments affecting basic user rights.
This next (and concurrently - final) phase of the negotiations promises to be fun. Parties will have to delve into fundamental issues for society and the Internet. However, for us in Skype - this is not a theoretical dispute: Skype users are regularly denied the right to express themselves and communicate freely. And not only governments do this: some network operators imagined themselves to be censors of the 21st century, reducing the quality of the connection, blocking or imposing tribute to Skype traffic, simply because they don’t like it .
Fortunately, not all operators are so short-sighted, many people know that everyone can win from Skype - just look at the latest offer of the “3” operator in the UK: just great - you can call Skype for free from your mobile without needing to refill your account. Details here and here ).
Last week, too, news came from this front that confused the picture completely: both Vodafone and T-Mobile (in Germany) announced that they would no longer block Skype and VoIP. That is, they solved their “technical problems”, so what? Well, something like that.
We knew from the very beginning and explained to everyone that Skype works perfectly on mobile networks and consumes very little traffic (average 8-20 kbps), so the technical arguments for blocking Skype could not be used by them for a long time. Instead, they now want consumers to pay more if they want to use Skype.
Why do they even go to such measures? Uh ... At the moment we have only a very vague explanation on the T-Mobile website , referring to technical limitations, and to be honest, it is difficult to understand from the arguments used what exactly they mean. As for Vodafone, we still have to see their official explanation. So far, they only have a speech by one of their leaders at a conference on mobile communications regulation and competition law VIB in Brussels on June 10, 2009, in which, according to press reports, he said that this was not related to technical difficulties and economic considerations:
“If you don’t want to use voice communications, it’s just as if you said,“ I want to replace existing voice communications, for example, with VoIP or other services. ” It is possible and so, but you can not do this without any investments in voice services too. Our investment in users is based on the expectation that they will spend a certain amount each month, in which case they will simply disappear. This undermines our entire economic model. ”
So the whole thing means high profit, not technical limitations, as we were told all the way? Not surprisingly, politicians and bureaucrats, like consumers, find this somewhat strange.
Then yesterday (Tuesday Tuesday, June 16) the Digital Britain plan was published (PDF) . In the UK, not only the use of Skype, but even access to the Skype.com site is blocked by some mobile operators. At the same time, millions of people in Britain work in the ICT and creative industries, constituting 8% of the UK's GDP. And yet, this report says almost nothing about how to implement policies that support innovation in services and applications, or about UK Internet users and their right to access applications and online services of their choice. We will try to establish a dialogue with the UK authorities, in particular, so that in the future their work aimed at attracting more people into the ranks of Internet users, ensuring competition and meaningful consumer choice and increasing the economic and public benefits of using the Internet will not be stifled by censorship. or restrictive actions of companies acting in their own interests.
Looking to the future, what do we expect from European governments and parliamentarians? We believe that EU legislation in the field of telecommunications should be formulated in such a way as to clearly and clearly support fundamental human rights - because if the EU does not show an example in this area, then who?
European legislation should ensure the right of citizens to freedom of expression and communication, give them the benefits of open access to the Internet, and take into account the requirements voiced by users regarding the use and distribution of applications, content and services on the Internet. Access to the Internet, as confirmed by the French Constitutional Court, clearly belongs to the fundamental human rights of having an opinion and receiving and disseminating information and ideas without interference and without regard to borders. In addition, unrestricted access to content, services and applications on the Internet is a matter of preserving and increasing the effectiveness of European and national programs to combat social exclusion and inequality, develop education, promote employment, etc.
What about us Skype users? We need to be heard. If you can not use Skype on your mobile - call the operator and complain. Write to your local politician or communications officer and tell them that your provider is doing something very wrong by restricting your access to the Internet.
Soon - more on that.
The author of the original post is Jean-Jacques Sael, employee of the GR division of Skype in Europe
In terms of our desire to develop innovations and the rights of users on the Internet, the past few weeks have been simply amazing. It's time to talk about it.
Last month, we were all surprised when the European Parliament took a firm stand and went against the governments of EU member states, by an overwhelming majority accepting an amendment to the proposed new rules governing telecommunications, which makes it possible to disconnect Internet users from the network only by a court decision ( not by administrative order).
Then, last week, the French Constitutional Court, relying on the fundamental principles of the French Republic, as formulated in the 1789 Declaration of Human Rights, confirmed that it was unacceptable to disconnect users from France in the network who were suspected of downloading illegal materials.
Firstly, it violates the presumption of innocence. Secondly, and this is critically important, the court stressed that measures to disconnect the user from the network fall under the definition of a restriction on the freedom of expression and communication - the freedom to speak, write and publish. (See the text of the decision and, in particular, article 16, which clarifies that "[...] pouvoirs flow conduit à restreindre l'exercice, par toute personne [...] ". Yeah, all run to your favorite online translator :)
When the Council of Ministers of Communications met at a scheduled meeting on June 12, the governments of EU member states, as expected, officially refused to accept the will of the European Parliament, which means that the review of the rules for the telecommunications industry in the EU will resume in the autumn when the parties try to reach a compromise on amendments affecting basic user rights.
This next (and concurrently - final) phase of the negotiations promises to be fun. Parties will have to delve into fundamental issues for society and the Internet. However, for us in Skype - this is not a theoretical dispute: Skype users are regularly denied the right to express themselves and communicate freely. And not only governments do this: some network operators imagined themselves to be censors of the 21st century, reducing the quality of the connection, blocking or imposing tribute to Skype traffic, simply because they don’t like it .
Fortunately, not all operators are so short-sighted, many people know that everyone can win from Skype - just look at the latest offer of the “3” operator in the UK: just great - you can call Skype for free from your mobile without needing to refill your account. Details here and here ).
Last week, too, news came from this front that confused the picture completely: both Vodafone and T-Mobile (in Germany) announced that they would no longer block Skype and VoIP. That is, they solved their “technical problems”, so what? Well, something like that.
We knew from the very beginning and explained to everyone that Skype works perfectly on mobile networks and consumes very little traffic (average 8-20 kbps), so the technical arguments for blocking Skype could not be used by them for a long time. Instead, they now want consumers to pay more if they want to use Skype.
Why do they even go to such measures? Uh ... At the moment we have only a very vague explanation on the T-Mobile website , referring to technical limitations, and to be honest, it is difficult to understand from the arguments used what exactly they mean. As for Vodafone, we still have to see their official explanation. So far, they only have a speech by one of their leaders at a conference on mobile communications regulation and competition law VIB in Brussels on June 10, 2009, in which, according to press reports, he said that this was not related to technical difficulties and economic considerations:
“If you don’t want to use voice communications, it’s just as if you said,“ I want to replace existing voice communications, for example, with VoIP or other services. ” It is possible and so, but you can not do this without any investments in voice services too. Our investment in users is based on the expectation that they will spend a certain amount each month, in which case they will simply disappear. This undermines our entire economic model. ”
So the whole thing means high profit, not technical limitations, as we were told all the way? Not surprisingly, politicians and bureaucrats, like consumers, find this somewhat strange.
Then yesterday (Tuesday Tuesday, June 16) the Digital Britain plan was published (PDF) . In the UK, not only the use of Skype, but even access to the Skype.com site is blocked by some mobile operators. At the same time, millions of people in Britain work in the ICT and creative industries, constituting 8% of the UK's GDP. And yet, this report says almost nothing about how to implement policies that support innovation in services and applications, or about UK Internet users and their right to access applications and online services of their choice. We will try to establish a dialogue with the UK authorities, in particular, so that in the future their work aimed at attracting more people into the ranks of Internet users, ensuring competition and meaningful consumer choice and increasing the economic and public benefits of using the Internet will not be stifled by censorship. or restrictive actions of companies acting in their own interests.
Looking to the future, what do we expect from European governments and parliamentarians? We believe that EU legislation in the field of telecommunications should be formulated in such a way as to clearly and clearly support fundamental human rights - because if the EU does not show an example in this area, then who?
European legislation should ensure the right of citizens to freedom of expression and communication, give them the benefits of open access to the Internet, and take into account the requirements voiced by users regarding the use and distribution of applications, content and services on the Internet. Access to the Internet, as confirmed by the French Constitutional Court, clearly belongs to the fundamental human rights of having an opinion and receiving and disseminating information and ideas without interference and without regard to borders. In addition, unrestricted access to content, services and applications on the Internet is a matter of preserving and increasing the effectiveness of European and national programs to combat social exclusion and inequality, develop education, promote employment, etc.
What about us Skype users? We need to be heard. If you can not use Skype on your mobile - call the operator and complain. Write to your local politician or communications officer and tell them that your provider is doing something very wrong by restricting your access to the Internet.
Soon - more on that.
')
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/62354/
All Articles