"Contracting for the Web" - 9 Principles That Will Make the Internet Better.

[Tomcat]

English scientist, creator of URLs and the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, together with experts, politicians and activists presented the "Contract for the Web" - a document that offers 9 principles for states, companies and users, adherence to which will make the Internet more open and safe.

He previously wrote about this on his Twitter:

Government officials from France, Germany and Ghana, who have already joined the guidelines, and representatives from technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Reddit and DuckDuckGo helped develop the document. Community organizations supported the project by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), AccessNow and Reporters Without Borders.

Medusa translated Berners-Lee's column for the New York Times, which he wrote for Contract for the Web.

And we have translated the entire "Contract" into Russian.

And we join these stated principles.

The document is divided into 3 parts, each containing 3 principles for governments, companies and users. The text can be found below:

PRINCIPLES FOR GOVERNMENTS

1. Provide Internet access for everyone. So that any person, regardless of who he is and where he lives, can connect to the network.

How to do it?

I. Set the following goals:

• By 2025, 1 GB of mobile data should cost no more than 2% of the average monthly income in the world;
• By 2030, at least 90% of citizens should have access to broadband Internet;
• At least 70% of young people over the age of 10 and adults should have information technology skills by 2025.

II. Develop policy and transparent enforcement to achieve these goals by entering:

• Fiscal and investment policy that encourages companies to connect to the Internet in ever larger territories;
• Sharing passive infrastructure and non-discriminatory access to radio frequency spectrum;
• Open access to infrastructure in non-competitive areas, as well as access to a license-free spectrum;
• Establishing institutions to ensure compliance with laws and regulations aimed at expanding access to the Internet.

III. Provide access to the Internet for systematically excluded populations:

• Implement a national broadband policy with concrete action to provide systematically excluded groups with Internet access;
• Develop a policy for providing funds for the development of broadband Internet in unserved and underserved areas;
• Support local production of content and applications, as well as the development of the necessary infrastructure and the creation of an enabling environment to accelerate the growth of local digital businesses.

2. Keep the internet fully accessible at all times. So that no one is deprived of the right to access the Internet.[/B]

How to do it?

I. Create a regulatory framework to minimize government-initiated disruptions to the Internet and ensure that any interference is carried out only in accordance with human rights law:

• Participate in national and international multilateral dialogues to ensure uninterrupted internet connectivity;
• Engage in transparent and documented interactions with private sector entities to ensure the legitimacy of any attempts to restrict access to the Internet, and to ensure that adequate means are used and harm from legal actions to third parties is minimized;
• Investigate and document the losses from Internet disruptions to the national economy, businesses and users.

II. Remove illegal content only in ways that comply with human rights law:

• Adopt national laws and regulations that will ensure compliance with international human rights treaties that enshrine freedom of expression, association, assembly and freedom of access to information;
• Fund research and participate in forums with stakeholders to develop dispute resolution mechanisms related to the removal of illegal content, including misleading content, to ensure that these mechanisms are human rights compliant;
• Develop mechanisms that ensure that all government requests to remove content are based on law, properly documented and meet standards of lawfulness, necessity and proportionality, and include proper notice to the author and potential audience, and are subject to appeal and judicial review;
• Develop mechanisms to ensure transparency of political advertising.

III. Promote openness and competition at both the internet access and content levels:

• Maintain or create independent oversight bodies to develop rules and enforcement to ensure that Internet providers do not discriminate in any way with respect to content, platforms, services, devices or users;
• Support effective enforcement of competition law at all levels of the network, including by promoting interoperability and open standards, thereby providing small market players and innovators with a real opportunity to develop and successfully deploy new online businesses, new technologies and content;
• Fund research that will determine the extent and nature of competition and / or consolidation of online resources.

3. Respect fundamental human rights to privacy and data protection. So that anyone can use the Internet freely, safely and without fear.

How to do it?

I. Establish and implement a comprehensive data and rights protection system to protect people's right to privacy in both the public and private sectors. This system should be applicable to all personal data provided by users and include:

• Legal basis for data processing. Where consent to processing is the legal basis, it must be meaningful, informative, specific, unambiguous and freely provided;
• The right to access personal data, including to receive a copy of all personal data processed by the subject, provided that such access does not negatively affect the rights and freedoms of other users;
• The right to object or refuse the processing of personal data, including to refuse individual profiling and refuse to provide data to automatic decision support systems, subject to clear restrictions determined by law;
• The right to correct inaccurate personal data and delete personal data, if this does not contradict the right to freedom of expression and information or other restrictions determined by law;
• The right to portability and portability of personal data;
• The right to redress through independent complaint mechanisms against public and private bodies that do not respect people's privacy and data protection rights.

II. Ensure that government requests for access to private communications and data are necessary and proportionate to the purpose pursued and subject to due process, comply with law and international human rights law, and do not force service providers or data processors to weaken or undermine the security of their products, and services. In particular, these queries should always be:

• Made in accordance with well-defined laws, subject to a competent and independent judicial authority that provides opportunities for redress;
• Limited to cases where the information is of public interest, which should be defined in legislation;
• Limited in time and not hidden from affected people and the public.

III. Maintain and monitor privacy and data protection rights, in particular:

• Minimize your own data collection by collecting only what is adequate, relevant and necessary to achieve a well-defined public interest;
• Require public service providers and private entities to comply with applicable laws and maintain strong enforcement actions - including administrative fines - by independent, qualified, authorized and adequately resourced regulators;
• Obligate public registries to ensure transparency of data sharing and / or purchase agreements when that data is used for individual profiling, as well as in the event of significant data breaches that are of public interest - so that users know when and how their data may be disclosed;
• Require regular assessments of data security and confidentiality, provide independent and transparent oversight of such assessments and independent audits for the public and private sectors, and implement them as necessary.

PRINCIPLES FOR COMPANIES

4. Make the Internet affordable and technically accessible to everyone. So that everyone participates in the process of using and shaping the web.

How to do it?

I. Develop a policy that addresses the needs of systematically excluded groups:

• Consider gender, ethnicity and race when creating products and services;
• Support the creation of community networks, especially in unserved and low-served areas;
• Serve people in different languages, including minority languages, and make access to products / services possible for people with disabilities.

II. To continuously improve the quality of service:

• Invest in providing greater speed, reliability and performance of networks;
• Adopt net neutrality guidelines that guarantee citizens an open, unrestricted, and non-discriminatory online experience that makes them not only consumers, but creators and innovators as well;
• Strive for symmetric upload / download speeds to facilitate the use of interactive applications.

III. Ensure close coordination of civil society and government on the Internet, providing the Internet to as many people as possible:

• Develop corporate policies that minimize barriers to access created by differences in language, location, age and capabilities;
• Develop applications and services in consultation with potentially excluded groups;
• Develop strategies to improve Internet access and information literacy among women and other systematically excluded groups.

5. Respect and protect the privacy and personal information of people on the Internet to build trust on the Internet. This is so that people have control over their online lives and make clear and meaningful choices about their data and privacy.

How to do it?

I. Give people control over their data:

• Clearly explain the processes that affect user data and privacy, and the objectives of those processes;
• Provide management interfaces where users can easily and conveniently manage their data and privacy settings;
• Ensure the mobility and portability of personal data.

II. Comply with corporate responsibility for data protection and privacy:

• Minimize data collection. Collect only the most necessary data, adequate to the specified legitimate collection purposes, and process the data only in accordance with these purposes;
• Support independent research on how the process of using a service or product affects confidentiality (for example, research on the process of obtaining consent to process data - whether this process is adequate to the right to confidentiality);
• Provide the user with control over how personal data is collected and used, including the use of data by third parties;
• Develop and implement technologies that increase the privacy and security of user data and correspondence.

III. To make the right to privacy and data protection equally accessible to everyone:

• Provide feedback mechanisms where users can report violations of their privacy rights, and take these messages into account in accordance with the law;
• Promote innovative business models that support data protection, respect privacy, and minimize data collection;
• Provide clear and understandable privacy policies and consent forms that list the types of personal data processed and explain the purposes of collecting and using data;
• Effectively inform about any updates and changes to the privacy policy.

6. Create technologies that support the best in people and challenge the worst. For the Internet to really be a public good, where the interests of people are taken into account first of all.

How to do it?

I. Be accountable and publish regular reports on how the company:

• Respects and supports human rights as defined by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
• Develops policies that respect and promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to education, gender equality, systematically excluded groups, climate, social and environmental justice;
• Assesses and removes the risks posed by its technology, including risks associated with online content (such as misinformation), behavior and personal well-being.

II. Engage with all communities inclusively:

• Establish effective channels for consultation, both during technology development and after their release, to ensure the rights and interests of all sectors of society;
• Ensure a diversified workforce by issuing reports that show progress in this direction;
• Train employees through periodic training that will help them understand their responsibilities to the communities with which they interact, as well as help them identify and address common blind spots and reflect on the impact of their work.

III. Invest in digital assets:

• Advocating for the further development of open web standards.
• Promote open source technologies, open access, public knowledge and the value of open data.
• Encourage the localization of products and services in different languages and use formats that enable a diverse set of users to actively participate and contribute to the common commons, including culture, science and knowledge.

USER PRINCIPLES

7. Be creative and collaborate online. So that there is high-quality and suitable content on the Internet for everyone.

How to do it?

I. Take an active part in the creation of the Internet:

• Use and promote open source licenses to exchange information of public interest;
• Share best practices and principles to help create and develop a human-centered internet;
• Protect industry standard open technology that is available to everyone, regardless of their capabilities.
• Create or translate content into local languages.

8. Build strong communities that respect civilized dialogue and human dignity. So that everyone feels that he is safe on the Internet and that he is welcome here.

How to do it?

I. Work towards a more inclusive Web:

• Use the best practices of online public discussion and educate the next generation;
• Strengthen the presence of systematically excluded groups and defend them when they are persecuted or violated;
• Take steps to protect your privacy and security by choosing products and services wisely and communicating your privacy preferences to companies accordingly;
• Refrain from inconsistently sharing sensitive personal information that violates confidentiality and trust.

9. Fight for the global network. For the Internet to remain an open public resource for people around the world, today and in the future.

How to do it?

I. Be active citizens on the web:

• Raise awareness among acquaintances about the threats to the open network;
• Discourage the use of the Internet as a weapon by nation states or other actors;
• Support the organizations, processes and people that promote the open network;
• Support startups and established companies that recognize the worldwide web as a basic right and public good;
• Engage your political representatives and companies to support and comply with this Contract, and to support the open Internet.

The program in English is available here.