2nd international congress on infoethics'98: ethical...

INFOethics’98Ethical, legal and societal challenges of cyberspaceSecond International CongressCongress Centre, Monte-Carlo, Principality of Monaco1-3 October 1998

Final Report and Proceedings

INFOéthique’98Les enjeux éthiques, juridiques et sociétaux du cyberespaceDeuxième Congrès internationalPalais des Congrès, Monte-Carlo, Principauté de Monaco1-3 octobre 1998

Rapport final et Actes

INFOeticá’98Los desafios éticos, jurídicos y societales de ciberespacioSegundo Congreso InternacionalPalacio de Congresos, Monte-Carlo, Principado de Mónaco1-3 octubre de 1998

Informe Final y Actas

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The ideas and opinions expressed in this document arethose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect theviews of UNESCO.

Les idées et les opinions exprimées dans ce documentsont celles de l’auteur et ne reflètent pas nécessairementles vues de l’UNESCO.

Las ideas y opiniones expresadas en este documentoson las de los autores y no reflejan necesariamente el punto de vista de la UNESCO.

CII-98/CONF.401/CLD.4

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Table of Contents/Table des matières/Indice

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 & 11

SUMMARY REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

RÉSUMÉ DU RAPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

DÉCLARATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

OPENING ADDRESSES

Mr. Peter P. Canisius, Chairperson, INFOethics’98. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

M. Jean Pastorelli, Délégué permanent du Gouvernement de Son Altesse Sérénissime le Prince Rainier III de Monaco auprès de l’UNESCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Mr. Henrikas Yushkiavitshus, Assistant Director-General, Communication, Information, Informatics Sector, UNESCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

THE VIRTUAL FORUM

VF-INFOethics: Links from INFOethics ’97 to INFOethics ’98by Rainer Kuhlen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

THEME PUBLIC DOMAIN AND MULTILINGUALISM IN CYBERSPACE

At each Round Table, there was a presentation of audiovisual clips by Louis Chammings

Round table DEVELOPING INFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

Free software and beyondby Richard Stallman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Defining a new compact between the public authorities and the information societyby T. de la Quadra-Salcedo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Gabon, the Internet and universal access to public information – Experience and problemsby Roger Valer Ayimambenwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

The use of the Internet to serve peace and to bring peoples closer togetherby Anwar Abu Eisheh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

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Round table PROMOTING AND USING MULTILINGUALISM

Multilingualism on the Netby Toru Nishigaki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

The role of language engineering in supporting multilingual aspects in cyberspaceby Adeeb Ghonaimy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Language and communication in the context of creative diversityby Sveinn Einarsson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Promoting multilingualism on the Internet: The Korean experienceby Taik-Sup Auh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

THEME PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY, SECURITY IN CYBERSPACE

Round table PROTECTING PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY RIGHTS

Trust – A principle for ethics and economics in the global information societyby Rainer Kuhlen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Preserving privacy in the information societyby Marc Rotenberg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Trust and privacy in cyberspace: A view from Asianby Rohan Samarajiva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Towards regional co-operation for protecting privacy rights in cyberspace:The impact of Islamic laws and ethicsby Kazem Motamed Nejad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

The new frontiers of privacyby Simon Davies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Round table PROTECTING PROPRIETARY AND SECURITY RIGHTS

Protection versus accessibility on the Inter and Intranetby Yousef Nusseir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Protecting proprietary and security rights in cyberspace:Initiatives in Indiaby A.K. Chakravarti. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

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THEME SOCIETIES AND GLOBALIZATION

Round table PROMOTING COGNITIVE EDUCATION

Global education and local communitiesby Kristof Nyíri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Learning to be a citizen of cyberspaceby Vincent Mosco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Education in the ever-changing worldby Vladimir G. Kinelev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Globalization and the state in the information age: Thoughts on requirements for education and learningby Derrick L. Cogburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Round table DEVELOPING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND MULTICULTURAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Globalization and cultureby Alexander N. Yakovlev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Ethics and means of regulating the Internetby Jacques Berleur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Developing participation in the global information societyby Kweku Appiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Cyberspace as public domain: The role of civil societyby Cees Hamelink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Is there space on the Internet for languages and culturesother than American?by Daniel Pimienta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

CLOSING ADDRESSBy Ms. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

LIST OF SPEAKERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

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PREFACE

The globalization of new information technologies and thedevelopment of an economy of intangible goods, flowing

with impunity across borders and legal systems, reveal the urgent need for an ethical framework and political action in the “globalinformation society”. It is in this context that UNESCO organizedthe Second International Congress on Ethical, Legal and SocietalChallenges of Cyberspace in Monte-Carlo, Principality of Monacofrom 1 to 3 October 1999.

Effective access to information – a major future challenge for the“cyber-society” – was the main objective of the Congress. As economic,financial and technological globalization accelerates, there is a needfor world citizenship and governance, which require access to qualitypublic information and to government instruments adapted to thecyber era.

The information society is part of a “world country” of whichindividuals everywhere must become citizens. How can the developmentof this new citizenship be facilitated? How can democracy beguaranteed in an era of globalization and cyberspace?

Expressions such as “global village”, “world information society” or“era of convergence” are misleading. Globalization does not have thesame results for all. Today, there are “global rich” and “global poor”as some benefit while others suffer from the gobalization phenomen.One of the reasons for these glaring differences is the absence ofglobal political action in this field.

The major challenge of INFOethics’98 was to establish a basis forreflection on the fundamental ethical principles, which must inspiretrans-national political action in the cyber era. Three main problemswere discussed at this second Congress:

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– access to information, in particular the problem of access to information in the public domain and the question of multilingualism;

– protection of privacy;– preparing societies for the impact of globalization.

The proceedings, full texts of interventions, and summary conclusionsof the Congress which are presented in this report, reflect the views of leading specialists from a wide range of countries. These texts arealso available on the UNESCO Web site:http://unesco.org/webworld/infoethics_2/index.htm

The organization of the Congress received financial support from theGovernment of Monaco, the Agence pour la Francophonie (ACCT)and some National Commissions for UNESCO. The Direction deTourisme et des Congrès de Monaco provided the physical facilitiesfor the organization of the Congress. We express our sincere thanks toall who participated in the preparation and holding of this Congress.

PETER CANISIUS VICTOR MONTVILOFFChairperson of the Congress Secretary of the Congress

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http://unesco.org/webworld/infoethics_2/index.htm

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

The human and social implications of communication and information tech-nologies are immense, far-reaching and hard to predict. Globalization andconvergence in the emerging information society raise complex ethical, legaland societal issues related to the freedom of expression, access to informa-tion, right to privacy, intellectual property rights and cultural and linguisticdiversity.

By its Constitution UNESCO is mandated to promote “the free flow ofideas by word and image”. The Organization seeks in every way possible tochampion equality, social justice, multiculturalism and multilingualism in theglobalization process and to provide a forum for the international communityin its search for a concept of “the highest common good” in an informationsociety for all.

An International Expert Meeting on Legal and Ethical Issues of Accessto Electronic Information was held at UNESCO Headquarters in July 1995. Itwas followed by INFOethics, the first International Congress on the Ethical,Legal and Societal Aspects of Digital Information organized, in cooperationwith the Government of Monaco and several National Commissions forUNESCO, in March 1997.

The organization of a virtual forum on the Internet in cooperation withthe University of Constance (Germany) in July 1997, the creation of an obser-vatory on the UNESCO Website and the organization of INFOethics’98 arepart of this process to raise awareness about the opportunities and challengesof the Information Society for citizens all over the world.

UNESCO is calling upon the National Commissions for UNESCO inMember States to encourage appropriate participation in the Information Societyand to mobilize the resources necessary for this.

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OBJECTIVES

The Congress INFOethics’98 aims to provide a forum where politicians, schol-ars, legal specialists and experts from telecommunications, computer sciences,mass media, audiovisual productions, education, cultural and international law,information and social sciences can exchange knowledge and experiences aboutthe cultural, social and educational dimensions of universal access to informa-tion in the global information infrastructure.

Its particular objective is to propose actions on best ways to ensure thatall countries are aware of:

1. the ethical issues requiring international attention concerning theproduction, access, dissemination, preservation and use of digitizedmultimedia information on the global information highways;

2. the essential principles to be considered when formulating policieson these issues;

3. the strategies adopted for international cooperation.

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INTRODUCTION

CONTEXTE

L’évolution des technologies de la communication et de l’information a, surl’être humain et les sociétés, des répercussions aussi considérables et profondesque difficiles à prévoir. La mondialisation et la convergence au sein de la sociétéde l’information soulèvent des enjeux complexes d’ordres éthique, juridique etsociétal touchant à la liberté d’expression, l’accès à l’information, le droit àla vie privée, le droit de la propriété intellectuelle et la diversité culturelle etlinguistique.

L’UNESCO, qui, au terme de son Acte constitutif, a pour mandat de pro-mouvoir « la libre circulation des idées, par le mot et par l’image », relève ledéfi de faire en sorte que la mondialisation s’opère dans le respect de l’égalité,de la justice sociale, du multiculturalisme et du plurilinguisme et offre à la com-munauté internationale un forum de réflexion sur le concept du « bien communle plus élevé » dans une société de l’information pour tous.

Une réunion internationale d’experts sur les questions juridiques etéthiques concernant l’accès à l’information électronique a eu lieu au Siège del’UNESCO en juillet 1995. Elle a été suivie d’INFOéthique, le premier Congrèsinternational sur les aspects éthiques, juridiques et sociétaux de l’informationnumérique, organisé en mars 1997, en coopération avec le gouvernement deMonaco et de plusieurs commissions nationales auprès de l’UNESCO.

L’organisation d’un forum virtuel sur l’Internet depuis juillet 1997, encoopération avec l’Université de Constance (Allemagne), la création d’unObservatoire sur le site Web de l’UNESCO, et l’organisation d’INFOéthique’98s’inscrivent dans ce processus de sensibilisation aux possibilités et aux défisque la société de l’information représente pour les citoyens du monde entier.

L’Organisation fait appel auprès des commissions nationales pourl’UNESCO dans les États membres afin de s’assurer d’une bonne participationà ce congrès et de mobiliser des ressources.

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OBJECTIFS

Le congrès INFOéthique’98 offre une tribune où les responsables politiques,universitaires, juristes et spécialistes des télécommunications, de l’informatique,des médias, de l’audiovisuel, de l’éducation, de la culture et du droit inter-national, de l’information et des sciences sociales peuvent échanger leursconnaissances et leurs expériences sur les dimensions culturelles, socialeset pédagogiques de l’accès universel à l’information dans l’infrastructureglobale de l’information.

Son objectif est de proposer des actions de sensibilisation des pays sur :1. les enjeux éthiques, nécessitant l’attention de la communauté interna-

tionale, que posent la production de l’information multimédianumérisée mise sur les autoroutes mondiales de l’information, l’accèsà cette information, sa diffusion, sa conservation et son utilisation ;

2. les principes directeurs essentiels dont les pays doivent tenir comptedans la formulation de leurs politiques sur ces questions ;

3. les stratégies adoptées pour la coopération internationale.

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SUMMARY REPORT

ORGANIZATION

The Congress INFOethics’98, held in Monaco from 1 to 3 October 1998, wasopened by the representative of the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr HenrikasYushkiavitshus, Assistant Director-General for Communication, Information andInformatics and by the representative of the Minister of State of the Principalityof Monaco, Mr Jean Pastorelli. It was attended by 160 participants from66 countries including lawyers, government officials, technicians, academicsand the media. Twelve international intergovernmental and non-governmentalorganizations were represented at the Congress. The debates proceeded asplanned in six sessions each illustrated by short video clips prepared by theInstitut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA), France. A report on the results ofa UNESCO Virtual Forum on Information Ethics that took place from October1997 to April 1998 was presented by its coordinator, Mr Rainer Kuhlen,University of Constance (Germany). The closing speech was delivered byMs Vigdis Finnbogadóttir, Chairperson of the World Commission on theEthics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology and former President of theRepublic of Iceland.

The Congress was chaired by the President of the German Commissionfor UNESCO, Mr Peter Canisius. A total of 28 speakers from 23 countriesparticipated in the six discussion panels. The discussions were moderated byrepresentatives from six international organizations. The six moderators pre-pared a report and conclusions on the discussions in their respective sessionsand presented them to the plenary at the closing session of the Congress. Onthe initiative of the Chairman, a drafting group prepared a statement propos-ing possible lines of action that UNESCO might consider as a follow up tothe issues discussed during the Congress.

The organization of this event benefited from financial support from theGovernment of Monaco, the Agence pour la Francophonie (ACCT) and someNational Commissions for UNESCO. The Direction de Tourisme et des Congrèsde Monaco provided the physical facilities for the organization of the Congress.

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CONTENT

There was general agreement that UNESCO should continue to follow up thedifferent ethical and societal aspects of the applications of new informationtechnologies particularly where the challenges of open access to the contentsdisseminated through the electronic information media are concerned.

The themes and topics selected for the Congress were considered perti-nent and practical. Participants appreciated that sufficent time was allocated toeach theme for discussion. Most of the presentations were of high quality andwere followed by lively debates with participants from the floor.

The conclusions of these debates and the final statement issued by theCongress provide a basis for future UNESCO action in the area of INFOethicsin its fields of competence. The reports from the round tables are summarizedbelow.

Round table 1: Information in the public domain

To further develop information in public domain through activities that:1.1 improve access to public information;1.2 provide freedom of access to means of accessing and processing infor-

mation – to computer software.

It was noted that attempts by commercial software producers to control thedistribution, adaptation and use of software through the application of copy-right laws are being countered by free software groups, which develop newsoftware through collective efforts and share the results freely with users.

1.3 Increase the role of the public sector in making electronic networks(principally the Internet) accessible to all on equal terms.

The free software movement represents an attempt to counter the influence ofcommercial interests in what should be the public domain.

1.4 Raise awareness of the responsibility of States to formulate and imple-ment new kinds of policies to deal with information in cyberspace.

The rapid growth of the Internet has given rise to a number of problems andproposals for their resolution fall into two categories: some advocate more stateintervention, while others emphasize the need to establish principles of free-dom in cyberspace similar to those of freedom of the sea established in a muchearlier era.

1.5 Provide guaranteed access to the benefits of the Information Society for all.

Discussion of the respective roles of the private and public sectors in thedevelopment of the Internet tends to focus on such problems as inequality ofaccess to information and the abuse of the new media for criminal or anti-social purposes.

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Round table 2: Multilingualism

National authorities, UNESCO and other international organizations are encour-aged to be vigilant in order to ensure a world balance in matters concerningaccess and production of information on the Internet by:

2.1 developing multilingualism on the Internet;2.2 developing intelligent linguistic systems (recognition of languages, auto-

mated translation, TAO, etc.), together with the adoption of techniquesfor the drafting of original articles so that they may be correctly trans-lated by machines;

2.3 participating in the implementation of a world policy for character codingand for information input-output procedures;

2.4 encouraging the diffusion of cultural heritage;2.5 promoting languages, which are less used either because they are in non-

Latin characters, or are spoken by fewer people, or are not the languageused in public administration (i.e. indigenous).

It was considered that, if present trends in the Information Society continue,English will become the international and business language; some Europeanlanguages will be used regionally and for specialized communication; all otherlanguages will be exclusively used for local communications. Some predictthat, out of the 5,000 to 6,000 currently used languages, only about 100 willsurvive and there will be serious social, cultural and scientific consequences.There will be no real cultural and social exchange as long as English is theonly communication language on the Internet. This situation creates citizens ofa “second zone”, disadvantaged populations. The overabundance of informa-tion on the Internet also makes it difficult to find information that is accurateand of quality.

Round table 3: Privacy and confidentiality rights

The new communication technologies offer both challenges and opportunitiesfor the protection of privacy and there is a need to increase trust and reliabilityin information networks, especially by:

3.1 implementing Article 12 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rightsas the basic starting point for an international campaign to put privacyissues high on the international agenda. Such prominence will makethe parties involved more accountable for the way in which they treatpersonal privacy;

3.2 working with organizations at the regional level to reach regional agree-ments on key privacy issues that can later be worked into a globalconsensus;

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3.3 identifying companies, organizations and institutions that comply withArticle 12 to promote the incorporation of privacy safeguards into insti-tutional daily practices;

3.4 encouraging international organizations, like UNESCO, to raise awarenessof privacy issues through international meetings so that civil society andgovernment officials can grasp the full implications of privacy related chal-lenges;

3.5 promoting work that is intended to establish agreed upon standards ofwhat is acceptable and what is not from a citizen’s personal privacy pointof view.

Round table 4: Proprietary and security rights

It was suggested that UNESCO pursue the following actions:4.1 strengthening the role of libraries in supporting users seeking guidance

in the growing complexity of the information world including supportvia cyberspace (the Internet);

4.2 defining and promoting the “fair use” of information technologies andtheir essential components;

4.3 with respect to Intellectual Property Rights protecting the human heritagefrom the excesses of “privatization”;

4.4 identifying important previously ignored issues, such as CollectiveProperty Rights of Indigenous People, and encouraging the implementa-tion of such rights;

4.5 refusing to accept that definitions and practices concerning “property”be continuously extended to reduce public access and the free flow ofinformation for the benefit of a few individuals or organizations at thepublic’s expense and, especially where educational, scientific and culturalinstitutions are concerned.

Some additional remarks were made concerning other possible action:4.6 studying the way in which developments of the flow of information

influence moral issues, intellectual property, privacy and responsibility(i.e. ISO 9000 “quality” measures/processes may provide means for thisanalysis);

4.7 adding UNESCO’s contribution to the Russian resolution presentedto the United Nations concerning “Breakthroughs in the field of infor-matization and telecommunication in the framework of internationalsecurity”;

4.8 protecting the basic rights of indigenous people (e.g. “InkaniNet”); 4.9 collecting and promoting existing codes of professional conduct and codes

of ethics related to information technologies.

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Round table 5: Cognitive education

The participants suggested that:5.1 There is a need to take specific action in order to ensure that the

Information Society is for the benefit of all and that education systemsare meeting the challenges. This is particularly true because:• commercial interests, not social considerations are primarily generat-

ing developments;• technological tools are being used for the existing education system

rather than adjusting the education system to take into considerationthe availability of the new tools;

• existing education systems have not evolved quickly enough to takethe technological developments into consideration;

• one of the priority sectors of populations should be children;• although distance learning is an important tool for the future, the tools

and methodologies have not fully matured yet. Further work is stillneeded.

5.2 Specific actions should be taken in order to address the necessary changesin the education system. The following actions are proposed:• promote the continuation of the dialogue initiated by this conference

on the issue of education in the cyberworld;• launch a series of studies on:

(a) how to ensure that teachers – particularly at the primary andsecondary level – be given the necessary skills to teach childrenin the twenty-first century;

(b) how can the current shortage of ICT skilled personnel best behandled and how to increase the level of graduates;

(c) what are the implications for developing countries of the currentphenomenon of the migration of the skilled workforce in infor-mation and communication technologies towards the developedworld;

(d) what are the alternative mechanisms for evaluating student capa-bilities in the new context (e.g. increased importance of groupworking, capacity to memorize facts or to analyse large volumesof data, etc.);

(e) how to promote citizenship in the global context. How shouldthis be reflected in school curricula;

(f) how to forecast sufficiently early the necessary skills that thefuture workforce will need, in order to adapt the education sys-tem to these needs.

5.3 There is a need for a series of mechanisms and actions. These include:• launching the series of studies outlined above;• continue to develop an observatory of best practice examples in this

field so experiences can be shared;

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• continue the process of dialogue which has been initiated by thisconference and complementing it by setting up various fora(physical and virtual) bringing together representatives of the devel-oping and developed world, minority groups, indigenous peoples,educational experts, technology experts, private sector, the interna-tional and regional organizations, etc.

Round table 6: Social, economic and multicultural responsibilities

A number of issues provoked discussion during the session:6.1 The first is the question of global governance. Its vision is predominately

optimistic. The challenge is to prepare worldwide for the era of indi-vidualization. There will have to be a re-examination of existing politi-cal structures to ensure a worldwide framework which is transparent andeffective. At its heart, this issue calls for innovation and creativity frompolitical leaders to bring about change which will respect fundamentalindividual and collective rights.

6.2 Systems for filtering and self-regulation is another important question.Paricipants were fully aware of the opportunities for a decentralizedapproach and of the possibilities for those who use the technology them-selves to determine the rules by which it is used, and therefore consideredthat the systems of filtering should be non-intrusive and flexible.

6.3 Existing standards of self-regulation through industry codes are low andmost self-regulators have failed to deliver the standards they had setthemselves. It is noted that key issues related to information technology– cultural and democratic pluralism, matters of cultural diversity andsocial justice – are absent from many of these codes. Above all, the ques-tion of effective enforcement that can maintain public confidence remainsunanswered. This is one area where the participants believe that there isa need for serious work on the part of UNESCO to review the qualityof existing self-regulatory structures and to press for more effective andinclusive codes of practice.

6.4 Above all, participants were concerned about social exclusion and it wasstrongly felt that actions that combat exclusion should be given priorityby UNESCO and other international agencies. This is an issue which isa problem in all countries as well as being traditionally a problem betweencountries which are rich in technical and economic resources and thosein the process of development.

Social exclusion can be minimized by:• training programmes in information technology and computer literacy

to be made available for all;• provision of affordable access to new information technology to all

groups in society from all areas of the world;

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• expansion of the base of access through decentralized systems ofadministration, the provision of public information access points avail-able to all groups in society and the availability of cheap, simple androbust technologies;

• expansion of the linguistic and cultural base of information tech-nology resources to challenge the existing dominance of the Englishlanguage and North American cultural products and values (Specialemphasis here is placed on the needs of indigenous people.)

6.5 Finally, the participants were united in the belief that the debate aboutthe future in this critical field is much too narrow. It needs to beexpanded to ensure that the key players – community leaders, informa-tion professionals, industry representatives as well as political leadersand regulators – are all brought to the same table. Without this levelof inclusive debate, serious progress towards addressing the societalchallenges will not be made. UNESCO’s role in facilitating the expansionof the debate is of critical importance.

At the end of its work, the Congress issued the following statement preparedby a drafting group at the Chairperson’s request.

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RÉSUMÉ DU RAPPORT

ORGANISATION

Le Congrès INFOéthique’98, tenu à Monaco du 1er au 3 octobre 1998, a étéouvert par M. Henrikas Yushkiavitshus, représentant du Directeur général del’UNESCO, Sous-Directeur général pour la communication, l’information etl’informatique et M. Jean Pastorelli, représentant du Ministre d’État de laPrincipauté de Monaco. Il a réuni 160 participants de 66 pays comprenant desjuristes, des fonctionnaires, des techniciens, des universitaires et des représen-tants des médias. Douze organisations internationales, intergouvernementaleset non gouvernementales y étaient représentées. Les débats ont occupé, commeprévu, 6 séances qui ont été illustrées chacune par de brefs vidéo-clips élaborés par l’Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA) (France). Un rapport surles résultats d’un Forum virtuel de l’UNESCO sur l’éthique de l’informationqui s’était déroulé d’octobre 1997 à avril 1998 a été exposé par le coordonna-teur de ce forum, M. Rainer Kuhlen, de l’Université de Constance (Allemagne).L’allocution de clôture a été prononcée par Mme Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, prési-dente de la Commission mondiale d’éthique des connaissances scientifiques etdes technologies et ex-présidente de la République d’Islande.

La présidence du Congrès a été assurée par M. Peter Canisius, présidentde la Commission allemande pour l’UNESCO. Au total, 28 orateurs de 23 payssont intervenus au sein des 6 groupes de discussions, dont les débats ont étédirigés par les représentants de 6 organisations internationales. Ces derniers ont rédigé le rapport et les conclusions des travaux des séances qu’ils ont diri-gées et les ont proposés en plénière lors de la séance de clôture du Congrès.A l’initiative du Président, un groupe de rédaction a élaboré une déclarationproposant des lignes d’action que l’Organisation pourrait envisager de suivresur les points examinés au cours du Congrès.

L’organisation de cette réunion a bénéficié de concours financiers du gou-vernement de Monaco, de l’Agence pour la francophonie (ACCT) et de quelquescommissions nationales pour l’UNESCO. La Direction du tourisme et descongrès de Monaco a fourni les locaux et installations nécessaires.

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CONTENU

Il a été généralement admis qu’il était utile que l’UNESCO continue à suivreles différents aspects éthiques et sociétaux des applications des nouvelles tech-nologies de l’information, en particulier pour ce qui touchait à la probléma-tique du libre accès aux contenus diffusés par les moyens de communicationélectroniques.

Les thèmes et questions sélectionnés pour le Congrès ont été jugés per-tinents et concrets. Les participants se sont félicités que suffisamment de tempsait été alloué à chaque thème de discussion. La plupart des présentations ontété très riches et d’une haute qualité et ont été suivies de débats animés avecles participants.

Les conclusions de ces débats ainsi que la Déclaration finale du Congrèspeuvent servir de base à la détermination de l’action future de l’UNESCOconcernant les aspects de l’INFOéthique qui sont de sa compétence. Les rapportsen question sont résumés ci-dessous.

Table ronde 1 : Information dans le domaine public

Il s’agit de développer l’information dans le domaine public par des activitéspropres à :

1.1 améliorer l’accès à l’information publique proprement dit ;1.2 assurer le libre accès aux moyens de parvenir à l’information et de la

traiter, autrement dit aux logiciels informatiques.

Il a été noté que les tentatives faites par les éditeurs de logiciels du commercepour s’assurer le contrôle de la distribution, de l’adaptation et de l’utilisation deslogiciels grâce à l’application de dispositions législatives sur le droit d’auteursont actuellement contrées par des groupes qui militent pour les logiciels à libreusage, en élaborent collectivement et les mettent gratuitement à la disposition desusagers.

1.3 accroître le rôle du secteur public en rendant les réseaux électroniques(et principalement l’Internet) également accessibles à tous.

Le mouvement en faveur des logiciels en libre usage tente de contrer l’influenceexercée par des groupes d’intérêts commerciaux sur des produits qui devraientégalement avoir leur place dans le domaine public.

1.4 sensibiliser à la responsabilité qui incombe aux États de formuler et mettreen œuvre de nouveaux types de politiques concernant l’information dansle cyberespace.

La rapide expansion de l’Internet a suscité un certain nombre de problèmes qued’aucuns ont proposé de résoudre par une intervention accrue de l’État tandisque d’autres insistaient sur la nécessité d’établir pour le cyberespace des principesde liberté analogues à la liberté des mers institués à une époque bien antérieure.

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1.5 garantir l’accès de toute l’humanité aux avantages de la société del’information.

Le débat sur les rôles respectifs des secteurs privé et public dans le dévelop-pement de l’Internet tend à se concentrer sur des problèmes comme l’inégalitéde l’accès à l’information et l’utilisation des nouveaux médias à des finscriminelles ou antisociales.

Table ronde 2 : Multilinguisme

Les autorités nationales, l’UNESCO et d’autres organisations internationalessont encouragées à veiller au maintien d’un équilibre mondial dans l’accès àl’information et sa production sur l’Internet :

2.1 en développant le multilinguisme sur l’Internet ;2.2 en élaborant des systèmes intelligents de traitement des langues

(reconnaissance des langues, traduction automatisée, TAO, etc.), touten œuvrant pour l’adoption de méthodes de rédaction des articles dansla langue d’origine qui en permettent la traduction correcte par lesmachines ;

2.3 en participant à la mise en œuvre d’une politique mondiale en matièrede codage des caractères et de procédures de saisie et de production del’information ;

2.4 en encourageant la diffusion du patrimoine culturel ;2.5 en favorisant les langues qui sont moins utilisées que d’autres parce

qu’elles ne s’écrivent pas en caractères latins, sont parlées par un nombrede personnes moindre ou ne représentent pas la langue de l’administra-tion publique (cas de langues autochtones).

Les participants ont estimé que si la Société de l’information continuait àévoluer selon les tendances actuelles, l’anglais deviendrait à coup sûr la langueinternationale et commerciale, certaines langues européennes seraient utiliséesà l’échelon régional et pour certaines communications spécialisées et toutes lesautres langues serviraient exclusivement aux communications locales. Seloncertaines prévisions, sur les 5 000 à 6 000 langues actuellement parlées, unecentaine seulement survivront, ce qui aura de graves conséquences sur les planssocial, culturel et scientifique. Il n’y aura pas de véritables échanges culturelset sociaux tant que l’anglais sera la seule langue de communication sur l’Internet.Cette situation crée des citoyens « de seconde zone » et entraîne une discrimi-nation au détriment de certaines populations. D’autre part, la surabondance del’information sur l’Internet rend difficile l’obtention de données exactes et dequalité.

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Table ronde 3 : Droits au respect de la vie privée et à la confidentialité

Les nouvelles technologies de la communication posant des défis tout aussiformidables que les possibilités qu’elles ouvrent en matière de protection de lavie privée, il est nécessaire de renforcer la confiance et la fiabilité sur lesréseaux d’information, en particulier :

3.1 en appliquant l’article 12 de la Déclaration des droits de l’homme en tantque fondement premier d’une campagne internationale visant à promou-voir le débat sur les questions liées au droit à la vie privée dans les réunionsinternationales et à rehausser l’importance inhérente à ces questions.Cette importance qui leur sera donnée rendra toutes les parties concer-nées plus responsables de la manière dont elles traitent la protectionde la vie privée ;

3.2 en œuvrant avec les organisations à l’échelon régional, à la conclusiond’accords régionaux sur des aspects-clés du respect de la vie privée quipourront déboucher ultérieurement sur un consensus mondial ;

3.3 en recensant les entreprises, les organisations et les institutions qui seconforment à l’article 12 en vue de promouvoir l’intégration de prin-cipes de protection de la vie privée dans les pratiques institutionnellesquotidiennes ;

3.4 en encourageant les organisations internationales telles que l’UNESCOà accroître par des réunions internationales la sensibilisation à cette ques-tion de sorte que la société civile et les pouvoirs publics saisissent bien,dans toutes leurs incidences, les enjeux de la protection de la vie privée ;

3.5 en encourageant les travaux visant à élaborer des normes généralementadmises sur ce qui est ou n’est pas acceptable quant au respect de la vieprivée du citoyen.

Table ronde 4 : Droits exclusifs et droits à la sécurité

Il a été suggéré que l’UNESCO mène les actions de suivi énumérées ci-après :4.1 renforcer le rôle des bibliothèques s’agissant d’aider les usagers – y com-

pris en utilisant le cyberespace (l’Internet) – à s’orienter face à la complexitécroissante du domaine de l’information ;

4.2 définir et promouvoir un « usage loyal » des technologies de l’informa-tion et de leurs composantes essentielles ;

4.3 protéger les droits de propriété intellectuelle sur le patrimoine humaincontre les excès de la « privatisation » ;

4.4 déterminer les questions importantes qui ont été négligées jusqu’à pré-sent, telles que les droits de propriété collective des peuples autochtones,et assurer la mise en œuvre des droits de cette nature ;

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4.5 refuser l’extension continue de définitions et pratiques en matière de« propriété » qui réduisent l’accès à l’information et sa libre circulation,au profit d’une poignée d’individus ou d’organisations et au détrimentdu public et en particulier des institutions s’occupant d’éducation, descience et de culture.

Quelques suggestions ont, en outre, été faites concernant d’autres actionspossibles :

4.6 étudier comment les progrès de la circulation de l’information influentsur la morale, la propriété intellectuelle, le respect de la vie privée et laresponsabilité (les mesures/processus préconisés dans la norme ISO 9000en matière de « qualité » peuvent fournir les moyens d’effectuer cetteanalyse) ;

4.7 ajouter l’apport de l’UNESCO au projet de résolution présenté par laFédération de Russie à l’ONU concernant les percées dans le domainede l’informatisation et des télécommunications dans le contexte de lasécurité internationale ;

4.8 protéger les droits fondamentaux des populations autochtones (exemplede « InkaniNet ») ;

4.9 recueillir et faire connaître les codes de déontologie et d’éthique relatifsaux technologies de l’information.

Table ronde 5 : Formation cognitive

Les suggestions des participants ont été les suivantes :5.1 il est nécessaire de prendre des mesures expresses pour s’assurer que la

société de l’information profite à tous et que nos systèmes éducatifsrépondent aux défis qu’elle pose, et ce d’autant que :• les intérêts commerciaux sont essentiellement générateurs de progrès

matériels et ne prennent pas en compte les considérations sociales ;• les outils technologiques sont utilisés aux fins du système éducatif

existant, au lieu que ce système soit adapté pour tenir compte del’existence de ces nouveaux outils ;

• les systèmes éducatifs existants n’ont pas évolué suffisamment vitepour prendre en compte les progrès technologiques ;

• les enfants devraient figurer parmi la population prioritaire ;• l’enseignement à distance est certes un outil important pour l’avenir,

mais ses instruments et méthodes ne sont pas encore parvenuspleinement à maturité et nécessitent des travaux complémentaires.

5.2 des mesures expresses devraient être prises pour apporter les modifica-tions nécessaires au système éducatif. Il est proposé de mettre en œuvreles actions suivantes :• promouvoir la poursuite du dialogue amorcé par le Congrès sur le

problème de l’éducation dans le cybermonde ;

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• lancer une série d’études sur les questions suivantes :a) comment s’assurer que les enseignants – en particulier aux

niveaux primaire et secondaire – acquièrent les compétencesnécessaires pour éduquer les enfants au XXIe siècle ?

b) comment remédier au mieux à l’actuelle pénurie de profes-sionnels qualifiés des TIC et comment élever le niveau desdiplômés ?

c) quelles sont les conséquences pour les pays en développementde l’actuel phénomène d’émigration des personnels qualifiés entechnologies de l’information et de la communication vers lemonde développé ?

d) quels nouveaux mécanismes peut-on utiliser pour évaluer lescapacités des élèves dans le nouveau contexte (caractérisé parexemple par l’importance accrue du travail en groupe, la possi-bilité de mémoriser des faits ou d’analyser d’importants volumesde données, etc.) ?

e) comment promouvoir la citoyenneté dans le contexte mondial etcomment en tenir compte dans les programmes scolaires ?

f) comment prévoir suffisamment longtemps à l’avance les compé-tences que les travailleurs de demain devront posséder, de manièreà réaménager le système éducatif pour qu’il réponde à cesbesoins ?

5.3 il est nécessaire de mettre en place une série de mécanismes et d’actions,notamment :• lancer la série d’études décrites ci-dessus ;• continuer à mettre sur pied un observatoire des meilleures pratiques

dans ce domaine en vue de la mise en commun des expériences ;• poursuivre le dialogue amorcé par le Congrès et le compléter par la

création de plusieurs forums (réels et virtuels) réunissant des repré-sentants des mondes, développé et en développement, des groupesminoritaires, des populations autochtones, du secteur privé, des expertsen pédagogie et en technologie, des organisations internationales etrégionales, etc.

Table ronde 6 : Responsabilités sociales, économiques et multiculturelles

Plusieurs questions ont donné matière à débat au cours de la session :6.1 la première est celle de la gouvernance à l’échelle mondiale. L’idée que

l’on s’en fait est essentiellement optimiste. Le défi à relever consiste àélaborer une réglementation mondiale convenant à cette époque d’indi-vidualisation. Il va falloir réexaminer les structures politiques existantespour assurer la mise en place d’un cadre mondial transparent et efficace.Dans son essence, ce problème exige des dirigeants politiques qu’ils

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fassent preuve d’innovation et de créativité pour susciter un changementqui respecte les droits individuels et collectifs fondamentaux ;

6.2 une autre question importante est celle des systèmes de filtrage et d’auto-réglementation. Conscients des possibilités d’adopter une approchedécentralisée, et des moyens qui s’offrent aux usagers de la technologiede fixer eux-mêmes les règles de son utilisation, les participants ont estiméque les systèmes de filtrage devaient être non invasifs et souples ;

6.3 les normes existantes d’autoréglementation par le biais de codes profes-sionnels sont peu contraignantes et ceux qui les ont établies n’ont le plussouvent pas réussi à les faire appliquer. On note que des problèmes-clésposés par les technologies de l’information – le respect du pluralismeculturel et démocratique, les problèmes de diversité culturelle et de justicesociale – ne sont pas pris en compte dans beaucoup de ces codes. Surtout,la question de savoir comment faire appliquer les codes efficacement demanière à conserver la confiance du public demeure sans réponse. C’estlà un domaine où les participants estiment nécessaire que l’UNESCOentreprenne un travail sérieux pour examiner la qualité des mécanismesd’autoréglementation existants et faire pression en faveur de l’adoptionde codes de conduite plus efficaces et complets ;

6.4 les participants s’inquiètent par-dessus tout de l’exclusion sociale et sontfermement convaincus que l’UNESCO et les autres organisations inter-nationales devraient donner la priorité à la lutte contre l’exclusion. Cephénomène pose en effet un problème dans tous les pays, outre qu’ila divisé de tout temps les pays riches en ressources économiques ettechniques et ceux qui sont en développement.

Il est possible de minimaliser l’exclusion sociale :• en créant des programmes de formation fonctionnelle aux technolo-

gies de l’information et à l’informatique qui soient accessibles à tous ;• en rendant les nouvelles technologies de l’information accessibles à

un coût abordable pour tous les secteurs de la société, dans toutes lesrégions du monde ;

• en élargissant cet accès à la base grâce à des systèmes d’administra-tion décentralisés et à la mise à disposition de points d’accès publicsà l’information pour tous les secteurs de la société, ainsi que detechnologies peu coûteuses, simples et robustes ;

• en élargissant sur les plans linguistique et culturel l’offre de ressourcesen technologies de l’information afin de remettre en cause la prédo-minance actuelle de l’anglais et des produits culturels et valeurs del’Amérique du Nord (un accent particulier est mis ici sur les besoinsdes populations autochtones).

6.5 enfin, les participants s’accordent à estimer que le débat sur l’avenirde ce domaine crucial est beaucoup trop restreint. Il faut l’élargir pours’assurer que tous les acteurs-clés – dirigeants de collectivités, profession-nels de l’information, représentants de l’industrie et dirigeants politiques

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et responsables des réglementations – soient amenés à s’asseoir autourde la même table. En l’absence de ce débat général, il n’y aura pas deprogrès sérieux vers la solution des problèmes de société qui se posent.L’UNESCO a un rôle crucial à jouer dans la facilitation de cet élargis-sement du débat.

A l’issue de ses travaux, le Congrès a publié la déclaration reproduite ci-après,qui avait été élaborée par un groupe de rédaction à la demande du Président.

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STATEMENT(3 October 1998)

UNESCO, since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsfifty years ago, has emphasized constantly that:

• “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, thisright includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and toseek, receive and impart information and ideas to any media andregardless of frontiers” (Article 19), and

• “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy,family house or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour andreputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of law againstsuch interference or attacks” (Article 12).*

While the new communication media provide new opportunities they alsoproduce new threats to these principles.

We, the participants of the INFOethics’98 Congress, consider the promotion ofthe role of information in the public domain, of multilingualism, the protectionof privacy, confidentiality and security are vital issues.

In the light of the conclusions of the conference,• we recognize that the new information and communication environ-

ment will influence our societal structure and value systems;• we believe, however, that it is the people who shall shape the future;• we recognize that the improvement of the new environment is within

the mandate of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO);

• we believe that the new electronic world should reflect and reinforcethe world’s cultural and linguistic diversity and encourage interna-tional cooperation;

• we consider knowledge a public good that needs to be made publiclyavailable in accordance with the principles of the free flow of infor-mation and of fair use.

We consider that among the most urgent problems in this context are those offreedom of access and personal privacy.

* Cf. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 19 and Art 12; United Nations General Assembly Resolution 59 (I) of Dec. 14, 1946; and General Assemby Resolution 45/76 A from Dec. 11 1990; General Conference of UNESCO, 25th session, 1989, Resolution 104.

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Access to the resources of the Internet should reinforce democratic participa-tion and is a contemporary realization of the universal principle of the freedomof expression. Privacy is one of the most threatened values and needs specialprotection in the electronic world.

We recommend that UNESCO, in co-operation with United Nations and otherinternational organizations, should:

1. promote and defend freedom of expression and privacy protection incyberspace as well as in traditional media;

2. support all measures to overcome barriers between the informationrich and the information poor;

3. promote and extend access to the public domain of information andcommunication;

4. promote education and training to achieve media competence foreveryone;

5. contribute to a worldwide electronic forum on information ethicsdesigned to support UNESCO’s work in that field;

6. promote interdisciplinary debate on all ethical implications of newcommunication technologies;

7. support actions to prevent the criminal abuse of the Internet;8. support cultural diversity and multilingualism in cyberspace and

take measures which allow every individual, every culture and everylanguage to contribute to and benefit from the new store of worldknowledge.

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DÉCLARATION(3 octobre 1998)

L’UNESCO, depuis l’adoption de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme,il y a cinquante ans, n’a cessé de souligner que :

• « Tout individu a droit à la liberté d’opinion et d’expression, ce quiimplique le droit de ne pas être inquiété pour ses opinions et celui dechercher, de recevoir et de répandre, sans considérations de frontières,les informations et les idées par quelque moyen d’expression que cesoit » (article 19), et

• « Nul ne sera l’objet d’immixtions arbitraires dans sa vie privée, safamille, son domicile ou sa correspondance, ni d’atteintes à son hon-neur et à sa réputation. Toute personne a droit à la protection de laloi contre de telles immixtions ou de telles atteintes » (article 12).*

Si les nouveaux moyens de communication ouvrent de nouvelles possibilités,ils font aussi peser de nouvelles menaces sur ces principes.

Nous, participants au Congrès INFOéthique’98, estimons que la promotion durôle de l’information du domaine public, ainsi que du multilinguisme, la protec-tion de la vie privée, la confidentialité et la sécurité sont des questions cruciales.

A la lumière des conclusions de la Conférence,• nous reconnaissons que le nouvel environnement en matière d’infor-

mation et de communication va influer sur la structure de nos sociétéset nos systèmes de valeur ;

• nous estimons cependant que ce sont les personnes qui façonnentl’avenir ;

• nous reconnaissons que l’amélioration du nouvel environnement relève dumandat de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la scienceet la culture (UNESCO) ;

• nous estimons que le nouvel univers électronique doit refléter et ren-forcer la diversité culturelle et linguistique du monde et encouragerla coopération internationale ;

• nous considérons le savoir comme un bien public qu’il faut rendrepubliquement accessible conformément aux principes de la librecirculation et de l’usage loyal de l’information ;

* Voir la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme, article 19 et article 12, les résolutions 59 (l) du 14 décembre 1946 et 45/76 A du 11 décembre 1990 de l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies et la résolution 104 adoptée par laConférence générale de l’UNESCO à sa 25e session, en 1989.

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• nous estimons que les problèmes les plus urgents dans ce contextesont ceux du libre accès à l’information et du respect de la vie privée.

L’accès aux ressources de l’Internet devrait renforcer la participation démo-cratique et représente l’une des concrétisations contemporaines du principeuniversel de la liberté d’expression. Le droit à la vie privée est l’une desvaleurs les plus menacées et nécessite une protection spéciale dans l’universélectronique.

Nous recommandons que l’UNESCO, en coopération avec l’ONU et d’autresorganisations internationales :

1. encourage et défende la liberté d’expression et la protection de la vieprivée dans le cyberespace comme dans les médias traditionnels ;

2. appuie toutes les mesures visant à éliminer les barrières entre les richeset les pauvres en matière d’information ;

3. favorise et élargisse l’accès au domaine public de l’information et dela communication ;

4. favorise l’éducation et la formation pour que tous acquièrent lamaîtrise des médias ;

5. contribue à la mise en place d’un forum électronique mondial surl’éthique de l’information qui serait destiné à appuyer son travail dansce domaine ;

6. favorise un débat interdisciplinaire sur toutes les incidences éthiquesdes nouvelles technologies de la communication ;

7. soutienne les actions visant à prévenir les utilisations criminelles del’Internet ;

8. appuie la diversité culturelle et le multilinguisme dans le cyberespaceet prenne des mesures qui permettent à tous les individus, toutesles cultures et toutes les langues d’apporter leur contribution à cenouveau dépôt de connaissances mondiales et d’en tirer profit.

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OPENING ADDRESSES

DISCOURS D’OUVERTURE

DISCURSO DE ABERTURA

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Welcome to INFOethics’98, the second International Congressin Monaco here to discuss ethical, legal and societal challenges

of the cyberspace.I am honoured to be your Chairperson and I am privileged to be at your

service.The Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Henrikas Yushkiavitshus,

has come for the opening of this important worldwide gathering to representthe Director-General of UNESCO at this forum for deliberations to find answersto burning questions in the multimedia world. And I want to thank him for that.

The Permanent Secretary for International Affairs of the Principality ofMonaco Jean Pastorelli has not only come to welcome us here in this beautifulpart of the world but the Principality is indeed supporting our efforts in manyways.

I want to thank him for that.The Sector for Communication, Information and Informatics of the

UNESCO Secretariat has prepared this second Congress and thus paved theway for the participants from UNESCO’s Member States to act in the field ofINFOethics for the benefit of everyone around the globe. I want to thank themfor that.

And all of you ladies and gentlemen, almost 200 experts, you have comefrom more than 65 UNESCO Member States to rejoin UNESCO to form acommon basis for cooperation based on human rights, solidarity and justice incyberspace. I want to thank you for that.

For the first time in UNESCO’s existence, this international conferenceis taking place in parallel in cyberspace. Before during and after this conferencea virtual forum is open to all of you and you will hear more about that afterthe opening. And I would like to encourage you to participate.

What are we and UNESCO looking for within its fields of competence?We are looking for a human Information Society based on solidarity and

democracy with the basic rights of free access to information and the freedomof communication across all borders. We need to reach an understanding aboutwhich set of legal and ethical principles should define and protect rights ofproducers and users alike. We need to respect, accept and protect the diversityof information cultures, including languages. We need to foster media compe-tence enabling everyone to read, write and work in cyberspace.

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We need to talk about possible counteraction against misuse of the free-dom of communication through illegal actions or threats such as terrorism,racism, discrimination or action against parts of our society like children asoutlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In a nutshell:We need to facilitate the development and operation of a “Worldwide

Web of Trust” as my colleague Rainer Kuhlen likes to call it, supported by allthose participating in the information market, thus implementing a human culturein cyberspace and adding a cultural dimension to cyberspace commerce. Indeedit becomes UNESCO to work also for a “culture of peace” on the Internet.

All this calls for feasible results from this conference, which lead theway into future action with keywords like soft law, fair use and fair customsand if needed possibly to frameworks of principles, maybe on the way to dec-larations or even conventions and finally perhaps international legislation. I sayagain: if needed by those entitled to launch such activities.

Consequently as your Chairperson I feel a personal obligation not toleave this Congress in Monaco before a pragmatic and still outreaching “MonacoINFOethics Declaration” has been drawn up and adopted by consensus alongsuch lines.

You can count on me for a draft and I count on you for its finalization.Federico Mayor said in his speech “Towards the Ethics of the Future”:“The ethics of the twenty-first century, will enable us to lay the foun-

dations of genuine development” and added “What is needed is the courage toact in time”.

MR PETER P. CANISIUSChairperson of INFOethic’98

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Permettez-moi tout d’abord de vous exprimer au nom du Gouvernement de Son Altesse Sérénissime le Prince Rainier III,le réel plaisir qui est le mien de vous accueillir aujourd’hui dans

la Principauté de Monaco à l’occasion de la 2e Conférence INFOéthique.Avant tout, je tiens à remercier l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour

l’éducation, la science et la culture d’avoir de nouveau accepté l’invitation dela Principauté renouvelant ainsi un partenariat efficace qui fut couronné desuccès l’an passé, lors de la 1re édition d’INFOéthique.

Je tiens d’ailleurs à souligner, Monsieur le Directeur général, la granderéussite qu’a connue INFOéthique’97 dont les travaux ont eu un écho trèsfavorable à travers la presse spécialisée mais aussi auprès des grands médias,démontrant ainsi toute l’importance des questions éthiques dans un monde oùles progrès informatiques sont si fulgurants qu’ils dépassent les projections quel’homme a pu faire sur l’assistance des ordinateurs dans notre vie quotidienne.

La conférence à laquelle vous allez participer tentera, je l’espère, derépondre aux questions que véhiculent les médias sur notre avenir à l’aubedu prochain millénaire. Jusqu’où irons-nous dans notre interdépendance avecl’informatique ? Comment pouvons-nous nous protéger dans le cyberespace,univers sans frontières et sans limites, qui fascine mais aussi qui fait peur,tant il est une réalité virtuelle ?

Déjà, lors du précédent INFOéthique, et plus récemment, lors du colloque« Inforights » organisé conjointement par l’UNESCO et Monaco et qui s’est tenuici même, des travaux ont été effectués sur ce thème.

Inforights a été l’occasion pour plusieurs délégations d’experts de débattresur les moyens des communications multimédias et sur l’harmonisation de laprotection des droits d’auteur dans l’univers cybernétique. Cette réunion a enoutre permis de mettre en évidence les limites de l’outil juridique face au déve-loppement des techniques informatiques. Toutefois les instances de régulationinternationales ont la ferme volonté d’agir afin d’empêcher que les formidablesmoyens de communication informatique dont nous disposons aujourd’hui nedeviennent pas des armes redoutables de propagande, de violation des droitsde l’homme ou de commerce illicite. A ce propos, l’Union européenne doitproposer une directive qui permettra de poser les jalons d’une réglementationefficace.

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La poursuite des discussions, tout au long de la conférence qui s’ouvreaujourd’hui permettra, j’en suis sûr, d’élargir les réflexions entamées au coursd’Inforights.

INFOéthique doit rester le cadre privilégié où les meilleurs spécialisteset les délégations présentes peuvent confronter leurs idées, leurs projets, aussidivers soient ils, à l’heure où sur les murs de nos cités nous sommes vivementencouragés à « penser global » (think global). L’an passé, les thèmes de l’acces-sion et de la préservation à l’information numérique et la préparation de nossociétés pour un environnement multimédias avaient été développés.

Des intervenants venant d’horizons aussi différents que l’Ukraine, leJapon, mais aussi le Cameroun, ont mis en évidence les difficultés d’établirdes infrastructures solides, des règles éthiques et un besoin de coopérationinternationale face au développement de l’Internet sur une base d’un accèspour tous à l’information.

Cette année, trois thèmes vous sont proposés :• le domaine public et le multilinguisme dans le cyberespace ;• la vie privée, la confidentialité et la sécurité dans le cyberespace ;• les sociétés face à la mondialisation.

Les discussions que vous aurez à propos du multilinguisme dansl’espace cybernétique devront permettre d’établir des propositions d’actionvisant à faciliter l’accès à une information abondante, utile et multilingue dansle domaine public. En effet, le langage permettant la diffusion d’informationsainsi que la communication sur les réseaux existants doit être diversifié. Lalangue est un obstacle important à la diffusion et à l’expression de la pensée.Le multilinguisme est par conséquent un facteur important qui permetl’universalisation de l’accès à tous les documents. Cette notion qui est chèreà l’UNESCO doit pouvoir être appliquée à travers ce que l’on appelle lesautoroutes de l’information.

En ce qui concerne la protection de la vie privée et de la confidentialitédans le cyberespace, il faut que les droits qui s’appliquent habituellement à cesnotions soient protégés contre toutes tentatives injustifiées d’intrusion. Cela està l’heure actuelle un des grands problèmes qui se posent aux niveaux nationalet international. L’exemple le plus récent de cette préoccupation est le réseauÉchelon qui paraît permettre d’intercepter des communications privées. Ceréseau électronique pose de nombreuses questions et a été mis en lumièrerécemment par la presse française.

Certains membres du Parlement européen ont réclamé que soit mis enplace un code international de bonne conduite pour prévenir de tels abus.

La question de la mondialisation dans notre société soulève égalementquelques problèmes. La démocratisation de l’accès à l’information nous pro-pulse vers une nouvelle approche d’une culture à caractère plus humaniste.Toutefois, nous devons être préparés à la mondialisation et aux conséquencesd’ordres social, économique et éducatif qu’elle peut avoir sur notre société. Grâceau « Village global » qu’est devenu le monde, nous avons dû créer de nouveaux

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lieux de travail, d’éducation et d’apprentissage. Il nous faut dès lors, discernerles moyens de préparer l’individu à adopter un comportement éthique exem-plaire dans une société de plus en plus mondialisée.

Nul doute que les échanges d’idées et de propositions faites au cours de laprésente Conférence seront des plus utiles dans la préparation de la prochaineConférence générale de l’UNESCO. C’est pourquoi je vous souhaite encore unefois de fructueux débats que le cadre agréable de la Principauté permettra sansaucun doute de faciliter.

M. JEAN PASTORELLIDélégué permanent du Gouvernement de Son Altesse Sérénissime le Prince Rainier III de Monaco auprès de l’UNESCO

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This year, we are commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights and UNESCO is the re-cognized leader in the United Nations system for promoting the

implementation of Article 19, which states:“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includesfreedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impartinformation and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. It is clearthat frontier-free information highways provide almost unlimited opportunitiesfor the practical implementation of Article 19.

However, in the unconditional fight for the implementation of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, we must strive for the whole and notjust one part. Nor must we forget Article 12, which states “No one shall besubjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family house or corres-pondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the rightto the protection of the law against such interference or attacks”.

In the march towards the Information Society, we must not lose thishuman right which is important for every human being at whatever the levelof social hierarchy they may be. Any neglect of this right can lead to the humili-ation of majorities, minorities, or even individuals.

The threat to privacy hangs over us all. We want security, but we alsowant privacy. How much are we ready to trade off? We are all in databases,and if we are lucky the information will be correct. If not, not. Our everymovement is tracked by the use of credit cards, highway tolls, telephone cards,hidden camera systems, etc. George Orwell’s Big Brother had a much lesssophisticated system. To take only one aspect, the right of individuals to with-hold personal data concerning and to check that data is an acute problem whichwill not prove easy to solve.

One thing however is clear; we must seek to use the opportunities pro-vided by the information and communication technologies. We must developinformation highways and if we meet criminals on these highways we have tofight the criminals not the highways. At the beginning of next year, UNESCOwill convene a meeting of key non-governmental organizations, personalities,institutions and specialists in the fight against paedophilia, child pornographyand child prostitution in the media and on the Internet.

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The Director-General of UNESCO announced the meeting in the fol-lowing way:

“The time has come for the international community to mobilizeagainst the violence and perversity whose victims are our children.The information highway conveys the best and the worst. Childpornography and paedophilia are entrenched there: we must dislodgethem. UNESCO works to uphold the free flow of ideas by word andimage, and always defends freedom of expression. But we must nottolerate that paedophilia, child pornography and child prostitutionpervert these roads of freedom.”

It is well known that hard cases make bad law and the Internet is indeeda hard case, in part because the concerns, which surround it, are so many andvaried. There are worries about privacy, confidentiality of information, fearsabout national security and the anxiety of parents and teachers about children.The situation can only get worse if we allow ourselves to be paralysed ratherthan mobilized by these concerns.

UNESCO itself has indeed been pro-active and in the period which has elapsedsince INFOethics’97, progress has been made in identifying and promoting struc-tures for self-regulation with the minimum appropriate level of government inter-vention. For both, government and industry, there are of course contradictionsbetween old rules and new realities, and new rules and new realities.

The industrial complex is increasingly adopting systems of self-regulationand in some cases is applying high ethical standards. It may be said that, in somecases, even our political institutions can learn from industry.

We must then devise ways to make cyberspace useful and interesting, toexpand it so as to build bridges between people, businesses and nations.

The task of providing an adequate environment for creativity falls to thepolicy-makers who must understand that creativity cannot be checked, controlledor channelled. In his address to the Conference on Culture and Development inStockholm, Federico Mayor said: “We will not invent a new future if we aretoo cautious, take too measured steps. It will take not quantified vision butuncontainable vision. I like to repeat: risk without knowledge is dangerous, butknowledge without risk is useless”.

“Globalization” is a buzzword today. But we also have to ask ourselves“globalization for whom”? Financial transactions of hundreds of millions of dol-lars including payments for drugs and illegal arms take place in nanosecondsbypassing governments and crossing borders. Nevertheless, we ordinary humanbeings continue to exist in the real world of borders, passports, visas, customs,etc.

In the nineteenth century, it took one week to travel from Moscow tothe countries of Western Europe and you did not need a visa. Today, it is onlya three-hour flight, but you need to apply three weeks in advance for a visa.

As we stand on the doorstep of what is often called the “InformationSociety”, it is important to remember that information is not knowledge and

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knowledge is not wisdom. We shall need all the wisdom in the world to makethe best use of the opportunities, which the Information Society has to offer.

The title of our Congress also includes the societal challenges of infor-mation and communication technologies. We have however only scratched thesurface here. It may be that there is not yet enough data available. However,it is already clear that there will be a “virtual” redistribution of the “educated”workforce. Today, there are scientists from African universities or East/CentralEuropean institutions who work for Western companies via the Internet. Theyare paid less than their Western colleagues, but for the time being they arehappy. Will they still be happy tomorrow? Can this redistribution one daythreaten the industrialized countries?

UNESCO supports the creation of virtual laboratories. In one such labor-atory, scientists from Kazakhstan, the United States and Germany work togetheron problems of radioactive contamination. In this project, the nuclear test sitein Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, provides data to be analysed by the powerfultools available in the United States and Germany.

A meeting of legal experts took place just before this Congress. Normallysurgeons suggest an operation, priests a prayer and legal experts a law. I wasglad to find that in this case the legal experts resisted this temptation andbehaved rather cautiously.

It is doubtful that there will be a strict international law for cyberspace inthe near future. However, a statement of principles encouraging self-regulationcould calm the unnecessary fears of those who are in favour of strict regulation,and of those who believe that the Internet developed so successfully becausegovernments did not understand what was happening and that when they did itwas too late. It may be that some kind of international consensus about theappropriate use of cyberspace is within our reach.

UNESCO has 186 Member States and it would be very dangerous to tryto impose the laws or rules of conduct of one nation or group of States on theentire cyberspace. There would be disproportionate negative resistance. We areall equal in cyberspace. Today you do not need powerful radio or televisionstations to transmit a message. All you need is a laptop and a modem to linkup to the Internet. The most important question, which is not new, is: “Do youhave something interesting to say?”. When Bell learned about the first transat-lantic cable established between Berlin and New York, he asked, “What do theyhave to say to each other?”.

Today we have a lot to say to each other, and our children and grand-children will have even more. Let us help ourselves and by doing so help them.That is why we are here. Good luck!

HENRIKAS YUSHKIAVITSHUSRepresentative of the Director-General of UNESCO

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THE VIRTUAL FORUM

LE FORUM VIRTUEL

EL FORO VIRTUAL

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RAINER KUHLENGermany Commission for UNESCO

VF-INFOethics: Links from INFOethics ’97 to INFOethics ’98A summary of the virtual forum VF-INFOethics, an open worldwide electronic discussionforum carried out from October 1997 to April 1998, is presented in this paper. This forumwas organized as a follow-up to a recommendation made by the participants at the firstINFOethics Congress held in Monaco from 10 to 12 March 1997. The forum was designedand managed by the Information Science Department of the University of Constance. Thepaper gives the objectives of the forum and describes the discussions under each of the fivetopics of the forum: general concept of information ethics; information rich and informationpoor; information as a public and/or private good; trust, ownership and validity of informationin cyberspace; privacy, confidentiality, security, hate, violence on the Internet. In each caseUNESCO’s possible role is indicated and some preliminary conclusions are presented.

VF-INFOéthique : INFOéthique’97 à INFOéthique’98Ce document présente un résumé des travaux de VF-INFOéthique, forum de discussionélectronique mondial consultable par le public qui s’est déroulé entre octobre 1997 etavril 1998. Organisé conformément à une recommandation des participants au premierCongrès international INFOéthique réuni à Monaco du 10 au 12 mars 1997, ce Forum a étéconçu et géré par le Département des sciences de l’information de l’Université de Constance.Le présent document définit les objectifs du Forum et résume les débats auxquels ont donnélieu les cinq thèmes de réflexion retenus : le concept d’éthique de l’information ; les richeset les pauvres en matière d’information; l’information, bien public et/ou privé ; confiance,propriété et validité de l’information dans le cyberespace ; vie privée, confidentialité, sécurité,haine et violence sur l’Internet. Sur chaque thème, le document propose quelques premièresconclusions ainsi que des suggestions sur ce que pourrait être le rôle de l’UNESCO.

VF-INFOetica: Relación de INFOetica ’97 e INFOetica ’98En este documento se presenta un resumen del Foro Virtual-INFOETICA, un foro abiertode debate universal por medios electrónicos, que tuvo lugar desde octubre de 1997 hastaabril de 1998. El foro fue organizado como consecuencia de la Recomendación formuladapor los participantes en el Primer Congreso INFOETICA, celebrado en Mónaco del 10 al 12 de marzo de 1997. La preparación y organización de este foro fueron llevadas a cabopor el Departamento de Ciencias de la Información de la Universidad de Constanza. En eldocumento se precisan los objetivos del foro y se exponen los debates celebrados en el marcode cada uno de sus cinco temas, a saber: la noción general de la ética de la información; los que poseen información y los que se ven privados de ella; la información como patrimoniopublico y privado; la fiabilidad, la propiedad y la validez de la información en el ciberespacio;la índole privada, el carácter confidencial, la seguridad y la problemática del odio y la violencia en Internet. Con respecto a cada una de estas cuestiones, el documento señala elposible papel que puede desempeñar la UNESCO y proporción algunas conclusiones previas.

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Objectives of the UNESCO Virtual Forum on INFOethics

VF-INFOethics is an open, worldwide electronic (virtual) discussion forumabout information ethics. The forum was designed and managed by the infor-mation science department at the University of Constance, Rainer Kuhlen, amember of the German Commission for UNESCO responsible for its concep-tion and management, and Anja Odenthal, responsible for its technical aspects.

The forum was proposed after the first UNESCO conference on infor-mation ethics, which took place in March 1997 in Monte Carlo. VF-INFOethicsis not a substitute for meetings in a real-life environment. The advantage offace-to-face communication is too obvious and knowledge and experience withelectronic forums is not yet widespread enough, at least not among UNESCOexperts, who are normally not the typical Internet users (USA/Europe, male,highly educated, 30 years old). But experimenting with electronic forums canprovide UNESCO with knowledge about the potentials of the new medium andcan contribute to a more extended worldwide awareness about the importanceof information ethics in a globalizing information society. VF-INFOethics thussupports UNESCO’s objective as a worldwide laboratory of ideas, in this casevia a forum on information ethics, identifying ethical principles, and guidingaction, devising cyber strategies and mobilizing political leaders in their resolveto implement them. As potentials or value-added effects of electronic commu-nication forums the following deserve mention:

– Electronic communication forums allow for the exchange of infor-mation among people who are not likely to meet in real life.

– Electronic communication forums, organized according to hypertextprinciples, allow flexible navigation through heterogeneous informa-tion and can thus develop into a platform of knowledge with respectto the topic of the forum.

– Electronic communication forums, in a Web-based technical environmentare normally organized in an asynchronous mode (although synchronouschat techniques or tele-conferencing facilities are becoming more andmore available for forum purposes as well). Asynchronous communi-cation allows quasi real-time reactions to the forum’s statements butalso allows delayed reactions after a period of information-gatheringor, simply, of thinking.

– Electronic communication forums, compared with the high costs forreal conferences with participants from all over the world, are a cheaptechnology once the technical equipment is available.

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– Electronic communication forums, in particular when database sup-ported, allow flexible adaptation to different users’ needs/expectations,or to users’ dialogue behaviour, and to different pre-established para-meters such as access and editing rights.

Although the advantages of electronic forums are obvious, the hopes forVF-INFOethics were only moderately high because we could not expect thatknowledge and experience with new electronic communication devices wouldbe very advanced among UNESCO experts. This was all the more likely, giventhe fact that we tried to avoid an Anglo-Saxon and Western-Europe dominatedexpertise and insisted instead on selecting people from all over the world. Theparticipants were chosen on the basis of UNESCO expertise and recommen-dations from already active members. Only these experts, altogether about 60,had the right to contribute, but the forum, as a WWW application, was opento the public for reading purposes.

As mentioned above, the forum’s main objective was to increase know-ledge and public awareness of topics concerning information ethics and toprovide UNESCO with recommendations for further action in the field ofinformation ethics based on the worldwide electronic discussion among expertsin the field.

In addition to statements from experts, additional information, for exam-ple references to pertinent literature on information ethics, to other Web sites,to databases, and to other discussion groups with a similar scope was providedby the central Constance monitoring group of VF-INFOethics. Additional linkscould be provided by all members of VF-INFOethics. VF-INFOethics has thusdeveloped into an open forum, a platform, or a market place with numerouslinks to world knowledge on information ethics.

The INFOethics forum was carried out in two rounds. The first roundlasted from October 1997 until the end of 1998. The second round was openedfor discussion on 20 February 1998 and at its conclusion, UNESCO was pro-vided with recommendations for further action. It is very likely that the forumwill continue to be an electronic floor for UNESCO-related discussions onINFOethics and will then be opened (also for writing purposes) to a broaderUNESCO public or to the public in general. This, of course, will raise manynew problems. In the near future, the forum will be used before, during andafter the second UNESCO International Congress on INFOethics, which willtake place in October 1998, again in Monte Carlo.

The software, which was developed for VF-INFOethics and which iscontinuously being improved, can be used for other UNESCO activities, inparticular by National Commissions for UNESCO or for educational purposes.At the moment, we are using the VF-INFOethics software for a virtuallyorganized course on information ethics in the information science curriculumat the University of Constance, Germany.

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The discussion

The discussion was structured according to the main topics, which were chosenafter an intensive pilot phase, in which experts in the field provided much usefulinformation. From this input three main classes of topics (with subtopics) wereformed and commented on. The main topics of the first round of discussion aregiven below.

• An expert (topic chair) who was responsible for monitoring and sum-marizing the discussion chaired each subtopic of VF-INFOethics. Centralquestions and a general statement introduced each section. The questionsand the introductory statement were continuously commented on by theother section members or by all members of VF-INFOethics. Comments,once given, could not be changed but could be commented on again. Asummary of the state of discussion in the respective section was pro-vided at the end of the round by the section chair and was the basis forrecommendations to UNESCO.

Discussion on the concept of information ethics and the role of UNESCO

1. General statement about the concept of information ethics

The forum was opened with a brief general statement about the concept ofinformation ethics:

• Information ethics, in general, is the study of commonly held valuesrelated to the belief in equality of access, justice and mutual respectarising from the development and application of new information andtelecommunications technologies (e.g. the Internet).

• Information ethics concerns many fields such as philosophy (ethics),anthropology/ethnology, linguistics, economics, law, sociology, politicalscience, education, religion/theology, artificial intelligence, informationand computer science. Information ethics covers both the private/indi-vidual and the public/institutional aspects of ethical problems, on a moreand more global basis.

• For many people, information ethics is likely to be considered as a sub-stitute for traditional civic behaviour in the advancing global informationsociety. For UNESCO, information ethics is particularly related toeducation, science, culture, and civil society in general, both in developedand in developing countries.

2. The role of UNESCO in information ethics in general

The following questions were formulated with respect to the role of UNESCOin information ethics in general:

Considering UNESCO’s role in the growing information society, infor-mation ethics in the understanding of this forum is particularly related to science,

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education, culture, art, society in general, both with respect to developed andto developing countries.

• How can UNESCO promote understanding of information ethics issuesand assist governments and other organizations in dealing with them?How can UNESCO help in the harmonization of different ethical systemsand in their coexistence in the new global information society? Is itUNESCO’s mission to set up a universally accepted instrument of ethicalbehaviour for information providers and users in the global informationmarkets, especially in the developing information society? ShouldUNESCO develop an international Observatory on these issues?

Information rich and information poor

1. The role of UNESCO: Information rich and poor

The following questions were formulated with respect to the role of UNESCOon the topic “Information rich and information poor”:

• What can UNESCO do to prevent modern societies from being dividedinto the information elite and the information underprivileged? Is therea need and a chance for UNESCO to fill the widening “abstraction gap”between the dominant information rich and the information poor? IsUNESCO an appropriate advocate to defend the rights of the informa-tion underprivileged?

• What is the role of organizations such as UNESCO in overcoming theinformation and communication gap both within countries and betweenthem? With education being considered a major means to overcome thebarriers between information rich and information poor – what canUNESCO do to help topics in information ethics be included in curriculaat all levels of education?

• Can UNESCO play a major role in programmes designed to overcomethe language barriers between peoples and nations? How can the lan-guage rights of the non-English-speaking world which run counter toeconomic interests in one-world-one-language markets be protected byUNESCO?

• When information competence is both the ability to access/use availableinformation globally and the ability to produce information services whatcan UNESCO do both to allow easy access to the global informationresources and to move more passive (reading) societies into active(writing) societies?

• What can UNESCO do to protect the rights of developing countries torepresent their own way of thinking, of culture, science and economy inregional and global information networks and services?

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2. Summary/Recommendations

The discussion on this topic was rather intense. As a result of the discussion onthe topic‚ the following recommendations were formulated. Bring net access topoor countries by putting existing resources to sensible use in order to promotethe development of global and local information cultures and economies. Supportthe development of a World Information Ethos. Support concrete projects ininformation poor countries in order to create country-specific information centres.Public awareness on these matters through virtual forums, publication and con-ferences should be raised. Provide permanent, specific and detailed knowledge ofexisting information activities in information poor countries.

UNESCO should promote the rights of non-English-speaking countriesand their economic interests. UNESCO should encourage the inclusion of topicsin information ethics in curricula at all levels. Promotional activities by inter-national organizations should be based on grassroots efforts as well as beingdecentralized and well coordinated.

Information as a public and/or private good

1. The role of UNESCO

The following questions were formulated with respect to the role of UNESCOon the topic “Information as a public and/or a private good”:

What can UNESCO do to help the development of public/private structures“in order to strike an appropriate balance between economic and social interests?What can UNESCO do to achieve and finance the provision of information in thepublic domain to all members of society in all countries? What can UNESCO doto provide open access to the world heritage of public knowledge? What canUNESCO do to develop a worldwide awareness of the importance of informationand communication technologies and systems for all societies?

2. Summary

As the result of the discussion on the topic “Information as a public and/or privategood” the following summary was formulated.

Topic 2.2 “Information as a public and/or a private good” stimulated somediscussion about the status of information in modern societies. Some concernwas expressed about the negative effects of modern information structures(virtualization) on the job market. The participants did not see any realisticalternative economic model which would correct the shortcomings of the neo-liberalism approach. It was suggested that cooperatives might play a major rolein the use of information as a common good. UNESCO should not get involvedin general abstract discussions about a New World Order. Instead UNESCOshould concentrate on feasible projects such as supporting efforts for thedigitization of public information (as the peoples’ heritage worldwide) as a

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counterweight to the power of the market, where information is considered tobe simply a commodity.

The role of copyright should also be reconsidered, in order to define a newgenerally accepted fair use of information. By encouraging free access to theworld’s public knowledge (the people’s own heritage) UNESCO can contributeto establishing a counterweight to the power of the market, where informationis considered as a commodity to be paid for. UNESCO should use a set amountof funds to support the digitization of public material (e.g. to finance portablescanners). The role of copyright (so far mainly used to enforce market rights)should be reconsidered. In particular, the rights of users to access public materialsshould be balanced against the predominantly private exploitation of information.Preservation and transmission of information was considered to be among theethical responsibilities of the present generation for future ones.

Trust, ownership and validity of information in cyberspace

1. The role of UNESCO: Trust, ownership, and validity of information in cyberspace

The following questions were formulated with respect to the role of UNESCOon the topic “Trust, ownership and validity of information in cyberspace”:

What can be done by UNESCO in order to establish an ethics instru-ment for information/content providers by which they may be obliged to ensurethat information is trustworthy, approved, or true? What is the main role ofUNESCO in the new property rights debate, for example on digital objects?What can UNESCO do to establish a new “fair use” and/or “copyleft” of infor-mation which establishes a compromise between the rights of the holders andthe interests of society to have free access to information? Can UNESCO playan active role in establishing trust in information services and electronic mar-kets, in particular when sensitive subjects are involved, such as medicine, law,or political information? Is UNESCO an appropriate and worldwide-acceptedinstitution to develop, maintain and survey generally accepted quality criteriafor the reliability and authenticity of information services? What is the role ofUNESCO in establishing trust in machine intelligence and services such asintelligent agents or in keeping them under public control?


As the result of the discussion on the topic “Trust, ownership and validity ofinformation in cyberspace” the following summary with recommendations wasformulated:

Topic 3.1 “Topics/questions with respect to trust, to ownership and tovalidity of information in cyberspace” was discussed under the followingsubtopics: data security, machine intelligence, property rights, reduction ofuncertainty, sky writing, trust by technology, truth-worthiness, virtualization.

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The discussion focused mainly on aspects of property rights and copyright andon the necessity for a free flow of information (as one of the main rightsrequiring protection in an open information society).

There was an innovative and provocative proposal to rethink the roleof copyright: it makes no sense for authors, who are already paid by publicinstitutions, to receive additional copyright income. Giving up such copyrightincome could break the circle of high prices and lack of access, at least inscientific environments. Access to world knowledge should have higherpriority than the support of commercial interests in information commodities.A different answer may be required for entertainment and literature.

On the other hand, it was not considered realistic that authors would vol-untarily give up commercial rights and therefore it is not sufficient to changeour attitude towards ownership and profit. A solution could be for publishingcompanies to contribute a certain percentage of the author’s income to supportthe construction of a powerful and royalty-free worldwide public domain ofinformation. This idea of sharing profits from knowledge products can beextended to all organizations, which produce value-adding information/know-ledge products originally based on publicly produced and financed primary/rawinformation.

UNESCO is neither WIPO nor WTO (although the protection ofauthors/publishers’ rights cannot be ignored, it is not the main concern forUNESCO). Instead UNESCO must bring its own added value to the debate onintellectual property rights, and this means to promote the free flow of ideasby word and image, to give fresh impulse to popular education, and to supportall means for the dissemination of knowledge. All scientific articles producedby public universities or public laboratories could be made freely available onthe servers of these institutions. UNESCO should take the lead in a worldwidemovement to promote this public domain information and present innovativeideas to ensure distribution and free access to it. In particular, with respect todeveloping countries, economic barriers created by a purely market-orientedapproach towards knowledge and information need to be overcome.

UNESCO should use all its prestige to convince governments and insti-tutions involved in the information/knowledge industry all over the world thatthey should share profits from knowledge products (especially those which areoriginally based on publicly produced and financed primary/raw information)with public institutions. These institutions then can produce value-added free-access information for those who cannot afford to pay for it.

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Privacy, confidentiality, security, hate, violence on the Internet

1. The role of UNESCO: Privacy, confidentiality, security, hate, violence on the Internet

The following questions were formulated with respect to the role of UNESCOon the topic “Privacy, confidentiality, security, hate, violence on the Internet”:

What are appropriate measures for UNESCO to take in order to diminishthe amount of violence and hate on the Internet? Is UNESCO the appropriateorganization for developing a worldwide code for information privacy? Issuch a code desirable or possible? What are appropriate control structures ifsuch a privacy/confidentiality code were ever to be agreed on? What canUNESCO do to encourage and establish the free flow of information in boththe traditional and new media?


As the result of the discussion on the topic “Privacy, confidentiality, security,hate, violence on the Internet” the following summary with recommendationswas formulated:

Topic 3.2 “topics/questions with respect to privacy, confidentiality, secu-rity, hate, violence” on the Internet was considered as highly culture-dependent.UNESCO should be greatly concerned about children’s interests on the Internet.The topic of children and the Internet has been the most politically explosiveof all of the many controversial Internet-related topics. Parents worry that theirchildren will use the Internet to access pornography and other adult materialand that companies are collecting private, personal data from children. Someparticipants were optimistic that the information industry will develop new soft-ware tools for parents and that governments will take appropriate measuresto protect privacy rights. Others were rather sceptical as to whether softwarelifeguards, filter mechanisms are adequate or sufficient means to protect usfrom Internet hate, violence, pornography, and other unwanted messages andare particularly sceptical as to whether there is a need for new rules/laws toprotect people, particularly children. From an information ethics point of viewtechnological solutions for social problems may not always be adequate. And noteveryone shares the confidence that governments will find adequate solutions forethical problems in open information networks.

The same problem arises with respect to hate on the Internet. We prob-ably do not need additional laws to protect ourselves against personal hate onthe Internet. Perhaps there is a need for new codes of politeness (being politeeven in an anonymous communication situation) rather than a need for anyadditional legislation or basic change in the philosophy towards phenomenasuch as hate or violence on the Internet. There were no specific proposals onwhat UNESCO’s role should be with respect to Internet phenomena such ashate, violence, pornography, drug dealing, or politically radical information.

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UNESCO’s policy on technological and legal solutions for these prob-lems still needs to be discussed.

The discussion in the second round mainly focused on problems of infor-mation inequity (overcoming information gaps) and the status and character ofinformation (validity, ownership, public responsibility).

Some preliminary results

Although the concept of information ethics was a topic of discussion in itselfand was permanently referred to, there was no formal agreement about thisconcept apart from general remarks such as that information ethics deals withprinciples of equality, justice and mutual respect, in a global information society.Global networks and electronic market places and information services (theInternet and other proprietary networks) are the environment and the only meansin which and through which information ethics develops.

It may be doubted whether there is a need (or a possibility) for some-thing like information ethics (or science ethics or market ethics) in addition toethics in general. The principles of ethics in general, if any, would also be validfor information ethics in particular. The forum’s participants were particularlycareful in not simply transferring Western ideas to a global information worldand were also very concerned that the unification influence of the global Internetcan lead to an unwanted dominant general and ethical culture. This is clearlyto be seen on (ethical) topics such as property rights, violence in the media,information access and information equity, individual freedom of information,where Western philosophical, political and economic traditions dominate.

Information ethics is not a matter of abstract academic (philosophical)discussion and cannot result in a new (single) world order of information behav-iour, but can be a permanent worldwide process of exchange of positions amongpeople who are involved in structuring the new information world. The globalinformation society is thus a platform for information ethics and the result ofthe discussion cannot be a single world information ethics but the developmentof an ethos that makes the public aware and sensitive of the need to take aresponsible and not only merely economically determined approach towardsinformation, its production, distribution and use.

This is the major information ethic topic for the information society. Inits global character the topic is comparable to ecological questions and shouldthus be treated on the same level of political decision-making and public dis-cussion. There is a real need for an international information agenda.

What VF-INFOethics thus recommends is the development of worldwidepublic responsibility for information equity (an information ethos) by estab-lishing an institutionalized dialogue on information policy issues at a worldlevel. Some participants felt that a new United Nations/UNESCO informationagency would be an appropriate institutional means to provide an open worldforum (or many interlinked forums) on information ethics, using both electronic

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and other media. Both an institutionalized and a communicative approach willcreate global (and local!) information policies and information cultures (notone global information policy and one information culture). This means thatone should give up the ideal of a rational, clean and transparent ethical worldinformation order, and see the multicultural reality, not as a threat, but as anopportunity.

The continuing globalization of all aspects of the production, distributionand use of information is the central challenge for information ethics. Theproduction of information is based on the need for information and refers toits content and quality. The distribution of information raises the question ofinformation ownership and depends on the information resources in whichinformation is represented and on the design and management of informationmarket places where information can be accessed and exchanged. The use ofinformation is mainly a question of competence and money, being informationliterate in order to be able to profit from the information resources and beingable to pay for the costs of information use. This is a (political) question ofinformation equity or inequity or how to overcome information gaps.

Considering the importance of the global information society, it turnedout that the participants were mainly concerned about the growing gap betweenthose who are able and willing to take advantage of modern information andcommunication technology and those who are not. The problem of informationgaps cannot be restricted to the difference between developed and developingcountries but is a problem in all societies, whatever their technological status.If access to information and the possibility to take an active part in the exchangeof knowledge (to have the right to read and write in open information environ-ments) is the necessary basis for all activities in our public and private life,then it is UNESCO’s responsibility to support all activities which aim at estab-lishing an information balance in the information society. A society is informa-tion-balanced when information gaps can be overcome. Therefore a considerationof information equity seems to be at the centre of all ethical discussion. This isnot a technological problem.

It cannot be solved by providing everyone in the world with a computerand telecommunication equipment (although the importance of such a programmeto provide in principle everyone with the technological basis needed should notbe underestimated), but by solving the information problem.

The forum’s participants agreed that only a free market can developpowerful information market places, information systems and informationgoods, but that there is a need for international organizations such as UNESCOand for other nation-wide activities to solve the global problem of informationinequity.

Overcoming information inequity does not necessarily mean that globalinformation can be accessed from everywhere by everyone (and at no cost).The creation of content in an appropriate environment and the exchange ofinformation among those who need it (for instance, the South communicating

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with the South and not being restricted to access of information from the North,as is the case today) are increasingly important. What seems to be a paradoxin a global information environment, namely the demand to create and useregionally pertinent information, is actually a necessity and a requirement forinformation use.

The emphasis on information production, distribution and use from anethical point of view raises many questions and generates many subtopics, suchas the following:

Given the fact that information is cost-intensive to produce and thusdemands an economic basis, who/which institution and which level will beresponsible for granting access to appropriate information for the use of localactors? How can a basic information supply be defined and guaranteed? Whichmodels are available to find a fair compromise between market interests inreturn on investment with a reasonable profit and public interest in giving every-one the chance to lead their private and public life on an information-securebasis? What are the appropriate models for such information compromises ona supra-national level (overcoming gaps between information rich and infor-mation poor countries), on a national level (gaps within an information society),and on an individual level (gaps in information competence and education)?

As is often the case in communication-intensive matters, VF-INFOethicshas raised more questions than it has answered. The only definite answer isthat the discussion on information ethics needs to be continued, at all levels,within and outside UNESCO and using all available media, the electronic forumincluded.

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THEME THÈME

TEMA

PUBLIC DOMAIN AND MULTILINGUALISM

IN CYBERSPACE

DOMAINE PUBLIC ETMULTILINGUISME DANS

LE CYBERESPACE

DOMINIO PUBLICO YMULTILINGUISMO

EN EL CIBERESPACIO

A

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ROUND TABLETABLE RONDE

MESA REDONDA

DEVELOPING INFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

DÉVELOPPEMENT DE L’INFORMATION

DANS LE DOMAINE PUBLIC

DESARROLLO DE LAINFORMACIÓN

EN EL DOMINIO PÚBLICO

1

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RICHARD STALLMANFounder of GNU (which led to the free software GNU/Linux operating system) United States of America

Free Software and BeyondThe author speaks about the free software movement and its implications for computingliterature and scholarship in the age of computer networks. The copyright system, thoughbeneficial and painless when carefully applied to printing press technology, becomes obstructiveand harsh when applied to computers and computer networks as they exist today. It is alsoinefficient, since it acts mainly to enrich media business, and only incidentally to promote artor science. The success of the free software movement points towards alternative socialsystems for the use of published works, ways of promoting publications that accord with thenature of digital information technology and allow the public full use of the benefits.

Logiciels gratuits : quelles conséquences pour l’avenir ?L’auteur rappelle comment est née la tendance à la diffusion de logiciels gratuits et ce qu’elle signifie pour le traitement de l’information, la littérature et les travaux d’érudition à l’ère des réseaux informatiques. Le système du droit d’auteur, si bénéfique et sans histoireslorsqu’il était appliqué dans les règles, aux temps de l’imprimerie, devient difficile à manier et gênant à notre époque où dominent l’ordinateur et les réseaux. Ce système est de surcroîtinefficace car il sert surtout à enrichir l’industrie des médias et accessoirement seulement à encourager les arts et les sciences. Le succès de cette tendance à la diffusion de logicielsgratuits annonce d’autres systèmes sociaux d’utilisation des œuvres publiées, de nouveauxmoyens de favoriser un mode de publication qui corresponde à la nature de la technologie de l’information numérique et permette au public de tirer pleinement avantage de celle-ci.

Los Programas Informaticos Gratuitos y el FuturoEl autor se refiere a la corriente partidaria de la franquicia de los programas informáticosy sus repercusiones para las actividades informáticas, literarias y académicas en la era delas redes electrónicas. El sistema del derecho de autor, aunque benéfico e inocuo cuando seaplica rigurosamente a la tecnología de la prensa escrita, se convierte en un grave obstáculoen relación con las computadoras y las redes informáticas como las que existen en la actualidad.Además, es ineficaz en la medida en que su principal efecto consiste en enriquecer a lasempresas de medios de comunicación, y sólo incidentalmente contribuye a promover las arteso las ciencias. El éxito de esa corriente abriría posibilidades para nuevas normas sociales enmateria de uso de obras publicadas y modos de promover una forma de edición que se ajustea la naturaleza de la tecnología de la información numérica y permita al público aprovecharplenamente sus ventajas.

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Introduction

Digital information technology makes it easier to copy and modify informa-tion. Computers promise to make this easier for all of us. Not everyone wantsit to be easier. The system of copyright favours software programme “owners”,most of whom aim to withhold software’s potential benefit from the rest of thepublic. They would like to be the only ones who can copy and modify the soft-ware that we use.

The copyright system grew up with printing, a technology for massproduction copying. Copyright fitted in well with this technology because itrestricted only the mass producers of copies. It did not take freedom away fromreaders of books. An ordinary reader, who did not own a printing press, couldcopy books only with pen and ink, and few readers were sued for that.

Digital technology is more flexible than the printing press: when infor-mation is in digital form, it can easily be copied and shared with others. Thisvery flexibility makes a bad fit with a system like copyright. This is the reasonfor the increasingly nasty and draconian measures now used to enforce soft-ware copyright. Consider these four practices of the Software PublishersAssociation (SPA):

• Massive propaganda saying it is wrong to disobey the owners in orderto help a friend.

• Soliciting stool pigeons to inform on their co-workers and colleagues.• Raids (with police help) on offices and schools, in which people are told

they must prove they are innocent of illegal copying.• Prosecution (by the United States Government, at SPA’s request) of people

such as MIT’s David LaMacchia, not for copying software (he is notaccused of copying any), but merely for leaving copying facilitiesunguarded and failing to censor their use.

All four practices resemble those used in the former Soviet Union, whereevery copying machine had a guard to prevent forbidden copying, and whereindividuals had to copy information secretly and pass it from hand to hand as“samizdat”. There is of course a difference: the motive for information controlin the Soviet Union was political; in the United States the motive is profit. Butit is the actions that affect us, not the motive. Any attempt to block the shar-ing of information, no matter why, leads to the same methods and the sameharshness.

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Owners make several kinds of arguments for giving them the power tocontrol the way in which information is used:

Name-calling

Owners use smear words such as “piracy” and “theft”, as well as expert termi-nology such as “intellectual property” and “damage”, to suggest a certain lineof thinking to the public, thus making a simplistic analogy between programmesand physical objects.

Our ideas and intuitions about property in the form of material objectsare about whether it is right to take an object away from someone else. Theydon’t directly apply to making a copy of something. But the owners ask us toapply them anyway.

Exaggeration

Owners say that they suffer “harm” or “economic loss” when users copyprogrammes. But the copying has no direct effect on the owner, and it harmsno one. The owner can lose only if the person who made the copy would other-wise have paid for one from the owner.

A little thought shows that most such people would not have boughtcopies. Yet the owners compute their “losses” as if each and every one wouldhave bought a copy. That is an exaggeration, to put it kindly.

The law

Owners often describe the current state of the law, and the harsh penalties theycan threaten us with. Implicit in this approach is the suggestion that today’slaw reflects an unquestionable view of morality. Yet at the same time, we areurged to regard these penalties as facts of nature that can’t be blamed on anyone.

This line of persuasion isn’t designed to stand up to critical thinking; it’sintended to reinforce a habitual mental pathway.

It’s elementary that laws don’t decide right and wrong. Every Americanshould know that, forty years ago, it was against the law in many states for ablack person to sit in the front of a bus; but only racists would say sitting therewas wrong.

Natural rights

Authors often claim a special connection with programmes they have written,and go on to assert that, as a result, their desires and interests concerning theprogramme simply outweigh those of anyone else or even those of the whole

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rest of the world. (Typically, companies, not authors, hold the copyrights onsoftware, but we are expected to ignore this discrepancy.)

To those who propose this as an ethical axiom, the author is more impor-tant than you are, I can only say that I, a notable software author myself, callit bunk.

But people in general are only likely to feel any sympathy with the naturalrights claims for two reasons.

One reason is an over-stretched analogy with material objects. When Icook spaghetti, I do object if someone else eats it, because then I cannot eatit. The action hurts me exactly as much as it benefits the person who eats it;only one of us can eat the spaghetti, so the question is, which? The smallestdistinction between us is enough to tip the ethical balance.

But whether you run or change a programme I wrote affects you directlyand me only indirectly. Whether you give a copy to your friend affects youand your friend much more than it affects me. I shouldn’t have the power totell you not to do these things. No one should.

The second reason is that people have been told those natural rights forauthors are the accepted and unquestioned tradition of our society.

As a matter of history, the opposite is true. The idea of natural rights ofauthors was proposed and decisively rejected when the United StatesConstitution was drawn up. That’s why the Constitution only permits a systemof copyright and does not require one; that’s why it says that copyright mustbe temporary. It also states that the purpose of copyright is to promote progressnot to reward authors. Copyright does reward authors somewhat, and publishersmore, but that is intended as a means of modifying their behaviour.

The real established tradition of our society is that copyright cuts intothe natural rights of the public and that this can only be justified in the publicinterest.

Economics

The final argument made for recognizing owners of software is that it leads tothe production of more software. Unlike the others, this argument at least takesa legitimate approach to the subject. It is based on the valid goal of satisfyingsoftware users. And it is empirically clear that people will produce more ofsomething if they are well paid for doing so.

But the economic argument has a flaw; it is based on the assumptionthat the difference is only a matter of how much money we have to pay. Itassumes that “production of software” is what we want, whether the softwarehas owners or not.

People readily accept this assumption, because it accords with our expe-riences with material objects. Consider a sandwich, for instance. You mightwell be able to get an equivalent sandwich either free or for a price. If so, the

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amount you pay is the only difference. Whether or not you have to buy it, thesandwich has the same taste, the same nutritional value, and in either case youcan only eat it once. Whether you get the sandwich from an owner or not cannotdirectly affect anything but the amount of money you have afterwards.

This is true for any kind of material object: whether or not it has anowner does not directly affect what it is, or what you can do with it, if youacquire it.

But if a programme has an owner, this very much affects what it is, andwhat you can do with a copy, if you buy one. The difference is not just a matterof money. The system of owners of software encourages software owners toproduce something, but not necessarily what society really needs. And it causesintangible ethical pollution that affects us all.

What does society need? It needs information that is truly available toits citizens for example, programmes that people can read, fix, adapt andimprove, not just operate. But what software owners typically deliver is a blackbox that we can’t study or change.

Society also needs freedom. When a programme has an owner, the userslose freedom to control part of their own lives.

And above all society needs to encourage the spirit of voluntary coopera-tion in its citizens. When software owners tell us that helping our neighboursin a natural way is “piracy”, they pollute our society’s civic spirit.

This is why we say that free software is a matter of freedom, not price.The economic argument for owners is erroneous, but the economic issue

is real. Some people write useful software for the pleasure of writing it or foradmiration and love; but if we want more software than that written by thesepeople, we need to raise funds.

For ten years now, free software developers have tried various methodsof finding funds, with some success. There’s no need to make anyone rich; themedian United States family income, around $35,000, proves to be enoughincentive for many jobs that are less satisfying than programming.

For years, until a fellowship made it unnecessary, I made a living fromcustom enhancements of the free software I had written.

Each enhancement was added to the standard released version and thuseventually became available to the general public. Clients paid me so thatI would work on the enhancements they wanted, rather than on the featuresI would otherwise have considered highest priority.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF), a tax-exempt charity for free soft-ware development, raises funds by selling GNU CD-ROMs, T-shirts, manualsand deluxe distributions (all of which users are free to copy and change), aswell as from donations. It now has a staff of five programmers, plus threeemployees who handle mail orders.

Some free software developers make money by selling support services.Cygnus Support, with around 50 employees [when this article was written],

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estimates that about 15 per cent of its staff activity is free software develop-ment, a respectable percentage for a software company. Companies includingIntel, Motorola, Texas Instruments and Analog Devices have combined tofund the continued development of the free GNU compiler for the languageC. Meanwhile, the GNU compiler for the Ada language is being funded by theUS Air Force, which believes this is the most cost-effective way to get a high-quality compiler. [Air Force funding ended some time ago; the GNU AdaCompiler is now in service, and its maintenance is funded commercially.]

All these examples are small; the free software movement is still small,and still young. But the example of listener-supported radio in the United Statesshows it’s possible to support a large activity without forcing each user to pay.

As a computer user today, you may find yourself using a proprietary(18k characters) programme. If a friend asks to make a copy, it would be wrongto refuse. Cooperation is more important than copyright. But underground,closet cooperation does not make for a good society. A person should aspire tolive an upright life openly with pride, and this means saying “No” to propri-etary software.

You deserve to be able to co-operate openly and freely with other peoplewho use software. You deserve to be able to learn how the software works,and to teach your students with it. You deserve to be able to hire your favouriteprogrammer to fix it when it breaks.

You deserve free software.

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TOMAS DE LA QUADRA-SALCEDOPresident, Spanish Association of Telecommunications and Information Technologies Rights (ADETI), Spain

Defining a new compact between the public authorities and the information societyStates must adopt new policies to deal with information in cyberspace. To date, most Stateshave adopted repressive attitudes aimed at crime prevention in the information society as a means of guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights. The authorities must neverthelessalso adopt active policies, both nationally and through international and supranationalorganizations, to disseminate knowledge and ensure equal access to it, firstly by encouragingrather than restricting civil society and, secondly, by making a habit of putting out informationin cyberspace and facilitating worldwide access to it, thus encouraging equal opportunities for all.

Pour un nouvel engagement des pouvoirs publics dans la société de l’informationIl faut redéfinir la politique des États concernant l’information dans le cyberespace. Jusqu’ici, les gouvernements ont pour la plupart adopté une attitude répressive visant à prévenirla criminalité au sein de la société de l’information afin de garantir le respect des droits fondamentaux ; or une politique active s’impose également de la part des pouvoirs publicstant dans le cadre national qu’au niveau des organisations internationales et supranationalessi l’on veut que la diffusion du savoir et l’égalité d’accès au savoir deviennent des réalités.En premier lieu, il s’agit d’inciter la société civile à aller de l’avant au lieu de lui assignerdes limites. En deuxième lieu, il faut que les États intègrent dans leurs mœurs la diffusion deleurs connaissances dans le cyberespace et en facilitent l’accès à tous les citoyens du monde,permettant ainsi la réalisation de l’égalité des chances pour tous les hommes et toutes lesfemmes de notre époque.

Definir un nuevo compromiso de los poderes publicos con la sociedad de la información.La política de los Estados necesita una nueva definición con respecto a la información en el cyberespacio. Hasta el momento la mayor parte de los Estados han adoptado posturasrepresivas dirigidas a la prevención de la criminalidad en la sociedad de la informacióncomo medio para garantizar el respeto de los derechos fundamentales, sin embargo, tambienes necesaria una política activa por parte de los poderes públicos tanto en el marco estatal,como a través de las organizaciones internacionales y supranacionales, para hacer realidadla difusión del conocimiento y la igualdad de oportunidades para adquirirlo. En primer lugar,estimulando la sociedad civil, en lugar de limitándola. En segundo lugar, incorporando a sushábitos de conducta la difusión en el cyberespacio de sus conocimientos y facilitando el acceso a todos los ciudadanos del mundo, posibilitando, asi, la consecución de la igualdad de oportunidades entre los hombres y las mujeres de nuestra época.

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Espace public et espace privé dans le cyberespace

Pendant les premières années de ce qu’on appelle de nos jours le cyberespace,ont été établies les bases pour une pratique et une conception de l’utilisationde cet espace libre d’entraves publiques ou privées. Dans ce sens, l’Internet,instrument de plus en plus utilisé, fondamental dans la société de l’informa-tion, doit faire face à une définition de son rôle dans l’espace public.

En effet, de nos jours, la popularisation d’Internet et son usage généra-lisé mettent en évidence l’existence de problèmes, pour lesquels quelques-unsproposent comme solution l’intervention de l’État. Aujourd’hui l’on met aussien question la nécessité de cette intervention et l’on prône la convenance d’éta-blir la liberté du cyberespace, de la même façon qu’on proclamait autrefois laliberté des mers, lorsque la découverte de l’Amérique mit en évidence l’utilitédes océans comme moyen de communication.

Cette demande de liberté, liberté face au pouvoir, doit être substantiel-lement soutenue. Il est aussi nécessaire de rechercher ses origines et ses consé-quences pour trouver un équilibre entre la liberté et l’existence de politiquespubliques. Tout en respectant les droits fondamentaux de la communication desparticuliers à travers le réseau, ceux-ci doivent garantir le droit de l’humanitétout entière à bénéficier de ses effets, sans distinction possible entre ceux quiont l’accès au réseau et ceux qui ne l’ont pas. Ces différences existent à l’in-térieur de chaque pays et entre les différents pays.

La spontanéité de la société civile dans le cyberespace, mirage ou réalité ?

Pendant les années émergentes du cyberespace, ce qui revient à dire, pendantla période Internet, il s’est finalement imposé un sentiment de liberté en ce quiconcerne l’utilisation du réseau, qui n’est pas sans fondement.

Cette impression a été renforcée par l’idée que, en réalité, la communi-cation qui s’établit à travers Internet, est une communication très semblable,sinon identique, à celle qui s’établit entre personnes par téléphone ou à traversla poste. C’est en fait une sphère publique, et les États n’ont rien à dire à cesujet, puisqu’il s’agit du règne de la liberté et de la spontanéité de la sociétécivile. Spontanéité qui ne peut être limitée par l’introduction de disciplinespubliques qui conditionnent ou limitent la liberté des vrais protagonistes ducyberespace : ceux qui en font usage.

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Une conception proche des idées de Rousseau en ce qui concerne lesavantages de l’état nature, s’est approchée des premiers usagers du cyberes-pace, qui se constitue comme un espace libre et vide, sans règles ni normessociales, où l’histoire pouvait s’écrire dès le début d’un monde tout à faitnouveau.

Cette sensation est sûrement comparable à celle des premiers habitantsde cet espace virtuel, occupants d’un territoire inconnu, sans règles, institutionsni tribunaux. C’est seulement lorsque ce territoire a attiré des millions d’indi-vidus et lorsque sa valeur économique a été mise en relief, que l’on a commencéà parler de règles, institutions ou limitations.

Dans ces conditions, les premiers habitants de l’espace virtuel oucyberespace ressentent n’importe quelle intervention comme une imposition.Ils ont d’ailleurs raison, si cette intervention constitue une intromission dansles communications inter personnelles, pour lesquelles est demandée la plusgrande autonomie.

Il conviendrait d’analyser si, sur d’autres plans, cette réticence face àn’importe quelle forme d’intervention des États est justifiée.

En tout cas, il est utile de rappeler que ce nouveau territoire, occupé parde nouveaux conquérants sans verser une seule goutte de sang, par leur simpleemprise sur un monde inconnu, peut être considéré comme le résultat d’uneintervention publique au plus haut niveau.

En effet, il faut rappeler qu’Internet était une solution de défense quiprévoyait la possibilité d’une attaque nucléaire laissant les États-Unis sanscommunications en détruisant ses réseaux principaux. Dans ce contexte, ilétait nécessaire d’établir un réseau non hiérarchique en forme de maillepour canaliser toutes les communications vers ces nœuds du réseau indemnesde cette attaque hypothétique. La forme physique du réseau et le langageutilisé qui transforment les contenus en paquets de bits, sont le résultatd’une opération de défense dans laquelle les stratèges avaient besoin de laspontanéité de la société.

Les débuts de l’Internet, les recherches qui l’ont rendu possible, la tech-nologie utilisée, sont le résultat d’une décision provenant du noyau dur de toutÉtat, de sa fonction de garantie de la sécurité et de la défense. Dans ce sensles premiers habitants de ce nouvel espace virtuel peuvent être considéréscomme les cobayes d’un laboratoire expérimental mis en place pour des raisonsde défense, destiné à consolider un réseau de préparation à la guerre, à ladéfense et au maintien des communications en cas de guerre.

Le fait de permettre l’usage de ce réseau aux universités était en fait unpas nécessaire pour la consolidation d’une technologie à usage à la fois civilet militaire. Ce dernier dépourvu de son sens permettrait d’accentuer l’aspectcivil, d’impliquer la population dont la participation est indispensable.

Voilà l’apport fondamental des premiers habitants ou usagers du cyber-espace : ils ont doté le réseau d’une utilité précise, ciblée d’abord sur la satis-

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faction des nécessités de communication de la communauté scientifique, puissur le reste des usagers qui ont successivement utilisé ce réseau.

Les origines d’Internet, sa raison d’être initiale, peuvent nous servirà éviter les faux mirages concernant la spontanéité de ces phénomènes,c’est-à-dire, pour nous détromper et ne pas construire un mythe en pensantà un espace virtuel créé par la spontanéité d’une société civile libre desconnexions avec les projets publics.

Rôle de l’initiative privée et rôle du secteur public

Si la société de l’information mise en marche à travers un moyen d’intercom-munication aussi puissant et versatile comme Internet a un avenir, celui-ci reposesur l’usage civil du cyberespace et l’exploitation de ses possibilités pour aiderau développement de la personne humaine et ses potentiels.

Il appartient à la société civile de donner un sens à l’usage de cet instru-ment extraordinaire. De la même façon comme il est déjà arrivé dans l’histoireavec nombre d’autres inventions, Internet est utile dans la mesure où l’hommea su lui donner un usage imprévu peut-être même à l’insu de ceux qui avaientmis en marche la technique de la communication numérique. Il en sera ainsidans l’avenir.

D’autre part, le caractère apparemment interpersonnel de ces commu-nications favorise le respect de l’intimité des personnes, en utilisant les mêmestechniques que celles de la poste ou le téléphone, respectant des espaces privésdans lesquels les États n’avaient aucun rôle, sauf en ce qui concerne l’éta-blissement et le maintien des réseaux qui rendent possible la communication.Mais l’État ne pouvait rien faire quand au contenu, avec la seule exceptionde l’intervention du juge s’il y avait commission d’un délit.

Ce même modèle de liberté devrait s’appliquer au développement ducyberespace. Cependant, deux réflexions surgissent en ce qui concerne le rôledu secteur public : c’est-à-dire, la présence des États, face à Internet.

La première est en rapport avec ce qui est arrivé historiquement avec lesmoyens de communication humaine :

l’État ne peut pas se mettre à l’écart face à la poursuite des délits et l’éta-blissement des règles du jeu minimales qui assurent le règne de la loi et dudroit, par exemple dans l’accomplissement des obligations entre particuliers àtravers le cyberespace. L’intervention publique doit être limitée surtout lorsqu’ils’agit d’une matière liée aux droits et libertés humaines.

La deuxième est en rapport avec la capacité de la société civile et avecle libre jeu des forces qui agissent dans son intérieur pour assurer l’égalité deschances des individus et des nations à l’accès du cyberespace.

Un des plus grands risques de toute invention du génie humain reposesur le fait qu’elle ouvre un horizon de possibilités pour la plupart mais consti-tue en même temps une menace de discrimination. Elle risque d’augmenter ladifférence entre ceux qui peuvent avoir accès à la nouvelle invention et ceux

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qui n’ont pas la même possibilité d’accès, en creusant un nouvel élément dedifférenciation.

Dans ce sens, on peut craindre avec raison que le cyberespace, basé surla spontanéité des forces sociales, suivra la logique du marché, qui détermi-nera son fonctionnement.

Il appartient aux États ou aux institutions publiques d’éviter ce risque endéfinissant leur propre rôle dans ce cyberespace. Leur rôle ne peut pas êtrelimité à celui de gardien de l’ordre public ou de persécuteur ; il doit garantirà tous de véritables possibilités d’accès aux informations et communicationsd’intérêt pour la formation de la personne humaine, indépendamment de l’en-droit où elle se trouve.

Les risques liés à un abandon de l’espace de l’autorité publique dans lasociété de l’information sont divers, nous les analyserons par la suite. Ce quidoit être souligné pour l’instant c’est la nécessité de leur existence. Sans cela,la spontanéité des forces sociales ne pourra pas garantir la propagation des béné-fices de la société de l’information dans des conditions d’égalité à l’intérieurde chaque État et dans tous les continents de notre planète.

Le rôle du secteur public dans la société de l’information

La construction de la société de l’information et de son instrument principal – Internet ou les autres réseaux plus ou moins accessibles – n’est pas le résultatde la simple spontanéité sociale. La société de l’information fait face à plusieursdangers. Ceux-ci ont à voir avec le désir de garantir l’accès vers tous les béné-fices de cette société de l’information et le désir d’éviter que les différencesentre classes sociales et entre ceux qui y ont accès et ceux qui ne l’ont pas,s’accroissent. En deuxième lieu, il y a aussi des risques concernant les abus dela société de l’information et les délits pouvant se commettre à travers elle.

Ces derniers sont les dangers les plus cités. Lorsque l’on cherche dessolutions, on revient souvent à discuter le rôle qui appartient à l’État et l’onentre souvent dans des débats sans issue. Ces polémiques assombrissent la ques-tion principale, qui est celle de l’accès garanti à la société de l’informationpour toute l’humanité afin que chacun puisse jouir de ses bénéfices. Mais onse limite souvent à mettre uniquement en question le rôle de l’État commegarant de l’accomplissement de la loi.

Une société de l’information pour toute l’humanité

L’établissement d’un cyberespace pour toute l’humanité ne peut surgir du simplejeu des forces sociales ou du marché. A l’intérieur des États on cherche le moyende garantir l’extension des communications dans tout le territoire, de façon qu’au-cun citoyen ne soit privé de possibilités de communication en fonction du terri-toire où il habite. La solution doit passer par ce qu’on appelle aujourd’hui auxÉtats-Unis, en Europe et dans de nombreux pays de l’Amérique Latine, le service

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universel. C’est-à-dire, une garantie de la diffusion des télécommunications danstout le territoire et dans des conditions accessibles et similaires pour tous lescitoyens.

Puisque dans un contexte de libéralisation le marché n’assure pas defaçon bienfaisante et altruiste les conditions d’accès égalitaire à tous les services,on peut obtenir cet effet par la création d’un fonds commun à travers lequeltout le monde participe aux frais du service universel comme « obligation duservice public ».

Le besoin de garantir l’égalité de tous, indépendamment du lieu de rési-dence, se heurte à plusieurs obstacles difficiles à surmonter au sein de chaqueÉtat et sans réponse au niveau international.

Le service universel ne s’occupe pas des populations qui vivent en dehorsde chaque État. Il constitue peut-être la solution pour l’égalité à l’intérieurd’un pays mais il n’assure pas l’universalité au niveau mondial. Il n’y a pasun mécanisme assurant que la société de l’information – qui devrait êtremondiale – s’étendra dans toute la planète.

Voilà une première réflexion et un premier devoir pour les États et lesorganismes internationaux: établir des mécanismes mondiaux de service universelpour rendre possible une société de l’information pour toute l’humanité. Laraison de cette réflexion ne doit pas être uniquement une conviction morale,mais doit aussi se baser sur le fait que pour construire une société de l’infor-mation il faut utiliser des biens appartenant à l’humanité, et que celle-ci enbénéficie.

C’est le cas de l’utilisation de l’espace intérieur pour placer des satel-lites géostationnaires ou de basse cote. Dans ce sens, on soutient que les satel-lites de basse cote permettront que l’extension du téléphone dans des continentscomme l’Afrique ne sera pas aussi coûteuse que l’installation des réseaux exis-tants dans d’autres pays.

En tout cas, il faudrait passer du service universel à l’intérieur de chaquepays au sens propre du terme, c’est-à-dire celui qui permet que toute personne,indépendamment de son lieu de résidence, ait accès aux biens de la sociétéd’information.

Il s’agit-là d’un problème économique, politique et éthique, qui a sa placedans un forum comme celui qu’encourage l’UNESCO sous le nom de« Infoética ».

Il est évident, vu sous une perspective éthique, d’établir dans la raisoncollective que les biens de la nouvelle société soient à la portée de l’humanité.

Cela doit constituer un vrai principe, qui ne naît pas de la simple sponta-néité sociale ou du marché, mais du compromis conscient des États et desorganismes internationaux pour obtenir sa reconnaissance.

Il s’agit, au début, d’obtenir une reconnaissance de ce principe. Plus tard,dans son implantation, cette exigence pourra être modifiée en tenant compte

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des particularités de chaque pays et sa capacité d’absorption et d’adaptationaux nouvelles technologies.

Les différences de revenu par habitant et de richesse entre les nationss’expliquent par des origines complexes basées dans l’histoire et la culture,mais les technologies de l’information sont si récentes qu’il convient de penseren termes humanitaires, dans la mesure où il s’agit de moyens de communi-cation, de rapprochement entre ceux qui sont éloignés, comme l’indique sonétymologie. On ne peut donc pas oublier ceux qui sont éloignés par l’espace,le temps, la culture ou la richesse. On doit donc proclamer le principe de serviceuniversel pour toute l’humanité, indépendamment de son rythme d’implanta-tion.

Quant à la difficulté de chaque État d’établir autrement que théorique-ment le service universel, la plus évidente se trouve dans la définition desservices qui doivent s’inclure dans ce service universel. Dans l’Union euro-péenne sont inclus le téléphone, le fax et les données en bande vocale de capa-cité limitée. Cela signifie que l’accès à tous les bénéfices de la société del’information est limité par l’usage du modem; ce qui revient à dire que lesbénéfices de la numérisation des signaux ne peuvent pas atteindre certaineszones, puisque la capacité et vitesse d’utilisation qui les caractérisent ne peuventêtre garantis partout.

Afin d’éviter cela, on donne la priorité à l’éducation et la santé pourqu’il existe moins de différences dans ces prestations si importantes pour leWelfare State.

Voici brièvement exposés les défis à relever par un service universelsouhaitant répondre aux besoins d’égalité au sein de chaque État.

Cela n’empêche pas de remarquer qu’à un niveau international, il n’existeaucun mécanisme permettant que les bénéfices de la société de l’informations’étendent à toute la planète. Ce qui semble paradoxal est qu’Internet semblaitjustement pouvoir permettre une réduction des différences entre les nations ence qui concerne l’accès aux sources d’information et de formation de la partdes pays sous-développés ou en voie de développement.

Le télétravail ou l’éducation à distance permettraient de réduire les écartsou du moins d’ouvrir des possibilités à des personnes qui, auparavant, nepouvaient pas aspirer à ce niveau de formation et d’information sans quitterleur pays.

Pour que cet espoir ne se voit pas frustré il faut que les réseaux de lasociété de l’information arrivent partout, dans des conditions attrayantes pourstimuler l’usage des nouvelles technologies. Voici le premier défi auquel doiventfaire face les organismes publics nationaux ou internationaux pour permettreque la société de l’information soit un instrument efficace d’égalité des chances.

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Une société de l’information pour la liberté

L’accessibilité de la société de l’information à l’humanité dans des conditionssimilaires n’est pas la solution à tout mais c’est déjà un début à partir duquelon peut approfondir et obtenir des exigences plus concrètes.

L’accès garanti aux instruments de la société de l’information commeInternet pose des problèmes quant au contenu auquel on peut accéder à traverscette société de l’information.

On peut souligner trois problèmes ou défis qui font référence à la libertédans la société de l’information.

Le premier est celui de la commercialisation d’une partie de l’informa-tion ou sa soumission à des normes comme celles qui ont permis dans plusieurspays le financement de la télévision publique à travers la publicité.

La deuxième question fait référence au contrôle et à la direction desinformations qui sont consultées ou des lieux qui sont visités à travers le contrôledes programmes de software, (chercheurs ou navigateurs).

En troisième lieu se pose la question de l’intimité et du contrôle despréférences et des goûts des usagers de la société de l’information, conséquencede la technique numérique qui permet un suivi des pages le plus fréquentéespar les particuliers.

1. De la dynamique du mercantilisme

L’un des plus grands attraits d’Internet, si l’on parle d’une des modalités lesplus diffusées, la Web-consiste en la visite gratuite des lieux où l’on peut trou-ver l’information souhaitée sous forme d’images, sons ou textes.

Il est possible que cette information soit progressivement substituéepar des données ou des archives obtenues à travers une souscription ou unpaiement pour accéder à cette information.

On considère aussi la possibilité d’introduire la publicité dans le réseauen échange de sa gratuité. On réussirait ainsi à diminuer les coûts de diffusiondes biens, services et produits du réseau, ayant à supporter en contrepartie untemps de publicité. Si cela arrivait, nous serions au début d’une nouvelle ségré-gation, il y aurait un coût d’accès au contenu de la société de l’information etle risque de créer une information de première et deuxième classe moins inté-ressante, mal organisée et moins accessible. La dynamique du réseau conduità une soumission aux règles du marché et à une ségrégation sociale à l’inté-rieur de chaque pays et entre les différents pays.

Ce risque met en relief la nécessité d’établir un rôle pour le secteurpublic ; un rôle pour les États, qui se chargeraient de défendre l’existence deproduits culturels, scientifiques et d’information de qualité à l’intérieur duréseau, avec une organisation claire et accessible à tous, citoyens ou étrangers.Le rôle du secteur public serait alors celui du correcteur du marché. Rôle positif

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avec des caractéristiques perverses du fait que le marché ne peut pas remplirdes rôles allant au-delà du but lucratif dont il s’inspire de façon légitime.

Seulement les États ou les organismes publics internationaux peuventaccomplir des tâches inspirées dans un « ethos » différent du but lucratif. Cestâches sont liées à la solidarité entre les citoyens de chaque pays et entre lescitoyens de différents pays du monde.

La popularité d’Internet est basée, mis à part les services du courrierélectronique et les « chats » où le contenu principal dépend de l’initiative desusagers – sur la possibilité d’accéder à des documents variés dans des conditionsde gratuité, commodité et facilité jamais connues. Il existe toujours des endroitsoù il faut payer, mais cela n’empêche pas qu’aujourd’hui on puisse « naviguer »gratuitement sur la plupart des sites du réseau.

Il reste à savoir si, dans l’avenir, une fois que la connexion au réseau ouà la société de l’information soit considérée comme une nécessité, nous pour-rions exiger le paiement pour accéder à quelques endroits déterminés, si l’onétait prêts à payer.

Cela risque de provoquer une dualité sociale : ceux qui peuvent payer etceux qui ne peuvent pas.

Dans ces conditions, le rôle du secteur public consiste à fournir gratuite-ment des renseignements intéressants et à inciter les entreprises et organismesqui dépendent des programmes gouvernementaux à offrir dans le réseau leursrenseignements gratuitement, de façon qu’il existe toujours une information dequalité empêchant des phénomènes de ségrégation ou de marginalisation.

2. Contrôle ou dirigisme de l’information

L’un des plus grands problèmes de la société de l’information et d’Internet, entant qu’un de ses instruments les plus caractéristiques aujourd’hui – est celuide l’abondance de renseignements. Ce qui constitue un avantage peut finale-ment devenir un grand inconvénient. En effet, le volume d’information est siélevé qu’une personne normale ne peut perdre son temps à décider quelle infor-mation l’intéresse réellement et l’ordonner hiérarchiquement en ordre d’im-portance.

Les chercheurs les plus connus aident à accomplir cette tâche. Ils fournis-sent de nombreux documents sur un thème. Supposons 500 documents : l’usa-ger ouvre les 10 premiers et choisit les plus intéressants. Il n’ira probablementpas plus loin que le deuxième groupe de 10 documents. Cela signifie que l’ordrede présentation des documents détermine l’accès à l’information. Le fait desituer un renseignement parmi les 10 ou 40 documents, détermine et dirigel’opinion et conditionne la liberté de l’usager sans que celui-ci s’en aperçoive.

Il conviendrait d’établir une transparence parmi les chercheurs au momentde présenter les sélections et d’expliquer l’ordre de présentation et de déter-miner s’il se base sur des motifs commerciaux ou publicitaires, ou s’il corres-

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pond à un paiement. Tout cela souligne les risques que la société de l’infor-mation engendre pour la liberté ainsi que la nécessité d’être vigilant à cet égard.

La concurrence entre différents chercheurs est peut-être une solution maisdans le secteur public on devrait penser à encourager les institutions sans butlucratif pour qu’elles collaborent à la hiérarchisation de l’énorme quantité derenseignements existants.

Le problème est majeur si l’on tient compte de la tendance à la concen-tration, l’intégration et le monopole des programmes de software capables denaviguer et de faire des recherches sur le Web.

L’action récente du gouvernement des États-Unis contre Microsoft meten relief la sensibilité face aux phénomènes d’intégration de produits etservices qui peuvent être considérés comme indice d’un abus de positiondominante.

On va éviter d’analyser ici la question en profondeur, ainsi que les fonde-ments ou justifications de l’intégration en un seul produit de la capacité pourréaliser des tâches différentes (intégration de systèmes opératifs et navigateurs,essentiellement); mais le fait est que cette problématique peut être envisagée dupoint de vue du droit de la concurrence ainsi que du point de vue de la libertéréelle d’information de la part d’un public qui a besoin d’utiliser des instrumentsde software qui tendent au monopole ou l’oligopole.

Ce qui suppose que l’accès à l’information peut être médiatisé si finale-ment les systèmes opératifs, avec navigateurs et chercheurs, s’y intègrent.

La société de l’information, ainsi que d’autres aspects de la vie actuelle,se trouve soumise à des risques, mais, dans la mesure où il s’agit ici de l’ac-cès à la culture et à l’information, la question est de savoir si la promesse d’unenouvelle société résulte en partie médiatisée en raison de l’intervention desgrandes corporations offrant des produits ou des services pouvant entraver laliberté de choix des usagers et de l’humanité. Ces réflexions amènent à conclurequ’il existe toujours un rôle pour le secteur public dans la société de l’infor-mation. Un rôle de garant de la neutralité et de la transparence des médiateursnécessaires de la société de l’information.

Ainsi un rôle d’offrant de services d’orientation dans la Web de la partdes institutions publiques dotées du statut des agences indépendantes et plura-listes – ou un rôle de promoteur de ces activités de la part des institutions sansbut lucratif (ou si elles sont à but lucratif, elles doivent suivre un système decontrôle pour éviter un dirigisme dans la société de l’information).

Les solutions peuvent varier, mais on ne peut pas ignorer les risques exis-tants dans la société de l’information et ces solutions ne s’épuisent pas avec lapoursuite des délits ; il faut garantir que ce genre de société soit ouvert à tousavec un fonctionnement transparent, objectif et neutre face aux goûts desusagers.

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Un modèle dualiste dans la société de l’information

On prétend défendre un rôle du secteur public dans la société de l’information.Un rôle qui n’est pas incompatible avec les fonctions traditionnelles que doiventaccomplir les États ; poursuivre les délits, défendre la loi ou exiger le respectdes accords réalisés à travers n’importe quels moyens, ceux de la société del’information inclus.

On ne prétend pas traiter ici la question des droits des États pour pour-suivre la pornographie infantile ou les contenus nuisibles et illégaux dansInternet (comme fait l’Union européenne). Ces aspects feront sans doute l’objetd’autres interventions.

On va se centrer ici sur la question qui concerne le rôle positif despouvoirs publics, des États, des organismes internationaux ou des organismescréés avec un statut public ou semi-public pour assurer une présence positivedans la société de l’information au-delà de la tâche répressive ou de surveillancepour des raisons de sécurité ou prévention des délits.

Il existe un rôle positif des États dans la société de l’information. Cerôle existe dans la construction de tout système d’infrastructures et dans lasurveillance des abus de pouvoir de tous ceux qui agissent dans le fonction-nement de cette société. Et ce rôle positif existe lorsqu’il garantit l’égalité dechances réelle pour les citoyens d’un État et pour les citoyens du monde. Leseul accès à la société de l’information – c’est-à-dire la connexion aux réseauxqui la forment – ne constitue pas cette égalité. Il faut aussi qu’il y ait accès àdes contenus intéressants, que les usagers et citoyens soient à égalité de condi-tions par rapport à ceux qui peuvent s’inscrire aux services payants qui offrentdes produits de qualité.

L’important est que les organismes publics, indépendamment de leur orga-nisation (publique, semi-publique ou agences indépendantes), accomplissent latâche d’offrir une information intéressante et de qualité dans le réseau, libre etgratuit, pour que l’accès à la société d’information soit intéressant pour tous,indépendamment du pouvoir d’achat.

Élargir l’offre d’information publique

Les pouvoirs publics peuvent agir de plusieurs façons afin que le réseau et lasociété de l’information deviennent des instruments d’information, de forma-tion et d’amusement intéressants pour tous.

A titre d’exemple on peut énumérer les différentes mesures montrantl’utilité d’accéder à la société de l’information.

D’abord, il faut développer l’utilisation de la société de l’informationpour faciliter la transparence de fonctionnement de notre démocratie ou l’uti-liser comme véhicule de participation avec les administrations publiques.

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Ensuite, il faut utiliser les instruments de la société de l’information commedes lieux de renseignement où trouver des décisions ou des documents impor-tants.

Enfin, on devrait encourager le placement au sein d’Internet de rensei-gnements qui, n’étant pas encore entièrement publics, proviennent d’entre-prises ou entités qui, d’une façon ou d’une autre, reçoivent des subventionsou des aides publiques.

L’établissement des mesures ci-dessus énumérées à titre d’exemplesupposerait une augmentation de l’utilité de l’usage de la société de l’infor-mation pour les citoyens, ce qui provoquerait un plus grand usage et l’acqui-sition d’une culture de la communication et un plus grand intérêt pour lespossibilités qu’offre la nouvelle technologie.

Une plus grande utilisation des technologies de l’information commevéhicule de relation avec les administrations publiques ou de participation ettransparences démocratiques peuvent être obtenues facilement. Avec desmesures simples comme celle qui consiste à faciliter aux citoyens l’accès àl’information intéressante qu’émettent chaque jour les institutions (entitéslocales, régionales, administrations centrales ou pouvoirs législatif ou juridiques)et en les situant dans les lieux adéquats dans le réseau pour que tout intéressépuisse accéder aux renseignements.

Concernant l’actualité, plusieurs pays offrent déjà la documentation detravaux parlementaires, accessible à tout intéressé.

Au niveau local, l’emplacement des nouvelles ou résolutions d’intérêt sertà montrer l’utilité de la société de l’information. Celle-ci contribue à fortifier ladémocratie en la faisant plus authentique dans la mesure où les décisions sontprises avec la connaissance de tous les citoyens ou du moins, tout intéressé ala possibilité de les connaître.

De nos jours nombreux sont les pays qui ne facilitent pas la diffusionde leurs normes par Internet malgré leur reconnaissance du principe selon lequel« Nul n’est censé ignorer la loi ». Ils n’offrent pas le contenu complet des jour-naux officiels où sont publiés les lois et les normes, condition pour leur entréeen vigueur.

Mais on peut offrir par le réseau des données statistiques mises au jourdans beaucoup d’autres domaines ; par exemple, dans les différents secteurs dela vie nationale, la société de l’information peut devenir un véhicule que lapopulation adopte comme instrument indispensable dans l’avenir.

Dans tous ces cas, on favorise la connaissance et la démocratie. Celle-ci estrenforcée par l’usage des instruments de la société de l’information pour réaliserdes consultations publiques à plusieurs niveaux ; local, régional, national.

Naturellement, la complexité de la vie moderne rend plus difficile lasubstitution de la démocratie représentative et les consultations touchant de prèsaux faits peuvent réveiller des sentiments passionnels, plutôt qu’inciter à laréflexion d’une maturité démocratique.

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Mais, indépendamment des fonctions irremplaçables d’une démocratiereprésentative, la société de l’information permet aux pouvoirs publics d’essayerdes formes de participation qui ouvrent des horizons inconnus jusqu’à présent.

Finalement, on soutenait que les pouvoirs publics devraient encouragerl’utilisation de la société de l’information, en exigeant que ceux qui ont desliens avec eux (par exemple, perçoivent des aides), offrent au public des rapportssur leur activité, leurs documents, objectifs, etc., toujours en protégeant l’inti-mité des personnes et leurs droits fondamentaux.

L’enseignement comme base pour l’égalité des chances. Une égalité à échelle universelle

On doit aussi tenir compte des possibilités que la société de l’information offreau système éducatif à travers les technologies de la formation à distance. Cegenre de formation pourrait permettre pour la première fois des possibilitésréelles d’accès, de n’importe quel lieu de la planète, à une formation de qualitéqui ne se heurte pas à la barrière de la distance.

L’encouragement des programmes d’éducation à distance pour les élèvesde chaque pays (une fois dépassée la barrière linguistique) permet l’accès descitoyens d’autres pays à des niveaux de qualité inimaginables.

L’effort de chaque pays pour développer ce type de programmes permettrades possibilités de formation pour d’autres pays moins développés et contribueraà une approche bénéfique des individus dès leur jeune âge. Il s’agit-là d’une tâchequi correspond essentiellement aux pouvoirs publics, qui peuvent, dans chaquepays, assumer une formation plus onéreuse à laquelle seulement les couches lesplus favorisées de la société ont accès.

Ce rôle des pouvoirs publics dans la formation est un des grands défispour les pays développés et peut devenir une forme de coopération au dévelop-pement des pays sous-développés plus efficace que l’aide traditionnelle.

Besoin de respecter le rôle irremplaçable de l’initiative privée dans le développement de la société de l’information. Le modèle dualiste

Les propos exposés ne doivent pas ignorer le rôle de l’initiative privée dans lasociété de l’information. Ce rôle est unique et il est la garantie du vrai plura-lisme. L’initiative publique ne prétend pas concurrencer l’initiative privée, maisdoit plutôt couvrir des besoins qu’elle ne peut remplir et qu’on ne peut exigerd’elle.

Il est donc nécessaire de réaffirmer la nécessité de l’initiative privée dansla société de l’information ainsi que la libre concurrence au sein de celle-ci.

Le modèle défendu ne rend pas incompatible l’activité de l’actionpublique avec l’action privée. Au contraire, il essaye de souligner sa complé-mentarité et souhaite que le secteur public ne se limite pas à la surveillance

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des délits au sein de la société de l’information, mais qu’il se comprometteà agir.

On lance ainsi un message aux citoyens du monde ; les réseaux de lasociété de l’information sont un élément de la culture de notre époque dont onne peut pas se passer, car l’information publique est assez riche et intéressantepour justifier l’accès à la société de l’information.

Il s’agit en fin de compte de défendre, ce qu’on appelle dans d’autressecteurs le modèle dualiste et complémentaire. L’initiative privée joue un rôleindispensable, même à travers le prix payé par les usagers. Simultanément, lesecteur public offre des renseignements et des documents de qualité et gratuitsqui garantissent l’égalité des citoyens face à la société de l’information.

L’important est que cette documentation soit accessible à tous les citoyensdu monde qui s’y intéressent. Cela permet de réduire les différences en ce quiconcerne l’accès aux sources d’information entre pays développés et sous-déve-loppés. Une mission à accomplir par l’espace publique vient d’apparaître dansla société de l’information qui est en fait un espace pour la solidarité.

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ROGER VALER AYIMAMBENWEDirector-General, National Archives, National Library and Documentation, Gabon

Gabon, the Internet and universal access to public information: experience and problemsThe public services have accumulated a great deal of information that could be of interest toresearchers, students, citizens, local communities and businesses at both the national and theinternational level. The primary objective of easy access to this information is to support thesustainable development of our young nations and their gradual transition towards the rule oflaw and good governance. Hence, the advent of the Internet offers developing countries thatare concerned about their development and the well-being of their peoples an opportunity togain a prominent place in the concert of nations and to improve the flow of information totheir fellow citizens by organizing public information systems that are generally accessible andfree of charge to the extent possible. These new information and communication technologiesprovide our countries with a historic opportunity to spread knowledge of themselves, maketheir voices heard and participate in world dialogue through the contribution of their culturalspecificities. Gabon, which has been on line on the Internet since April 1997, is currentlyimplementing a government project entitled “Sustainable Internet Development Network”(RDD-INTERNET). This project, which has been operational since October 1996, is designedto make public information more readily accessible. What lessons can be learnt so far fromthis experience? What are the main difficulties? What impact has it had on Gabonese society?

Le Gabon, l’Internet et l’accès généralisé à l’information publique : expériences et problématiquesLes services publics disposent d’une masse d’informations susceptibles d’intéresser les chercheurs, les étudiants, les citoyens, les collectivités locales et les entreprises tant sur le plan national qu’au niveau mondial. L’objectif prioritaire d’un accès facile à cette information est de soutenir le développement durable de nos jeunes États et leur évolutionvers un État de droit et la bonne gouvernance. L’avènement de l’Internet offre ainsi aux paysen voie de développement, soucieux de leur développement ainsi que du bien-être de leurs populations, l’opportunité de conquérir une place de choix dans le concert des nations, et demieux informer ses concitoyens par l’organisation de systèmes d’information publics à accèsgénéralisé et gratuits autant que possible. Ces nouvelles technologies de l’information et de lacommunication constituent pour nos pays l’occasion historique de publier, de faire entendre leur voix, de participer au dialogue planétaire par l’apport de leurs spécificités culturelles. Le Gabon, en ligne sur l’Internet depuis avril 1997, exécute actuellement un projet gouvernementaldénommé Réseau de développement durable Internet (RDD-INTERNET). Opérationnel depuisoctobre 1996, ce projet a pour objectif d’offrir une plus grande lisibilité de l’informationpublique. A ce jour, que retenir de cette expérience ? Quelles sont les principales difficultés ?Quels sont les impacts sur la société gabonaise ?

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Gabon, Internet y el acceso generalizado a la información publica: experiencias y probematicasLos servicios públicos disponen de un importante volumen de información que puede interesara investigadores, estudiantes, ciudadanos, colectividades locales y empresas, en los planostanto nacional como mundial. El objetivo prioritario de un acceso fácil a esa información esrespaldar el desarrollo sostenible de nuestros jóvenes Estados y su evolución gradual haciaun Estado de derecho y un buen ejercicio del gobierno. Así, el advenimiento de Internet brindaa los países en desarrollo, deseosos de desarrollarse y de asegurar el bienestar de su población,la oportunidad de conquistar un lugar de predilección en el concierto de las naciones, y de informar mejor a sus ciudadanos mediante la organización de sistemas públicos deinformación de acceso generalizado y gratuito, en la medida de lo posible. Las nuevastecnologías de la información y la comunicación constituyen para esos países una oportunidadhistórica de producir publicaciones, hacer oír sus voces y participar en el diálogo planetarioaportando sus especificidades culturales. Gabón, en línea en Internet desde abril de 1997,lleva actualmente a cabo un proyecto gubernamental denominado Red de DesarrolloSostenible Internet (RDD-INTERNET), operacional desde octubre de 1996 y cuyo objeto esdar mayor notoriedad a la información pública. Hoy en día, ¿cuáles son las enseñanzas deesta experiencia? ¿Cuáles son las principales dificultades? ¿Qué repercusiones tiene en lasociedad gabonesa?

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Rôle de l’information

Le débat sur le rôle de l’Information dans le processus de développement dessociétés, me paraît aujourd’hui suffisamment avancé.

Il est mondialement reconnu, tant par les organisations internationalesque par les États, soucieux du bien-être de leur population, que l’information,la bonne information, sa circulation aisée et son accessibilité facile constituentdes facteurs de bonne gouvernance, de développement et d’éducation deshommes, les conduisant vers le bien-être auquel aspire tout être humain et versun État de droit.

Le Gabon, pays d’Afrique centrale traversé par l’Équateur limité au nordpar le Cameroun et la Guinée équatoriale, à l’est et au sud par le Congo etbénéficiant d’une façade maritime de 750 km à l’ouest, s’emploie à mettre enplace un système national d’informations et d’accès généralisé s’appuyant surl’utilisation des nouvelles technologies dont l’Internet, afin de promouvoir unemeilleure gestion de l’information pour le développement.

Ce système gouvernemental s’intègre dans un contexte national déjà enpleine mutation qui peut être résumé comme suit :

Sur le plan économique

Le pays couvre une superficie de 267 667 km2 et compte une population de1 014 796 habitants, vivant pour la plupart (73 %) en zones urbaines.

Les secteurs clés de l’économie dont le bois (la forêt couvre 80 % duterritoire), le pétrole qui représente la principale ressource de l’économie gabo-naise et enfin les mines, notamment le manganèse et l’uranium connaissent desfortunes diverses.

Ouvert sur le marché mondial, le Gabon connaît des difficultés socio-économiques fortement marquées par la dévaluation du franc CFA intervenueen 1994 et les fluctuations des prix des matières premières sur le marché inter-national. Ces difficultés se manifestent entre autres par l’exacerbation duchômage qui touche une partie importante des jeunes de ce pays.

Cependant, le pays amorce une légère amélioration depuis 1995 avec larelative stabilisation des effets de la dévaluation, la diminution du taux d’inflation

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(de 30 % actuellement) et la mise en œuvre d’un programme triennal d’ajus-tement structurel.

Les éléments clé du programme d’ajustement négocié avec le FMI concer-nent l’assainissement des finances publiques, la restructuration du secteur publicet l’amélioration des perspectives de croissance de l’économie non pétrolière.

Quelques initiatives ont été prises afin d’endiguer le chômage : la miseen place d’un fonds spécialisé (le FODEX) destiné à favoriser l’émergence depetites et moyennes entreprises, la création de l’Office national de l’Emploi(ONE) et d’un Fonds d’insertion.

Sur le plan politique

Le pays connaît une modification du paysage politique avec l’instauration dumultipartisme depuis 1990. Un consensus national autour des Accords dits deParis a permis la mise en place de diverses institutions garantissant les libertésindividuelles, en même temps que s’instaure progressivement une culture démo-cratique marquée par une participation de la société civile à la vie politique dupays et l’ouverture du paysage médiatique jusqu’alors couvert par les seulsmédias de l’État.

Le Gabon de 1990 à 1998 connaîtra cinq élections et six votes (dont leréférendum) dont les coûts et les mutations profondes ne sont toujours pasmaîtrisées de prime abord. En définitive, le Gabon amorce un long processusde changement politique et économique, processus marqué par un développe-ment axé sur la diversification économique et l’utilisation de toutes lesressources disponibles et par la mise en place progressive d’un État de droit,à travers un système politique multipartiste et démocratique.

Ces nouveaux paradigmes devraient conduire à un développement durable,induit et sous-tendu par l’organisation, la circulation et l’accès généralisé à l’in-formation destinée à la prise de décision, à l’action des différents acteurs dudéveloppement, à l’orientation de chaque citoyen.

Sur le plan technologique : l’Internet, les télécommunications

Outre la maîtrise des processus nationaux en cours, à l’instar de tous les paysprenant part à l’économie mondiale, le Gabon vit au rythme des mutations etdes phénomènes de la mondialisation et notamment des évolutions des nouvellestechnologies de l’information et de la communication.

L’Internet, processus majeur de transformation des sociétés et demondialisation, pose encore plusieurs interrogations à nos décideurs, à noscommunautés.

En effet, quelles attitudes devraient adopter nos décideurs face à cesmutations profondes et à leur impact sur notre société ?

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Quelles priorités doit on accorder à ces phénomènes lorsque l’on se débatdans le remboursement d’une dette internationale sans fin ?

Autant de questions qui font que dans ce contexte particulier, les déci-deurs politiques, économiques n’ont pu que timidement avec beaucoup deréserves accepter et accompagner la mise en œuvre d’opération et de projetssur Internet. Beaucoup plus pour l’image internationale que cela leur confèreque pour l’intérêt de développement induit par Internet, encore non perceptibleà leurs yeux.

Les financements nécessaires à la connexion de nos états dans le cyber-espace ont pu être décidés, à la fois très tardivement et très difficilement. C’estainsi qu’il importe de louer les efforts de responsables d’organismes interna-tionaux travaillant pour le développement durable et plus précisément le PNUDà travers le programme ACTION 21 SDNP. Programme mondial concourant àaider les pays à se connecter à l’Internet et à l’économie mondiale.

Sans être exhaustif, l’initiative SDNP du système des Nations Unies,constitue un cadre de référence pour tout organisme travaillant pour un meilleuraccès à l’information dans les pays en voie de développement où ils pourraientenvisager leurs actions.

Chronologie

Le Gabon, confronté aux doutes, aux contraintes économiques et financières,aux priorités des populations, est arrivé à l’Internet à travers quatre actionsimportantes complémentaires.

La première est la participation de Monsieur le Président de la République,son Excellence El Hadj Omar Bongo au Sommet mondial Terre, sommet deRio, sommet au cours duquel L’ACTION 21 fut créée, cadre de définition etde développement des projets et du réseau SDNP/RDD, en cours d’exécutionau Gabon.

La deuxième est l’implication de Monsieur le Président de la Républiquedans la création d’un site Web Présidence sur le Gabon en 1996. Ce site aété présenté à l’ensemble du gouvernement de la République afin de montrerl’importance que le politique attache à cette révolution alors que le Gabonne disposait pas encore d’une connexion internationale sur l’Internet.

La troisième initiative est le lancement du projet national SDNP/RDDRéseau de Développement Durable, en octobre 1996, après signature d’accordsde financements par le gouvernement et le PNUD et également avec le Canadaet la France qui sont ses partenaires.

La quatrième est l’installation d’une connexion internationale Internetpar l’opérateur national OPT et son inauguration officielle par le Président dela République, son Excellence El Hadj Omar Bongo en 1998.

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L’expérience gabonaise : le projet SDNP/RDD

La philosophie

Les services publics disposent d’une masse d’informations susceptiblesd’intéresser les chercheurs, les étudiants, les citoyens, les collectivités locales,les entreprises, tant sur le plan national qu’au niveau mondial.

L’objectif prioritaire d’un accès facile à cette information est de soute-nir le développement durable et continu de nos jeunes États et leur évolutionprogressive vers un État de droit et vers la Bonne Gouvernance.

L’avènement de l’Internet et sa mise en pratique par l’État, à l’instar desavantages déjà conférés par les médias classiques (journaux, TV, Radio) offreainsi aux pays en voie de développement, soucieux de leur développement ainsique du bien-être de leurs populations, l’opportunité de conquérir une place dechoix dans le concert des nations, et de mieux informer ses concitoyens parl’organisation de systèmes d’information public à accès généralisé et gratuitautant que possible.

Le Gabon exécute actuellement un projet gouvernemental dénomméRéseau de Développement Durable Internet (RDD-INTERNET).

Les objectifs

Opérationnel depuis octobre 1996, ce projet vise une plus grande accessibilitéet visibilité de l’information publique par les citoyens, pour soutenir la prisede décision et le développement. Le concept fondamental qui sous-tend le projetest l’établissement au niveau national d’une capacité à générer, à exploiter etéchanger l’information adaptée entre divers partenaires nationaux en vue de laprise de décision et pour promouvoir un développement durable. Ce projet apour but de favoriser l’utilisation des nouvelles technologies de l’informationet de la communication, notamment Internet dans le but d’accroître la colla-boration entre les différents acteurs et opérateurs du développement humaindurable.

Il permettra à la fois l’accès à l’information disponible à l’extérieur viales connexions internationales et la disponibilité à l’échelle nationale d’un réseaude partenaires. Il s’inscrit dans l’utilisation des nouvelles technologies de l’infor-mation notamment Internet pour favoriser la production, l’organisation, l’accèsgénéralisé et l’échange permanent de données et d’informations entre les diffé-rentes institutions nationales, internationales et sous régionales partenaires dudéveloppement durable au Gabon.

Ce projet devrait constituer un cadre d’organisation et de coordinationde l’action gouvernementale dans le domaine de l’organisation de son systèmed’information et de l’accès généralisé à celle-ci. Le projet va accroître la capa-cité de prise de décision des gouvernants et encourager l’implication descommunautés locales dans le processus de développement durable.

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Structuration du projet

La création d’un réseau national ou gabonais du développement durable auGABON (RéGI-DD) utilisant l’Internet pour les échanges entre les diverssystèmes d’informations est le but du projet. Ce réseau est découpé en plusieurssystèmes d’informations à caractères public et privé. Le système national d’in-formation est ainsi organisé autour de neuf sous-réseaux thématiques appeléspôles sectoriels. Ces pôles regroupent les institutions, les individus, les ONG,les projets nationaux et sous-régionaux et les entreprises travaillant dans undomaine donné.

On trouve donc les secteurs suivants : environnement, éducation, ensei-gnement supérieur et recherche, santé et population, médias, culture et arts,collectivités locales, administration, commerce, tourisme et industrie, les orga-nismes internationaux, les ONG.

L’un des objectifs est d’amener les partenaires d’un même pôle à coopérer,échanger et partager à la fois l’information, les expériences, les synergies, entreeux et avec le public mondial pour le développement du pays. Le projet estsupervisé par un comité national de pilotage comprenant les représentants dessecteurs et des bailleurs de fonds, et exécuté par une unité nationale de coor-dination de quatre personnes, et des unités sectorielles de coordination au niveaude chaque secteur.

L’acquisition des équipements nécessaires pour le serveur principal et lespoints focaux sectoriels et un programme de formation afin d’encourager lesacteurs à utiliser les services du réseau, est prévue.

Méthodologie de travail

Le projet RDD-INTERNET GABON a fait l’objet d’une étude de faisabilité etd’un document de projet signé avec le PNUD. Des accords de financement ontété signés avec le Canada et la France dans le cadre du projet. Chaque sousréseau fait l’objet d’une étude de faisabilité avant toute opération de connexionet de développement. Cette étude permet d’identifier les informations utilesainsi que les flux de circulation.

Après validation de ces études par le comité de pilotage, celles-ci sontsoumises aux bailleurs de fonds potentiels sur demande, pour financement. Àce jour, cinq études de faisabilité ont été réalisées complètement.

Les secteurs concernés sont : l’éducation, la santé, la documentation, lecommerce et l’industrie, les médias, culture et art.

Les secteurs collectivités locales, ONG et enseignement supérieur etrecherche sont en cours de réalisation.

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Schéma de financement

Les organismes de financement concernés choisissent le financement d’unepartie d’un secteur qui paraît convenir à leur mission. C’est ainsi qu’à ce jour,la Mission française de Coopération finance le secteur Information scientifiqueet technique (Réseau Documentaire Gabonais GABONDOC), le Canada financeles formations dans le cadre du projet, le PNUD finance le fonctionnement del’unité de coordination, les études de faisabilité sectorielles ainsi que laconnexion des secteurs déjà fonctionnels et le Gabon finance le fonctionnementdu réseau et notamment toute la logistique. Nous attendons et espérons béné-ficier d’autres financements tels ceux de l’UNESCO pour le développement etla connexion du secteur de l’Éducation nationale, la Francophonie (ACCT) pourle développement et la connexion du secteur de la Culture, des Médias et desArts, l’OMS pour le secteur de la Santé, l’ONUDI pour le secteur du Commerceet de l’Industrie.

La culture de l’information et le cadre réglementaire

Le projet est sous la tutelle de la Primature au niveau du Secrétariat général dugouvernement. Il est exécuté au sein de la Direction des Archives nationales etde la Bibliothèque nationale dont la mission est la sauvegarde de toute infor-mation relative à la vie de la nation : qu’elle soit information historique, admi-nistrative, privée ; ainsi que sa diffusion à un public large suivant les règles deconsultation bien définies.

La Constitution gabonaise

Dans son titre préliminaire, la Constitution gabonaise garantie « la libertéd’expression, de communication à tous, sous réserve de l’ordre public ». Elle dit« le secret des communications téléphoniques, télématiques est inviolable »,« les limites de l’usage de l’informatique pour sauvegarder l’Homme, l’intimitépersonnelle et familiale des personnes et le plein exercice de leurs droits sontfixés par la loi ». Pour ce faire, le gouvernement a mis en place les institutionsnécessaires à la mise en œuvre de ce droit et à sa jouissance par tous suivantle principe de l’égalité pour tous. Ces instruments décrits ci-dessous constituentune partie importante de la stratégie nationale en matière de politique gouverne-mentale sur l’information.

Le Conseil national de la Communication

Le CNC est chargé de veiller au respect de l’expression et de la liberté de pressesur toute l’étendue du territoire. Il contrôle la réglementation en vigueur enmatière de communication ainsi que les règles d’exploitation. En outre, il participe

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à la promotion et au développement des techniques de communication et de laformation du personnel. Il définit, règle, régule, promeut et contrôle la pratique de la communicationsous toutes ses formes au niveau national. Le CNC s’appuie sur un certainnombre de textes réglementaires, mais l’absence d’un texte sur l’informatiqueet les libertés constitue un handicap majeur pour la maîtrise de ces nouvellestechnologies de communication.

La Commission nationale de l’Informatique

Il existe une Commission nationale de l’Informatique dont l’action est quasiinexistante et qui nécessite une redéfinition des missions, compte tenu desévolutions rapides du monde de l’informatique et de la communication.

L’Office des Postes et Télécommunications

L’OPT bénéficie des monopoles du téléphone et des télécommunications. Ilprépare et exécute les plans d’équipements des télécommunications aux niveauxnational et international. L’OPT réglemente et définit des normes d’accès et deconnexions en matière de télécommunications.

La Direction générale de l’Informatique

La DGI est chargée de la gestion de tout le parc informatique de l’administrationgabonaise. Dans ce cadre il gère l’ensemble des systèmes d’information degestion de plusieurs départements. Par sa position et son importance, il orienteles choix informatiques nationaux, et arrête des normes de fait dans le cadrede la gestion et des échanges d’informations électroniques entre les adminis-trations. La Direction générale des Archives nationales, de la Bibliothèquenationale et de la Documentation, la DGABD est chargée de concevoir etd’appliquer la politique du Gouvernement en matière de documentations scien-tifique et technique, administrative et historique tant publiques que privées,sous toutes ses formes, au niveau national. Elle constitue, conserve et met envaleur la mémoire de la Nation.

Elle a pour mission de mettre à la disposition de tous les Gabonais lesouvrages nécessaires à leur épanouissement et à la recherche à travers les sallesde lecture de la bibliothèque, des archives et de la documentation. Sur le planlégislatif et réglementaire, la DGABD s’appuie sur des arrêtés, circulaires,décrets en train d’être transformés en loi dont les plus importants sont : lesprojets de loi relative aux archives et à la Bibliothèque nationale, le décret surle dépôt légal.

La DGABD a pour rôle la constitution d’un système national d’informa-tion (la Mémoire de la Nation) fiable, exhaustif et pertinent pour la Nation.

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Niveau d’exécution, de difficultés et de perspectives

C’est en mars 1997 que l’OPT (l’Office des Postes et Télécommunications)société para-étatique disposant du monopole sur l’ensemble des télécommunica-tions gabonaises, s’est doté d’un nœud Internet relié à MCI aux USA par uneliaison haut débit de 128 kbs capable d’atteindre 512 kbs et plus. Cette puissancelui permet de faire du routage pour les autres nœuds de la sous-région.

En obtenant par la suite la gestion du domaine national « ga », il s’estconstitué comme gestionnaire du DNS du Gabon et principal fournisseur d’accèsInternet ; ce qui lui permet de proposer cinq types de services Internet et troismodes de connexions. Le premier mode est la connexion par ligne télépho-nique (RTC) à 28,8 kbs. Réservé aux particuliers ; on enregistre un peu plusde 700 abonnés privés ou publics. Le deuxième mode est la connexion parligne spécialisée (LS) à 64 Kbs : ce service aux fournisseurs privés ne connaîtmalheureusement qu’un seul bénéficiaire malgré la forte demande. Cette situa-tion bloque l’explosion du marché de la production de serveurs d’informationset l’installation d’autres ISP.

Le troisième mode, enfin, est la connexion par X25 (GABONPAC) quienregistre quelques deux ou trois clients pour se connecter à l’Internet, qui sontprincipalement les réseaux spécialisés des centres de recherche, de l’universitéet de la santé (RIO, Healthnet). Concernant les services Internet proposés parl’OPT seul le mail, le Web et dans une moindre mesure le transfert de fichiersont très utilisés contrairement aux News et au Telnet. Le service de téléphoniepar Internet n’est pas proposé.

En terme développement des bases de données sur Internet, on compteau Gabon trois serveurs d’hébergement de sites Web : (OPT, INTERNETGABON, PRIMATURE).

Le serveur de la PRIMATURE (Archives Nationales http: //www.primature.gouv.ga) héberge le projet RDD-Internet qui gère le Réseau gabonaisd’Informations pour le Développement Durable (RéGI-DD) constitué des sitesWeb des huit secteurs de la vie économique, sociale et culturelle du pays repré-sentant plus de 15 sites Web et plus de 1 000 pages réalisées. Il est évident qued’autres sites sur le Gabon sont hébergés à l’extérieur, c’est le cas du site de laPrésidence de la République et de celui du Ministère des finances du Gabon.

Les difficultés rencontrées sont de plusieurs ordres. Elles sont à la foisphysiques, intellectuelles, culturelles et financières mais aussi organisationnelleset politiques.

Sur l’accès généralisé et gratuit, le projet développe une philosophie del’accès gratuit à l’information publique, compte tenu de l’environnement natio-nal tel que décrit plus haut. Cette option a fait l’objet de plusieurs commentaires,critiques et attaques qui ont desservis le projet dès le départ. En effet, certainsorganismes internationaux bailleurs de fonds et quelques conseillers nationaux

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et expatriés ont argué la nécessité de faire de l’information une valeur marchandeafin de garantir la durabilité du projet par son autofinancement.

Ces arguments certes de bon sens, ne tiennent malheureusement pas dutout compte de l’environnement économique, social et culturel du pays. Parailleurs, l’impulsion que l’État et les organismes internationaux caritatifs et dedéveloppement doivent avoir dans la création d’une société ou l’information,porteur de développement, doit être bénéfique pour tous les citoyens mêmeceux non pourvus de moyens financiers conséquents.

L’Internet doit d’abord être au service du Gabonais si l’on veut une dura-bilité. Des projets complètement extériorisés, dans ce sens qu’ils satisfassentles quelques 50 institutions et entreprises étrangères ne peuvent conduire àterme qu’à l’échec et à la marginalisation de la plus grande masse de la popu-lation face à cette révolution mondiale. Les premiers consommateurs d’infor-mations des systèmes d’informations nationaux doivent être des Gabonais, pourque l’Internet puisse être porteur de développement généralisé. Une petite enquêtea par ailleurs démontré que 95 % des Gabonais recherchent d’abord une infor-mation nationale dans différents domaines pour leur propre orientation. La miseen place de systèmes d’informations fiables nationaux devrait s’accompagnerd’un taux de consultation correct afin d’encourager les producteurs à améliorerleurs banques de données.

Ce taux de consultation ne peut souffrir d’un accès compliqué et onéreuxà la fois. Au niveau des moyens d’accès et de leur généralisation, l’accès àl’information électronique passe par l’acquisition des outils que sont un micro-ordinateur, un modem, un téléphone et la formation aux logiciels informatiquesadéquats. En outre, le coût de la communication téléphonique constitue unblocage supplémentaire à la consultation des informations constituées surserveurs d’informations.

L’amélioration et l’extension du réseau téléphonique est une conditionà la généralisation de l’accès au public. Malheureusement les opérateurs detéléphonie englués dans des programmes de privatisation ne peuvent envisagerdes investissements importants dans ces travaux. Par ailleurs, l’absence deconcurrence, liée aux monopoles ne permet aucun choix en cas de défaillancede l’opérateur national. Afin de pallier en partie à ces divers inconvénients, leprojet a retenu le concept de Point d’Accès Gratuits Internet (PAGI) et deCyberPole dans les institutions à caractère public. Ainsi les étudiants, lesfonctionnaires, le particulier et même la petite et moyenne entreprise peuventse connecter sur Internet à travers ces outils qui sont mis à leur disposition auniveau de la Bibliothèque nationale, des Archives nationales, des Chambres deCommerce provinciales, et bientôt dans les Bibliothèques de l’Université et desMairies et celles de certains grands collèges et centres de lecture et d’actionculturelle provinciaux.

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La diffusion et le partage de l’information

La culture de partage et de diffusion de l’information pour le développementest quasi inexistante tant par une production dans les médias souvent troppolitiques, que par la rétention de l’information par ceux qui la détiennent.La diffusion de l’information utile au développement est quasi absente. Seulel’information politique préoccupe les mass médias, les faits divers ; les scoopsconstituent la trame courante d’information à l’attention du public. Par ailleurs,la culture administrative s’appuie trop souvent sur le secret pour masquer lanon diffusion de l’information. L’absence de revues, de journaux dont l’objetest le développement par l’économie, le social, la culture, le faible revenudes citoyens, le chômage, le coût exorbitant des produits exportés, les déva-luations, etc. constituent également une situation de précarité qui font queles 20 % de la population active ne pourront qu’accéder difficilement auxinformations sur l’Internet.

L’absence d’une couverture nationale fiable par les télécommunicationsainsi que les monopoles d’État mais aussi privés vers lesquels nous tendons nepermettent pas une explosion des initiatives individuelles et même des intelli-gences aujourd’hui assez nombreuses pour servir de levier au développement.Des technologies existent, leur adaptation à l’environnement social, culturel etéconomique ne sera réussi que si la concurrence met en jeu et en compétition desintelligences nationales qui sont l’objet du débat. Le secret quasi permanent quientoure les études publiques, réalisées par l’État ou par les organisations inter-nationales, et également la disparition de l’étude due à une politique d’archivageet de documentation inexistante, sont également une préoccupation.

En effet, l’organisation de l’information par les services d’archives, dedocumentation ainsi que sa mise à disposition nécessitent d’être améliorées afinde conserver l’information puis de permettre ensuite sa diffusion.

Conclusion

Au regard des freins et blocages d’accès à l’information, on constate que ceux-ciétaient présents avant l’Internet. Seuls le coût, la couverture télécom, le microordinateur, l’électricité, peuvent être liés directement à l’Internet. Ces difficultéspeuvent être levées très rapidement grâce à la volonté politique de l’État maisaussi si les organismes internationaux, à l’instar du PNUD, adoptent unepolitique et des financements conséquents dans ces domaines. L’Internet parune politique étudiée constituera justement l’outil le plus efficace pour contre-balancer la culture d’informations des faits divers tant politiques que sociaux,la culture des scoops auxquels la population est attentive.

Nos États ont compris l’impossibilité de procéder à leur développementdans le cadre réduit de leurs frontières respectives. La mondialisation, ou larégionalisation restent les meilleurs moyens de partager les expériences et les

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problèmes allant vers le développement. L’Internet, outil puissant au service dela mondialisation, doit être très rapidement pris en main, maîtrisé et utilisé poursoutenir le développement et notre approche du troisième millénaire.

Documentation disponible :

Études de faisabilité du projet,Document Projet RDD, Études de faisabilité Éducation nationale,Étude de faisabilité Santé, Étude de faisabilité commerce et Industrie, Étude de faisabilité Culture, Média et Tourisme, Étude de faisabilité Information scientifique et technique (Documentation gabonaise)

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ANWAR ABU EISHEHProfessor of Civil Law, Al-Quds University, Palestine

The use of the Internet to serve peace and to bring people closer together“Palestine” is at present going through a period of autonomy with enormous legal vacuumsin all areas; the Ottoman civil code of 1868 is still in force, together with a few Jordanianand Egyptian laws and Israeli military regulations. What proposals should be made to thePalestinian legislative council? Negotiations are more or less under way between Israeli andPalestinian representatives with a view to definitive agreements, but so too are dialogues onthe Internet between individuals belonging to the two peoples and even between personsinterested in the question of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all over the world. The effect onthe progress of the negotiations is uncertain. What conception of freedom of communicationprevails in the so-called “Muslim” countries particularly in the Middle East? Religiousdignitaries and political leaders seemed indifferent to the Internet until recently. But severalfactors are at work among religious leaders, who are preparing to arrive in force in theInternet world. The most politicized among them are already there, driven by a sense of the threat to Islam and by irresponsible acts of provocation against Muslims. But all theirstatements show that they are inspired by a desire to inform and a spirit of dialogue.

Internet au service de la paix et du rapprochement des peuplesActuellement, « la Palestine » vit une période d’autonomie pendant laquelle les vides juridiques sont énormes dans tous les domaines, c’est le Code civil ottoman de 1868 qui est en vigueur, quelques lois jordaniennes, égyptiennes et enfin des ordonnances militairesisraéliennes. Que proposer au Conseil législatif palestinien ? Les négociations entre les représentants israéliens et palestiniens pour des accords définitifs sont plus ou moins en cours, mais aussi des dialogues sur l’Internet entre des ressortissants des deux peupleset même entre des personnes qui s’intéressent à la question du conflit israélo-palestiniendans le monde. Malheureusement l’impact de ces négociations paraît incertain. Quelle estla conception de la liberté de la communication dans les pays dits « musulmans » et notamment les pays du Proche-Orient ? Les dignitaires religieux et les responsables politiques semblaient indifférents à l’Internet jusqu’à il y a peu de temps. Mais plusieursfacteurs sensibilisent les responsables religieux à ce problème et ils se préparent à entreren force dans le monde de l’Internet et les plus politisés d’entre eux y sont déjà pousséspar un sentiment de danger anti-islamique et par les provocations irresponsables à l’égarddes musulmans. Mais toutes leurs déclarations indiquent qu’ils sont animés par une volontéd’informer et un esprit de dialogue.

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Internet al servicio de la paz y del acercamiento de los pueblosActualmente “Palestina” pasa por un periodo de autonomía en que subsisten importantescarencias jurídicas en todos los ámbitos: están en vigor el código civil otomano de 1868,algunas leyes jordanas y egipcias y, por último, ordenanzas militares israelíes. ¿Qué se puedeproponer al consejo legislativo palestino? Las negociaciones entre los representantes israelíesy palestinos con miras a acuerdos definitivos están más o menos en curso, pero tambiéntienen lugar en Internet diálogos entre individuos de ambos pueblos y aun entre interesadosen la cuestión del conflicto entre Israel y Palestina en todo el mundo. Las consecuencias encuanto a la evolución de las negociaciones son inciertas. ¿Cuál es la concepción de la libertadde comunicación en los países llamados “musulmanes” y, en particular, en los países deOriente Medio? Hasta hace poco tiempo los dignatarios religiosos y los responsables políticosparecían indiferentes a Internet. No obstante, varios factores incitan a los responsablesreligiosos a prepararse a entrar con fuerza en el mundo de Internet y los más politizadosya lo han hecho, en respuesta al peligro de un sentimiento de peligro anti-islámico y a las provocaciones irresponsables dirigidas contra los musulmanes. Todas sus declaraciones,empero, indican que obedecen a una voluntad de informar y a un afán de diálogo.

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Le peuple palestinien compte environ 6 millions de personnes dont la moitiése trouve en diaspora. Cette diaspora vit dans des conditions très variables d’unerégion à l’autre : cela va d’agglomérations où le taux de chômage est de plusde 90 % comme les camps de réfugiés palestiniens au Liban (400 000 personnes)à des conditions de vie aisées – voire très aisées – comme la communautépalestinienne aux États-Unis (estimée à 150 000 personnes), en passant par descommunautés qui vivent dans les mêmes conditions ou presque que la popu-lation autochtone, comme les 2 millions de Palestiniens qui vivent en Jordanie.D’emblée, on peut dire qu’il n’y a aucune information sur l’Internet concernantla communauté palestinienne qui souffre le plus dans tous les domaines : celledes réfugiés palestiniens au Liban et les abonnements au Web sont sans douteplus rares que les lignes de téléphone. Il est évident que tous les Palestiniensne vivant pas dans les mêmes conditions, n’ayant pas les mêmes chances, leursréactions sont très différentes des uns aux autres et s’il est vrai que lorsqu’on dit2 Juifs = 3 opinions, il est aussi vrai de dire que 2 Palestiniens = 3 frustrations.

Le champ d’action de la première partie de mon exposé se limite à l’ex-périence des 2 millions de Palestiniens qui vivent actuellement dans les territoiresdits autonomes, territoires censés devenir la base du futur État palestinien. Dansla deuxième partie de mon exposé j’étudierai l’Internet et l’Islam.

L’expérience palestinienne

Dès l’installation de l’Autorité palestinienne dans les T.A. (territoires auto-nomes) en 1994, les différentes institutions palestiniennes d’information,victimes jusqu’alors de censure militaire pendant vingt-sept ans d’occupation,ont commencé à se libérer, assoiffées de liberté et de communication ; elles onttrouvé dans le réseau de l’Internet une bouffée d’oxygène. Pas moins de cinqserveurs, fonctionnent déjà, autant qu’en Tunisie, alors qu’au Koweït, à Qatar,aux Émirats, à Oman et au Yémen il n’y en a eu qu’un seul et que dans plusieurspays arabes (Mauritanie, Algérie, Libye, Soudan, Syrie, Irak) je n’ai pas connais-sance de l’existence d’un seul serveur.

Dès le début de 1996 les Palestiniens de la Diaspora ont pu consultertous les journaux du pays (surtout ceux en arabe) à travers le site www.amin.com– e-mail : inews@ amin.org (20 000 hits quotidiens). Après le Ministère del’information, c’est le Conseil législatif palestinien, issu des premières électionslibres sur la terre de Palestine, qui s’est offert un site (http://www.pal-plc.org)où sont exposées des informations complètes sur les projets de loi, les débats

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etc. Très vite, et comme par jalousie, de nombreuses institutions officielles,semi-officielles et privées, des ONG également ont fait de même. Mais l’insti-tution palestinienne qui a retenu toute mon attention est la société Bailasan (e-mail : [email protected]), fondée en 1995 à l’initiative de cadres jeuneset dynamiques et qui essaye de populariser l’Internet auprès des Palestinienset qui fait office d’annuaire, à travers un projet plus intellectuel que lucratif.

Pourquoi l’Internet pour la Palestine ?

Nous avons dans les T.A. entre 3 000 et 6 000 abonnés dont la quasi totalité desinstitutions officielles (Cabinet du Président Arafat, Conseil Législatif, Ministèresetc.), toutes les universités, les institutions privées (toutes les chambres decommerce, les sociétés commerciales et hôtelières etc.), un nombre importantd’ONG, en particulier les associations de défense des droits de l’homme, et biensûr aussi les particuliers. Le nombre d’abonnés est en croissance permanente ettous les experts sont d’accord sur le fait que cela devrait continuer. Il faut direque malgré une très mauvaise situation économique, l’initiation à l’informatiqueest au programme des 860 000 élèves des T.A. à un moment donné de leur cycle.Pour réaliser cette présentation j’ai rencontré beaucoup d’abonnés palestiniensafin d’essayer de comprendre pourquoi cet engouement.

En oubliant le sexe et la pornographie, sujets qui concernent aussi lesPalestiniens, je classe les centres d’intérêt comme suit :

1. La liberté

Liberté de communiquer, de s’exprimer, d’apprendre, d’informer, de s’informer,tous veulent être libres d’accéder aux informations, sciences et connaissances.SAVOIR. En fait ils essayent de créer ce que j’appelle un semblant de démo-cratie chez eux... une espèce d’échappatoire à la frustration de la vie de tous lesjours. Toutes les réponses qui m’ont été faites étaient accompagnées de cettephrase « et en plus cela ne coûte pas cher ».

2. Faire connaître

La cause de la Palestine et tout ce qui en découle l’histoire, la culture, la viequotidienne. Il y a une grande variété de présentations mais le site le plus repré-sentatif est sans doute le centre culturel SAKAKINI (http://www.sakakini.org),subventionné en grande partie par le Ministère de la culture et de l’informationet qui a pour objectif de contribuer à une renaissance des arts et de la culturepalestiniens. Le centre se fixe les buts suivants :a) encourager la critique artistiqueb) faire connaître à la communauté artistique et au public en général les

nouvelles formes d’artc) renforcer la connaissance du public de l’héritage artistique, intellectuel et

culturel

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d) faciliter les échanges culturelse) diffuser les arts et la culture palestiniens dans le monde extérieur.

La présentation du site est faite en arabe, anglais, espagnol, italien et enpartie en français. Ce qui attire l’attention, c’est le fait que dans ce site, le voletAL NAKBA (le désastre), qui contient des informations politico-historiques surla Palestine, est consulté cinquante fois plus (plus de 1 000 hits par jour) quela page culture (une vingtaine seulement). Les consultants sont majoritairementdes personnes morales et physiques des communautés palestiniennes de laDiaspora, ces dernières proposant toujours des articles pour enrichir le site.

3. Obtenir la reconnaissance

L’objectif premier de la lutte de toutes les institutions palestiniennes avant lesaccords d’Oslo était d’obtenir une reconnaissance internationale officielle, ausein des organismes de l’ONU, des fédérations internationales sportives, duBureau International du Travail etc. Maintenant que cela est acquis ou en coursd’acquisition, c’est une reconnaissance morale que les institutions palestiniennescherchent à obtenir.

Dans cet état d’esprit, l’Autorité palestinienne, consciente qu’il n’y apas encore d’État indépendant, évoque des ministres alors que selon les accordsd’Oslo les dits ministres sont appelés « porteurs de portefeuilles ». Le Conseillégislatif se présente comme le Parlement du peuple palestinien alors quel’administration israélienne a le dernier mot pour la promulgation des lois.« Obtenir la reconnaissance morale » c’est ainsi que je traduis cette phrase quej’ai entendue venant de tous ceux auxquels j’ai posé la question : pourquoiutilisez-vous l’Internet ? La réponse est invariablement la même : « Pourprouver que nous sommes un peuple comme les autres » ou « pour être trai-tés comme les autres peuples », ce qui revient au même. Mais toutes cesmotivations contribuent-elles à faire avancer un processus de paix difficileà réaliser ?

4. Servir la paix

Que chacun voit la paix à sa façon et selon son appartenance politique, est vrai.Je n’ai pas encore entendu quelqu’un déclarer qu’il est contre la paix ; le problème,loin d’être notre sujet de recherche, reste que s’informer facilement via l’Internetaide sans doute à mieux proposer des solutions et des compromis. Mais l’élé-ment nouveau qui peut favoriser la poursuite du processus de paix est le dialogue,entre Israéliens et Palestiniens, pour mieux se connaître. Des sites ont été crééset fonctionnent, les plus connus et les plus consultés sont :

ARIGA (www.ariga.com ou www.ariga.co.il) et PEACETALKS (www.yudel.com/peacetalk/forum.htm).

Je consacrerai le chapitre suivant aux dialogues israélo-palestiniens, maisbeaucoup de monde essaye de servir la paix par l’information aussi. Encore

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une fois, les centres d’information sont nombreux sur l’Internet mais très peusont israélo-palestiniens. Le centre le plus actif à mon sens est “THE ALTER-NATIVE INFORMATION CENTRE” (http://www. aic.netgat.net) présent surl’Internet depuis septembre 1997 avec un mailing-list de 500 personnes, unepage Web bien consultée avec 10 500 hits par jour. On y trouve :a) une mise à jour hebdomadaire de nouvelles sur la société et la politique

palestinienne, Israël, les colonies etc.b) une mise à jour hebdomadaire d’analyses sur les divers mouvements poli-

tiques et sociaux de la société israéliennec) la promotion d’activités politiques sur les questions concernant la Palestined) l’annuaire des ONG et des institutions officielles palestiniennes et des orga-

nisations progressistes en Israël.Ce centre qui réclame justice pour le peuple palestinien plaide pour un

forum permanent d’information sur la Palestine, une espèce de « pool freewareand scripts » afin de faciliter la circulation d’informations. C’est peut-êtreeffectivement le meilleur moyen pour que ces informations soient utilisées parceux qui cherchent à faire avancer la cause de la paix par le dialogue, grâce àl’Internet.

Dialogue israélo-palestinien sur l’Internet

Est-ce vrai ? Il est très difficile de dire qu’il y a un véritable dialogue israélo-palestinien sur l’Internet car le dialogue se crée en réalité dans la plupart descas ailleurs et notamment aux États-Unis ; visiblement entre Juifs américainset non-Juifs d’origine palestinienne. Je crois que ce dialogue certainement utilepour la paix dans l’avenir – est loin de la réalité quotidienne, parce qu’en TerreSainte les préoccupations ne sont pas les mêmes que celles des exilés. Lorsqueje vivais à Paris il y a quelques années, mes sujets de dialogue avec les Sionistes,Israéliens et Juifs tournaient autour des droits de l’homme, de l’histoire duterrorisme, de la paix etc. Maintenant que je vis à Hébron où l’eau couranten’a pas coulé dans mon robinet depuis plusieurs semaines, que depuis unesemaine je n’ai pas pu quitter la ville pour aller travailler à l’Université, queje subis des coupures d’électricité fréquentes alors que le colon israélien quivit à quelques centaines de mètres de ma maison ne connaît pas les restrictionsd’eau, d’électricité ou de liberté de circulation... ces problèmes sont devenusmes premiers sujets de dialogue, avec tout le monde, partenaires ou adversaires.Il n’y a pas lieu ici de défendre une cause, je veux tout simplement montrerque le dialogue en la matière est conditionné par les circonstances de la viequotidienne de tout un chacun ; en conséquence, le dialogue par l’Internet estpratiquement réservé à des privilégiés, ce dialogue n’est pas globalement repré-sentatif, tout en étant représentatif minoritairement, c’est-à-dire qu’il représentedes minorités de Palestinens ou Israéliens, il existe un danger qu’une partie oul’autre (Israélien ou Palestinien) utilise un document très peu représentatif

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comme argument important dans un débat censé faire avancer la cause de lapaix. Malgré tout, le réseau de l’Internet doit servir à élargir le dialogue, pourque la plus grande partie des deux peuples, israélien et palestinien, se connaissemutuellement. Cet aspect m’intéressant particulièrement je vais maintenantdévelopper ce point et présenter les sujets débattus.a) l’histoire – j’admets que l’espace de dialogue via l’Internet ne permette pas

d’y procéder de façon globale mais on ne note aucune tendance à approcherle sujet de manière exhaustive. Très souvent l’une des parties étale les atro-cités d’un acte de terrorisme et automatiquement l’autre partie lui trouve uneréponse similaire. L’un parle de la conférence de San Remo de 1919 qui aavalisé et reconnu la déclaration Balfour, l’autre lui répond par le rapportKing Crane de 1920 qui précise qu’il n’y avait pas plus de 65 000 Juifs enPalestine qui constituaient 10 % de la population en Palestine. Beaucoup dechiffres et de dates... Les leaders historiques comme Ben Gourion et FaisalAl Husseini reviennent sans cesse ; les uns parlent des armées arabes qui en1948 voulaient « jeter les Juifs à la mer », pour les autres ces armées n’étaientque des annexes des armées impérialistes française et britanniques. Enrevanche, il est rarement question de notre père Abraham et de ses deux filsIsaac et Ismaël.

b) les droits de l’homme – ce sont toujours des rapports des organisationsisraéliennes ou israélo-palestiniennes. La plupart du temps, les derniersévènements chauds ou sanglants sont rappelés, en même temps que sontévoqués l’injustice, la violence, l’illégalité. J’ai constaté qu’il existe ce qu’onpourrait appeler « un style Internet » dans ces échanges allégation et défense ;un style que j’ai du mal à qualifier, plus méthodique que les débats oraux,en tout cas moins influents et même nullement convaincants, surtout domi-nés par la volonté de marquer des points, comme s’il s’agissait d’une compé-tition.

c) la politique – chacun voit midi à sa porte, les points de vue sont coupésde la réalité quotidienne, loin du terrain.

Pourquoi en est-il ainsi ?Parce que les rares sites de dialogue sont surveillés et les contenus filtrés

par les moniteurs qui imposent leurs directives. J’ai choisi comme exemple lesite http://www.yudel.com/peacetalks/forum.htm. Ce sont les moniteurs de ceforum de « peacetalks » qui décident ce qui est insulte, de caractère raciste,vrai ou faux. Sans parler de bonne ou mauvaise foi et tout en croyant à lanécessité d’une ligne de conduite qui rapprocherait les antagonismes plutôt queles éloigner les uns des autres, je ne comprends pas un dialogue qui n’évoquenulle part les souffrances des Juifs pendant les pogroms du début du XXe siècleet leur génocide pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour ne parler que deséléments les plus importants, en matière d’histoire, qui ont abouti à la créationde l’État d’Israël. Je ne comprends pas non plus comment on peut dialogueren matière de droits de l’homme sans évoquer la soif que génère le manqued’eau dans les T.A. et particulièrement à Hébron, les destructions de maisons

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palestiniennes, les punitions collectives etc. Mais surtout comment comprendreces problèmes lorsque ceux qui dialoguent « politique » ne parlent jamais decohabitation entre Israéliens et Palestiniens dans un forum intitulé « peacetalks » ?

La question se pose alors : le fait d’être face à l’écran isole-t-il l’inter-naute ? Autrement dit : est ce que l’utilisation de l’Internet dans un domainecomme le dialogue israélo-palestinien ouvre davantage son esprit ou au contrairele maintient-il enfermé dans ses préjugés ? Pour ma part, je crois que ce dialoguedoit aboutir à des rencontres entre personnes, peut-être par des activitéscommunes comme celles proposées par le « Jewish-Palestinian Living-RoomDialogue Group in California » (htt://www.igc.org/traubman/dg-prog.htm). Seservir de l’Internet pour se rencontrer de préférence sur le terrain, c’est là quel’outil peut aider à aller vers une paix réelle, car il faut bien noter que la languedu dialogue via l’Internet est l’anglais, qui n’est ni la langue maternelle desIsraéliens, ni celle des Palestiniens. Il serait injuste d’abandonner ce point sansdire que le site www.ariga.com/gentoc.htm fournit des informations, articles misà jour sur la paix et que son objectif est de favoriser la poursuite d’un proces-sus de paix mal en point.

L’Internet et l’Islam

C’est peut-être le sujet le plus sensible à traiter car l’Islam est la religion deplus d’un milliard de personnes dans ce monde. Je crois que nous pouvonsfaire une distinction assez claire entre les sites en langue arabe et les sites quiutilisent d’autres langues. Je n’ai pu visiter que certains des sites français etanglais, et les sites en langue arabe. S’il n’y a qu’un seul Coran qui n’a paschangé, qui n’a pas été touché depuis quatorze siècles, il y a mille et une écolesminoritaires d’interprétation, et je crois que le réseau de l’Internet est le moyenpour ces minorités de se donner de l’importance et de se faire connaître. Étantdonné les sujets abordés par certains groupuscules, on pourrait facilement semerla confusion dans l’esprit des chercheurs comme des simples curieux. J’aisursauté par exemple lorsque j’ai vu sur un site qui se réclame de l’Islam(www.abbc.com/islam/french/actual/notin.htm) qu’on prenait parti pour RobertFaurisson – un négationniste français – et je ne vois vraiment pas le lien entrel’Islam et Robert Faurisson. Dernièrement, j’ai appris grâce à ce même site, aumois de septembre dernier, que des poursuites judiciaires ont été engagéescontre M. Ahmal Rami, l’animateur de Radio Islam, concernant l’une des pagesdu site précité. Mr Ahmal Rami étant de nationalité suédoise, l’affaire se dérou-lera devant les instances judiciaires de Suède. Mais la page Radio Islam prendplace sur un site américain. Il sera intéressant de voir comment les tribunauxsuédois vont se déterminer. La plaidoirie de radio Islam contre ces poursuitesjudiciaires me rend furieux car on y trouve pêle-mêle judaïsme, sionisme,holocauste, Robert Faurisson, Islam etc. Bref c’est un courant d’antisémi-tisme pour lequel on utilise ma cause, « La Palestine », qui n’a rien à faireavec l’antisémitisme.

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L’Islam et la politique sur l’Internet

Le traitement de l’Islam en d’autres langues que l’arabe sur l’Internet commencepratiquement toujours par une présentation religieuse mais cela ne s’arrêtejamais là et les sujet abordés sont à mon sens ou politiques ou pré-politiques.Par exemple sur ce site (http://search.yahoo.fr/search/fr la page Islam (Abdel)l’on commence par la question palestinienne, l’on continue par des citationsbibliques, en passant par le comportement des musulmans, le jour du jugementdernier, les droits en Islam. Jérusalem et souvent Hébron sont défendues parcertains musulmans sur l’Internet par des méthodes religieuses et d’une façonqui peut parfois paraître extrémiste, d’une manière qui ressemble parfois à celledes colons sionistes extrémistes, pour contrarier ces derniers. Alors que pournous, Palestiniens, nous les ayant cause, c’est surtout une question de libérationet de souveraineté nationale dans un esprit plus laïc que religieux, et un respecttotal envers toutes les religions monothéistes qui nous importe.

Un internaute, donc forcément un curieux par nature, qui visiterait lessites de l’Islam et qui parlerait d’autres langues que l’arabe, pourrait parfaite-ment croire que le conflit israélo-palestinien est un conflit religieux, une idéeet une notion refusée par la majorité écrasante des palestiniens et même parbeaucoup d’israéliens. Hamas est en train de construire son site en anglais, ilsera intitulé « hamas.org », nous verrons ce que cela donnera mais, officieuse-ment, son site en arabe est : www.palestine-inf.org qui n’est autre que la miseen ligne du magazine Falastine Al muslimah (Palestine la musulmane) édité enGrande-Bretagne. Je n’ai pu consulter le site du Hezbollah peut-être à causedes liaisons téléphoniques entre le Liban et la Palestine, mais il semble queHezbollah ait investi l’Internet. Tout cela indique que jusqu’à nos jours la quasi-totalité des sites sur l’Islam ou se réclamant de l’Islam sont avant tout des sitespolitisés qui utilisent l’Islam comme porte d’entrée sur la politique où laPalestine est toujours présente, mais la plupart du temps d’une manière trèsnégative pour la cause palestinienne. Ces amalgames nuisent à la cause pales-tinienne et donnent des points de vue politiques qui ne sont pas ceux de l’écra-sante majorité des Palestiniens.

Néanmoins, il faut nuancer. Visiblement il y a beaucoup de tentativesde contacts et de communications entre les communautés musulmanes où lesinformations et les débats sont culturels, intellectuels et même d’ordre social.Par exemple, Islamic Societies at University (http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/sites/iuniv.htm) qui met en contact des communautés musulmanesestudiantines et aussi à des étudiants en islamisme non musulmans dans denombreux pays à travers le monde : Émirats arabes, Australie, Canada,Allemagne, Indonésie, Japon, Koweït, Malaisie, Mexique, Norvège, Suède,Singapour, Turquie, Angleterre, États-Unis.

Cette pagaille dans les sites sur l’Islam a poussé des responsables musul-mans à clarifier les choses et à présenter l’Islam comme religion et tel qu’ilest. Le budget qui est consacré aux pages de cheihk Qaradawi, un homme qui

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fait autorité dans le monde musulman, est de 16 millions de dollars. Onze sitesseront inaugurés le 1er janvier 1999, a annoncé le cheihk Qaradawi lui-même.

Le site actuel des pages de cheihk Qaradawi est le suivant :http://www.qaradawi.net. Je crois et j’espère que les pages Qaradawi seront laréférence sur l’Islam à l’avenir. Ses fatwas sont respectées et admises par unelarge proportion de musulmans.

C’est une initiative particulièrement importante, à mon sens, pour queles chercheurs sur l’Islam ne soient pas induits en erreur concernant de nombreuxsujets. Ce site, qui je le répète devrait faire référence, ne pourra que servir lacause de la paix partout dans le monde.

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MESA REDONDA

PROMOTING AND USING MULTILINGUALISM

PROMOTION ET UTILISATION DU MULTILINGUISME

FOMENTO Y UTILIZACIÓN DEL MULTILINGÜISMO

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TORU NISHIGAKIProfessor, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo, Japan

Multilingualism on the NetOne of the critical issues in relation to the current trend of globalization driven by new infor-mation technology is that of the language environment on the Internet. It is almost impossibleto communicate with people across state borders without using English. This causes a lot ofproblems in the non-English-speaking world, and nowhere more than in Asian countries wherenon-Latin scripts are widely used. As long as English continues to be the sole language forinternational communication on the Internet, the goal of true cultural/social exchange amongdifferent countries will remain unrealized. This paper examines the conditions necessary forachieving a multilingual environment on the Internet. It also introduces the Language/Poweron-line forum hosted by the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo. This forum discussesthe social, cultural and technological problems facing the development of multilingual on-linecommunities.

Le multilinguisme sur le RéseauL’un des grands problèmes du moment, face à la tendance à la mondialisation des nouvellestechnologies de l’information, est celui des langues utilisées sur l’Internet. Il est presqueimpossible de communiquer avec quelqu’un dans un pays étranger autrement qu’en anglais.Ce problème est la source de difficultés considérables dans les pays où l’on parle une autre langue que l’anglais et plus encore dans les pays asiatiques dont la langue ne s’écritpas au moyen de l’alphabet latin. Tant que l’anglais continuera à être la seule langue decommunication internationale sur l’Internet, on ne pourra atteindre l’objectif final recherché,à savoir un véritable échange culturel et social entre pays différents. L’auteur analyse lesconditions à réunir pour instaurer le multilinguisme sur l’Internet. Il présente également leforum en ligne Language/Power (Langue/Pouvoir) de l’Institut de sciences sociales del’Université de Tokyo, où l’on débat des problèmes sociaux, culturels et technologiques quepose le développement de communautés multilingues en ligne.

Multilinguismo en la RedUno de los problemas críticos que plantea la actual tendencia a la mundialización facilitadapor las nuevas tecnologías de la información reside en el entorno lingüístico de Internet. Es casi imposible comunicarse con personas de diferentes países sin utilizar el inglés. Estocrea numerosas dificultades en el mundo que no es de habla inglesa, sobre todo en los paísesasiáticos donde se utilizan generalmente escrituras no latinas. Mientras el inglés siga siendoel único idioma de la comunicación internacional en Internet, no se podrá realizar el objetivode un auténtico intercambio cultural y social entre distintos países. En esta ponencia se examinan las condiciones necesarias para lograr un entorno multilingüe en Internet, y se presenta el foro en línea Lengua/Poder establecido en el Instituto de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Tokio, en el que se discute acerca de los obstáculos sociales, culturalesy tecnológicos con que tropieza la expansión de las comunidades multilingües en línea.

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Introduction

What will be the effect of the Internet upon natural languages in the twenty-first century? It is widely accepted that, generally speaking, any new mediachange languages. For example, the prevalence of television has dramaticallyhomogenized spoken accents over the past few decades. Young people tend tospeak in almost the same way as television casters, and local dialects and accentsremain only among the speech of older people. This television effect, however,is insignificant as compared with the enormous effect of print media onlanguages over the past few hundred years. The prevailing print texts, especiallynewspapers, etc., enabled millions of people who had never met each other tothink about the same topics in the same language, thus creating a sort of commu-nity identity. This community identity was transformed into national identity,upon which in turn the nation-state was established, as discussed by politicalscientist Benedict Anderson [1]. Print languages are widely acknowledged asstandard national languages, for which dictionaries are edited, and lessons aregiven in schools. On the other hand, other languages gradually declined. Sincethe market economy requires any printing business to have a certain amountof readers, print languages tend to be limited to so-called major languagesspoken by millions of people. In short, the number of written languages on theearth decreased after the arrival of print media.

What, then, will the arrival of the Internet bring about? Roughly speaking,we can predict two distinct directions. The first one is English monopoly. TheInternet originated in the United States, and it is obvious that at present mostinternational correspondence takes place in English. This is partly for the historicalreason that the Internet has developed as a communication tool for science andtechnology researchers whose common language is English. Now people ingeneral as well as science and technology researchers often utilize the Internet,but English is still the dominant language if one consults any Web site or sendse-mail across state borders. There is therefore a possibility that, sooner or laterin the twenty-first century, English will become the sole common language forinternational communication, thereby contributing to the inescapable decline ofother languages. In this case, the term globalization means the hegemony ofEnglish-based, United States-centred single culture spreading all over the world.

On the other hand, however, there is a second possible direction by whichvarious cultures in different countries thrive and interchange with each other,resulting in fruitful and plural global culture. The globalization of the Internet,if a multilingual environment can be achieved, is expected to attain this plural

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culture. One of the noteworthy features of the Internet is, as opposed to printmedia that one need not have many readers when writing texts for publicconsumption. As long as we have the system to transmit and display inputtedtexts correctly, we can expect to see diverse texts in various languages freelymoving around on the Internet. In Japan, for example, we presently have fewprint texts in languages other than Japanese or English. However, hereafter wemay have the chance to see abundant texts in any language flowing into Japanthrough the Internet, be they in Arabic, Hindu, or whatever.

Which of these two directions is taken largely depends upon the infor-mation processing technology for the Internet. In the last few years, there hasbeen noteworthy technological progress in the second direction. A key issueconsists in the development of an international character code system. The well-known Universal multiple-octet Coded character Set (UCS), authorized asISO/IEC-10646-1 in 1993, offers a large number of characters for variouslanguages. The current UCS is based on Unicode, which is a 16-bit charactercode system [2].

The noteworthy fact is that a lot of de facto standard software like Webbrowsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape) and mailers (Outlook Express, etc.) haverecently come to support UCS. Therefore, users, once they have downloadedthe necessary character fonts, are able to exchange message texts in diverselanguages across state borders.

What are the main issues?

The end of this century is becoming a major turning point in the character ofthe Internet, as it changes from an English-monolingual to a multilingualenvironment. It is obvious that this new direction is preferable, because profi-ciency in English can be expected only from a relatively small part of theworld’s population. Nevertheless, many problems still face the development ofa true multilingual environment. There are three technological issues involvedin the achievement of a multilingual environment on the Internet.

First, an international character codes system as stated above. The conven-tional character code systems are different from state to state. For example,Japan, China and Korea have independent code systems, called JIS, GB andKS respectively, and within these systems the same Chinese (Han) charactershave different codes. Obviously this causes great problems in internationalcommunication. The UCS of ISO/IEC-10646-1 determines universal codes for38,885 characters in 25 scripts, namely, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bopomofo,Cyrillic, Devanagari, Georgian, Greek, Gujarati, Gurmkhi, Han, Hangul,Hebrew, Hiragana, Kannada, Katakana, Latin, Lao, Malayalam, Oriya, Phonetic,Tamil, Telugu, Thai and Tibetan. There are 20,902 Chinese characters includedin the UCS. However, critical comments are often heard in Japan and Chinabecause the total number of Chinese characters is said to be much more than50,000. In addition, such scripts as Ethiopian and Mongolian are still excluded

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in the current UCS. It would be necessary for the UCS to expand itself towardsthe development of a code system of 32-bit or more, if this wider range ofcharacters and scripts is to be included. At the same time manufacturers wouldbe required to make their products capable of handling the UCS.

The second issue is an input/output system. That is, we need thetechnology to input various characters using keyboards or touch panels, andconversely, to display them on screens or on paper. This is an important point,since oriental characters are generally more complex than occidental ones. Theinput/output systems of Chinese characters were studied intensively during the1980s, and we now have highly refined ones in Japan and China. In general,the technological level of input/output systems in northern Asia are fairlysatisfactory, including Hangul handling systems in Korea. As for southern Asia,on the other hand, we can see much more variance. The levels of informationtechnology in Singapore and Malaysia are advanced, followed by those ofPhilippines, Thai and Indonesia, but there are other countries whose levels arestill unsatisfactory. The inherent complexity in their scripts often hinders therapid development of text processing technology.

The case of India is especially worth mentioning. There are already highlydeveloped information industries and excellent engineers in some cities of India,indicating its high potential in this technological field. Despite that, the languagesituation of India with as many as 18 official languages is too complex toachieve a satisfactory multilingual environment on the Internet [3]. It will bedifficult to achieve a simple and easy-to-use multilingual environment on theInternet in southern Asia, where many nations and languages are intermingled.

The third issue is translation-support technology. This is the technologyto provide rapid understanding and composition of foreign texts by the use ofcomputers. Probably it is considered to be the hardest part of the technologiesfor multilingual environment on the Internet. The ability to handle diversecharacters would be of little use if one cannot understand foreign texts at all.For example the inflow of Arabic texts into Japan could hardly promoteinternational communication unless at least a certain number of Japanese peoplecan easily grasp their meaning. Therefore one may rightly expect that thetechnology to translate a foreign text automatically by computer would be ofgreat help. It is well known, however, that so-called machine translation remainsa dream technology with few practical applications.

During the 1980s a lot of research was done in the field of artificial intel-ligence with the aim of achieving machine translation, but without much success.This is mainly because computers find it hard to grasp the ever-changingcontexts in which human languages are used [4]. Nevertheless, computers canrightly assist the understanding and/or composition of foreign texts by humanbeings. By memorizing vocabularies and grammatical knowledge in computers,and by retrieving them interactively on demand, even a foreign languagebeginner may quickly grasp the general idea of texts and/or carry on simplecompositions. What is important in the Internet age is not perfect translationof each sentence but improvement of communication ability to interconnect

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different languages. Interactive translation-support technology is consideredindispensable for this purpose.

Language/Power forum – An experiment of multilingualism

Global academic efforts are indispensable for the achievement of multilin-gualism on the Internet. We would like to introduce here an experimental onlineforum termed Language/Power (L/P) which we are organizing in the Instituteof Social Science, University of Tokyo.

The L/P forum is an interdisciplinary academic forum. The participants arespecialized in a variety of fields such as sociology, politics, economics, law,computer science, religious studies, anthropology, linguistics, literature, etc.Among them are engineers and journalists as well as researchers. The discussioncentres on how people with different nationalities and languages can constitutean online community. An example of a discussion theme is “online communitiesand the individual, language and state”, which focuses on the relation betweenthe individual and the state in the twenty-first century. The forum nameLanguage/Power indicates that language is always related to questions of socialpower.

Everybody is welcome to follow the discussions of the L/P forum onthe Web page at the following address, although it is basically a closed forumwhere only invited participants are allowed to express their views:http://lp.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/. A distinctive feature of this Web page is that contentsare displayed in five languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean andIndonesian. We plan to add French, German and others in due course. In orderto display various characters side by side on the screen, we utilize the Unicode(UTF-8) which corresponds to the UCS of ISO/IEC-10646-1. Therefore oneneeds a Web browser which supports the Unicode like Internet Explorer 4.0.The participants of the forum send messages for discussion to a moderator bye-mail, and the moderator displays the messages on the Web page after trans-lating them into other languages. We make use of translation-support softwarein this process, but our staff members often modify the outputs of machinetranslation to improve translation quality.

The L/P forum as such is an experiment in multilingual internationalcommunication on the Internet, as well as an interdisciplinary discussion ontwenty-first century multilingualism. It thus offers a sharp contrast to conven-tional arguments which criticize the monopoly of English on the Internet, butwhich have no choice but to be put into English for international communica-tion. In the L/P forum, on the other hand, people are able to search for solutionsto the problem in a multilingual environment. Concrete technological issuesas well as theoretical ones are addressed, to find ways of bringing machinetranslation software closer to the needs of users in order to achieve effectivetranslation for multilingual communication.

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Summary and conclusion

The language situation in the world will change greatly in the twenty-firstcentury and will have enormous effects on cultures and societies as the global-ization promoted by the Internet gathers pace. If English continues to be thesole language of international communication, those proficient in English willtend to control a cyberspace from which most people of non-English-speakingcountries are excluded. There is a possibility that the whole earth will be coveredby the culture of English-speaking countries, especially that of the United States.Despite that, the recent development of information technology is bringingabout an opposite situation, where a variety of languages circulate in cyber-space, thus opening the way for a fruitful world culture of intensive linguisticexchange.

The key technological issues for achieving a multilingual environmenton the Internet are the development of an international character code system,character input/output systems and translation-support systems. A 16-bit inter-national character code system UCS has already been authorized by ISO/IEC,but further efforts are required for its expansion to a 32-bit code. As for characterinput/output systems, more efforts are needed in and for developing countrieslike those in parts of southern Asia. And computer-supported translationtechnology is now expected to contribute significantly to the multilingualcommunication on the Internet. Everybody on earth ought to be able to participatein the Internet society in the twenty-first century. To achieve this goal, it isimportant to enable everybody to send messages in his/her own mother tongue.The more different language texts that are exchanged on the Internet, the morepeople become interested in languages other than their own. In short, a multi-lingual environment on the Internet can be expected to have a favourable effecton foreign language education, which will result in the promotion of culturalinterchange. Print media have partitioned the earth into independent nation-states each with its own national language. On the other hand, new electronicmedia like the Internet are now interconnecting those different languages witheach other, in the hope of creating something, which may be called a newglobal culture.

References:

1. Anderson, B. “Imagined Communities”, Verso, London, 1983.2. “The Unicode Standard”, Version 2.0, Addison-Wesley, 1996.3. Keniston K. “Politics, Culture, and Software”, Economic and Political Weekly,

Mumbai, January 1998. 4. Winograd, T. and Flores, F. “Understanding Computers and Cognition”, Ablex,

New Jersey, 1986.

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ADEEB GHONAIMYDirector, Egyptian Universities Network, Arab Republic of Egypt

The role of language engineering in supporting multilingual aspects in cyberspaceHow to generate credible information on the Web in different languages that reflect cultural,economic and political views. What is the role of machine translation and related aspects oflanguage engineering in facilitating the construction of multilingual information retrievalsystems and surfing of the Web? How intelligent multilingual browsers will help crossing thelanguage boundaries and enable users to express their requirements in their native languages.How electronic commerce will help in creating platforms for multilingual transactions. Howinformation-poor nations will improve their information balance in general and in cyberspacein particular.

Le génie linguistique à l’appui du multilinguisme dans le cyberespaceComment générer sur le Web en différentes langues des informations crédibles qui reflètentdifférents points de vue culturels, économiques et politiques. En quoi la traduction machineet autres aspects du génie linguistique peuvent-ils faciliter le développement de systèmesd’interrogation multilingues et la navigation sur le Web. Comment les logiciels de navigationmultilingues intelligents peuvent-ils contribuer à abattre les barrières linguistiques et permettreà l’utilisateur de poser ses questions dans sa langue maternelle ? Comment le commerce électronique doit-il aider à créer des plates-formes de transaction multilingues ? Comment les pays pauvres en information vont-ils rattraper le retard qu’ils accusent sur le plan de l’information en général et, surtout, sur le plan de l’utilisation du cyberespace en particulier ?

La function de la ingenieria linguistica al servicio del multilinguismo en el ciberespacio¿Cómo generar en la Web, en distintas lenguas, información fiable que refleje opiniones culturales, económicas y políticas? ¿Cuál es la función de la traducción automática y otrosaspectos de la ingeniería lingüística en la construcción de sistemas de recuperación de información multilingües y en la navegación en la Web? ¿En qué medida los exploradoresmultilingües inteligentes ayudarán a traspasar las fronteras de la lengua y permitirán a losusuarios expresar sus necesidades en sus lenguas nativas? ¿De qué modo contribuirá elcomercio electrónico a crear plataformas para transacciones multilingües? ¿De qué modo lasnaciones desfavorecidas en el ámbito de la información mejorarán su situación al respecto,en general y en el ciberespacio en particular?

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Introduction

The network-centred information society is just starting to evolve. Informationand knowledge are forming one of the basic ingredients of such a society.However, if that information and knowledge does not permeate the texture ofthe global society and is assimilated by the different societies worldwide, itwill have a limited impact on the global community. The convergence ofcomputer and telecommunication technologies is changing the way we performwork, communicate with each other, do business transactions and make use ofthe different services. A profound impact on education, learning and acquiringknowledge does not need to be emphasized. Information presentation in visualimages, sound and natural language either as text or speech is gradually becomingthe norm. The Internet is creating a global platform where a worldwide forum isevolving that is becoming vital to economic, social and political success. However,all these developments create problems.

Examples of such problems are: access to much of the information may beavailable only to the computer literate and those who understand English. Also,due to the vast amount of information available, it is becoming hard to identifyand select what is relevant and has a certain degree of credibility. The developmentof interfaces and components that help users to identify relevant information andhave it presented in the most appropriate manner according to the informationcontent and their cultural and linguistic backgrounds is still lagging behind therate of information growth. Language engineering is an endeavour in whichlanguage technologies are integrated and embedded into language-enabled servicesand products to support business in a global context and to facilitate interpersonalcommunication across languages [LINGLINK, 1997].

The role of language engineering

Language technology will help in designing and implementing the systemsneeded to effectively deal with information and knowledge in a number ofways. Speech recognition will help in interacting with a number of devices inone’s own language. Also, information could be presented by generating speech.Understanding requests and browsing the vast amount of knowledge availableis an essential component that can alleviate the problem of information overloadand ensures that the relevant knowledge is accessed. It will also be possible togenerate and present information in different languages through automatedmachine translation [Ghonaimy, 1998].

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Language engineering will be essential for supporting global business ingeneral and electronic commerce in particular. The success of any business willdepend on the quality of information about its customers, its competitors andthe market in general. The information needed has to be identified, extractedand presented in natural language either as text or speech. In general, languageengineering will deliver the right information at the right time and in thelanguage of the recipient. Automated translation together with documentmanagement will improve the quality of service in a global marketplace[LINGLINK, 1997].

In general, success in globalization requires putting the emphasis on local-ization. Some companies interested in international markets organize their effortin a number of activities that could be summarized as follows [Antaki, 1998]:

• Developers organize a product so that linguistic components can be modi-fied easily (internationalization).

• Translators make the product available in different target languages.• Editors review each version to ensure that culture-specific items are not

missed.• Marketing divisions take care of localization and adapt the product to

the local market.

The multilingual Internet

The Internet is at present dominated by the English language. However, thenear future possibilities of widespread use, make it essential to consider itsmultilingual nature. Some efforts are being conducted in that respect such asthe Babel project which is a joint initiative between Alis Technologies and theInternet Society (Babel, 1998). They are considering the world’s 20 mainlanguages and are trying to study the actual distribution of languages on theInternet. Although the Internet penetration is not high at the moment in someregions, this is expected to change radically in the future. As an example, resultsof the Internet Domain Survey for Arab Countries for January 1998 are shownin Table 1.

Efforts are now concentrating on developing tools and standards thatenable the creation of websites in several languages or in at least one non-Western language. Now an Internet standard (RFC 2070) based on Unicodesupports HTML documents in practically every language. In particular, someof the features dealt with are: Mark-up of bi-directional text, i.e. test whereleft-to-right and right-to-left scripts are mixed and control of cursive joiningbehaviour in contexts where the default behaviour is not appropriate. Also, theHTTP, which is the hypertext transfer protocol in use since 1990, is being inter-nationalized. The relevant aspects are character set labelling, which ensurescorrect document interpretation, and language negotiation, which is used at asite to provide documents in the user’s language of preference.

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Table 1: Internet Domain Survey of Arab Countries, January 1998

Domain Hosts All Hosts Duplicate Level 2 Level 3Names Domain Domain

kuKuwait 4057 4749 692 9 2925

egEgypt 2013 16930 14917 7 191

aeUnited Arab Emirates 1940 1955 15 8 56

lbLibya 1134 1377 243 7 59

omOman 670 671 1 16 20

maMorocco 431 463 32 5 339

bhBahrain 338 339 1 2 4

joJordan 249 249 0 5 13

qaQatar 189 191 2 5 9

tnTunisia 69 69 0 10 68

saSaudi Arabia 37 37 0 4 6

dzAlgeria 16 17 1 1 16

yeYemen 10 10 0 7 6

lyLibya 1 2 1 1 1

sy,sd,iqSyriaSudanIraq 0

Total 11154 27059

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Multilingual machine translation issues

There are many situations in which multilingual translation is necessary.Translation from many languages into a single language will be required bylarge information gathering and processing organizations. Translation from asingle language into many languages will be required in the context of foreigntrade, when operation and other manuals for industrial equipment need to betranslated into the language of the countries where the equipment is to be marketed.Multilingual interlingual machine translation systems translate between a numberof languages. In this approach, a universal language, independent representationof text, known as interlingua is being developed. Therefore, the translation processis reduced to two phases: the analysis phase between the source language andthe interlingua, and the generation phase from the interlingua to the targetlanguage.

For successful machine translation, detailed knowledge of the languagesis required at many levels: lexicon syntax, semantics and discourse. It is verydifficult to provide such linguistic knowledge for an entire language. However,if we consider only language in a particular domain much of this knowledgecould be obtained. The variety of language used in a given science or techno-logy is not only much smaller than the whole language, but it is more clearlysystematic in structure and meaning. Linguists and computer scientists arecooperating to study the properties of such specialized languages which arecalled sub-languages or controlled language. Each sub-language has a distinc-tive grammar even though it is related to the grammar of the full standardlanguage. Also, the theoretical problem of relating linguistic form to commu-nicative function comes into sharper focus when individual sub-languages areexamined [Grishman, 1986].

Sometimes it is essential to distinguish between two translation activities.The first is called localization (e.g. that used for computer manuals for end users)where it is important to adapt certain parts of the content and perhaps the styleof presentation to a certain cultural and linguistic environment. The second iscalled diffusion translation where the objective content must be strictly renderedin another language without addition or omission [Boitet, 1998]. A brief outlinewill now be given of the efforts related to Arabic/English translation. AppTekdeveloped an English-Arabic translator named TranSphere that uses LexicalFunctional Grammar together with a general dictionary having 100,000 words.A number of domain-specific dictionaries have also been developed. This systemcould be either stand-alone or part of an integrated system.

Sakhr within Al-Alamiah Group [Sakhr, 1998] is also developing a transla-tion scheme for Arabic-English and English-Arabic. It makes use of the availabletools that have been developed before for morphological and syntactical analysers,electronic dictionaries, and semantic support, together with a number of otherdevelopment tools. It is also developing a general platform for dealing with Arabiccomputations [Ali, 1998].

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IBM Egypt is also developing Machine Aided Human Translation schemes.ALIS, Inc. offers a solution that integrates core language-handling technologyand translation products [Alis, 1998]. The Electronics Research Institute in Egypt,in co-operation with the European Community is developing an English-Arabicand Arabic to English and German medical text translation. This is done in theframework of CAT2 (Computer Assisted translation) which uses an interlinguaapproach [Nour, 1998]. Also, ambiguity in Arabic language processing is beingstudied [Abed, 1998].

Princitran: In this system a large-scale lexicon is to be constructed for aninterlingual machine translation system for Arabic, English, Korean and Spanish[Dorr, 1995]. For Arabic, the starting point was the use of the Alpnet bilingualArabic-English online dictionary. Then automatic mappings between Englishglosses from Alpnet into LDOCE (Longman’s Dictionary of ContemporaryEnglish) codes were performed. The codes were then converted into thematicgrids, which were then exhaustively hand-verified.

Electronic commerce and multilingualism

Global market opportunities are now increasing rapidly and will make consider-able use of the facilities introduced by the Internet. Thus, the advent of globalelectronic commerce will add an economic dimension to cultural and linguisticissues. In international trade, companies that adopt a multilingual, multiculturalapproach are expected to gain a competitive advantage over their monolingual,monocultural competitors. Regarding business-consumer relations, the followinglanguage issues may be stated: the seller of goods or services must be able topublish information in the language and cultural convention of the customers(multilingual electronic publishing). Buyers of goods or services must be ableto find, understand and compare information in their own language (multilingualinformation retrieval). Both buyer and seller must be able to interact naturallyand effectively in a common language or across different languages[Urquhart, 1997].

Language preservation and diversity

There is a possibility that from the number of 5,000 to 6,000 languages spokenin the world today, only a few hundred will survive a century later. The pressureon languages can take different forms: economic, social, cultural, etc. Thosedirectly affected are usually minorities, but their languages represent thelinguistic diversity that has developed over the course of human history. Somelinguists argue that language endangerment is serious and has great humanisticand scientific consequences. Can new developments in the information agehelp in preserving some of these languages and thus save language diversity[Woodbury, 1998] [Comrie, 1998].

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References:

01. Abed, E.M.; Hamada, S.; and Hegazi, N.H. “Ambiguities in Arabic LanguageProcessing”. The first Conference on Language Engineering, Cairo, March 1998,pp. 263-271.

02. Ali, N. “New Paradigm for Arabic Computation”. The First Conference onLanguage Engineering, Cairo, Egypt, March 1998, pp. 24-28.

03. Alis, 1998 [http://www.alis.com].04. Antaki, N.A. “Localization = Multilingual + Multicultural”. [http://www.prince-

ton.edu/~naantaki/WRI353/localization.html].05. Babel, 1998 [http://babel.alis.com:8080/].

6.Boitet, C. “Human-Aided Machine Translation” in Survey of the State of the Artin Human Language Technology: Chapter 8 (Multilinguality) Edited by Zaenen,A., 1998 [http://www.cse.ogi.edu/CSLU/HLTsurvey/ch8node2.html].

07. Comrie, B. “Language Diversity”, 1998 [http://www.lsdac.org/Comrie.html].08. Dorr, B.J.; Garman, J.; and Weinberg “From Syntactic Encoding to Thematic

Roles: Building Lexical Entries for Interlingual MT” Machine Translation, Vol. 9,Nos 3-4, 1994/1995, pp. 221-250.

09. Ghonaimy, M.A.R. “Language Engineering Scope and Basic Concepts” The firstConference on Language Engineering, Cairo, March 1998, pp. 1-22.

10. Grishman, R. and Kittredge, R. (Eds.) “Analyzing Language in RestrictedDomains: Sublanguage Description and Processing” Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatedPublisher, 1986.

11. LINGLINK team at Anite system, on behalf of the participants of the TelematicsApplication Program. Anite systems, 151, rue des Muguets L-2167 Luxembourg,1997.

12. Nour, M. “Comprehensive Criteria for Evaluating the Quality of MachineTranslation Systems”. The first Conference on Language Engineering, Cairo,Egypt, March 1998, pp. 272-281.

13. Sakhr, 1998 [http://www.Sakhr.com].14. Urquhart, I. “Language Engineering and Electronic Commerce”, 1998.

[http://www2.echo.lu/langeng/en/reps/ecom/ecom.html].15. Woodburly, A. “Endangered Languages”, 1998.

[http://www.lsadc.org/Woodbury.html].

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http://www.alis.com

http://www.princeton.edu/~naantaki/WRI353/localization.html

http://babel.alis.com:8080/

http://www.cse.ogi.edu/CSLU/HLTsurvey/ch8node2.html

http://www.lsdac.org/Comrie.html

http://www.Sakhr.com

http://www2.echo.lu/langeng/en/reps/ecom/ecom.html

http://www.lsadc.org/Woodbury.html

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SVEINN EINARSSONChairman, Icelandic National Commission for UNESCO, Ministry of Education and Culture, Iceland

Language and communication in the context of creative diversityThe speaker stresses the different aspects of using languages in connection with the newinformation technology from the viewpoint of a small country and a small nation with a richculture that for ages has been closely linked to the very notion of the language, a classicallanguage in Europe, that, in its core, did not change very much for 800 years. This leads tothe conclusion that in terms of modern communication the language is not only a practicaltool for communication and understanding, but has an intrinsic value in itself and thus is an asset to the creative diversity of all. The author discusses also the means of accessingknowledge and attempts to define the ways for UNESCO to work against elitism and toensure that the new communication technology is not a tool for an educated elite only butreally a vehicle for the learning of all.

Langue et communication comme aspects de notre diversité créatriceL’orateur aborde différents aspects de l’utilisation des langues dans le contexte des nouvellestechnologies de l’information en se plaçant du point de vue d’un petit pays peu peuplé dontla riche culture s’enracine depuis des siècles dans sa langue, langue européenne classiquequi, fondamentalement, n’a guère changé depuis 800 ans. Il en conclut que dans l’optique de la communication moderne, la langue n’est pas seulement l’instrument concret de lacommunication et de la compréhension mais qu’elle est en soi une valeur et par conséquentun atout de la diversité créatrice de l’humanité. L’auteur analyse aussi les moyens d’accéderau savoir et tente de définir les voies que l’UNESCO pourrait emprunter pour lutter contrel’élitisme et pour veiller à ce que les technologies nouvelles de la communication ne soientpas un outil réservé à l’élite, mais un instrument d’éducation pour tous.

La lengua y la comunicación en el contexto de la diversidad creativaEl autor destaca distintos aspectos de la utilización de las lenguas en relación con las nuevastecnologías de la información, expresándose desde el punto de vista de un país pequeñodotado de una rica cultura que durante siglos estuvo estrechamente vinculada a la nociónmisma de lengua, una lengua clásica en Europa que, en lo esencial, no ha cambiado muchoen los últimos 800 años. Su conclusión es que, en términos de comunicación moderna, la lengua no sólo es un instrumento práctico de comunicación y entendimiento, sino quetambién posee un valor intrínseco y, por ende, constituye por sí sola una ventaja para ladiversidad creativa de todos nosotros. El autor examina asimismo las modalidades de accesoal conocimiento y procura definir de qué modo la UNESCO puede combatir el elitismo yasegurar que la nueva tecnología de la comunicación no sea un instrumento que beneficieexclusivamente a una élite instruida, sino realmente un recurso para la educación de todos.

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Around the turn of the last century there was a lot of optimism in theair in my country, Iceland. It was the last phase of our struggle for indepen-dence from Denmark and we saw the ultimate victory on the horizon. Ourstrongest weapon, in fact our only munition, was our language, our history, ourculture and our national identity. In fact we have never been at war with anothernation except for this war of independence. This battle was fought with ourlanguage and the creative forces it had produced as a weapon which was at thesame time our national and cultural identity. Progress was all around in dailylife, in agriculture and fisheries, our two most important industries, in scienceand education, in culture and the creative arts and in technology that was boundto serve humankind. We stood on a threshold and the door was wide open toinfinite progress. Now we are approaching a new threshold, not only a newcentury but a new millennium. The belief in endless development is less firmand we even have difficulties in defining what we mean by development, aswe have seen in “Our Creative Diversity” the inspiring Pérez de Cuéllar report.We try to measure our creative diversity in terms of different definitions ofworld development; yet we are aware how the development context is differentin different countries of the family of nations. This is not least apparent in thefield of communication technology. We live in an information age and our toolsin that field are progressing at a speed that is both imposing and overwhelm-ing. Do we have time to stop for a moment to reflect on the advantages anddisadvantages of its effects on the old ethical questions of good and evil?

I recently attended a colloquium at the Edinburgh Festival on officialsupport to the arts and culture in general, the means and aims of subsidies,revenue from the arts in plain money terms, a subject hitherto rather neglected,arts management and, not surprisingly, the running of festivals. The participantswere from all over the world. Of course the issue of new communicationtechnology was bound to be touched upon. To the participants of some so-calleddeveloping countries, the subtleties of normal, legal and linguistic considerationsvoiced especially by some non English-speaking European countries were wasted.They said: “Why should we bother. We don’t even have computers”. I am afraidthat they represent the greater part of the world. UNESCO has been aware ofthis problem from the start. I am happy that the Organization is trying to facethe complications as well as the immense possibilities offered by newtechnologies in working, for instance, in the field of UNESCO’s competencesuch as lifelong education for all, Africa, the education and position of womenin the world.

But, as with all tools and machines, it is the question of how the humanmind handles it. Some progressive thinkers, scared of the recent excesses of

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nationalism and racism, rejoice in the vision of abandoning the traditionaldivisions of nation-states and moving to a Wahlverfreundschaft, to use Goethe’sphrase, of those with similar interests, education and position stretching acrossthe former borders. Others fear that an evolution of that kind might lead to aneven more frightful division between the haves and have-nots, the educatedand the uneducated. In fact the future holds unforeseen consequences. The newtechnology is here to stay, and we have to make sure that it is for all. This isa matter of no less concern to us all than the ecological problems that can onlybe solved on the basis of worldwide collaboration.

UNESCO has to work out a huge strategic plan with the help of allNational Commissions and regional centres. Collecting and donating usedcomputers instead of throwing them away is at least as good a start as any.But, we need the support of major industrial firms as partners. In fact we needto have the major manufacturers as partners. In stating this I fully agree withthe statement made in the preliminary results of the UNESCO Virtual Forumon INFOethics concerning the need for what was called a worldwide responsi-bility for information equity. To achieve this, there is no harm in starting withconcrete measures; I will come to that later. This is a serious matter. It mayseem to be exclusively physical, political or social, but that is a narrow view.It is also a cultural problem both for those who already have computers andmore or less know how to use them, and for the so-called info-poor. One ofthe newest and most effective slogans within our Organization has been Globalethics. At times we have been a little confused as to what we really mean byit and what might be its concrete form. We at least feel that it has to do withour conscience. May I put it in the following way: it has to do with the rangeof our conscience. If the information technology and its impact is a global issue,then it is obvious that it has to do with ethics.

It has to do with ethics in many ways. I presume that others will dealin more depth with the political, economic and social aspects that I brieflyreferred to. But, there are also the legal aspects, since the new technology isdefying our former rules of procedure, where each state had sovereignty interms of laws regarding copyright, neighbouring rights, etc. However, such lawshave not of course been confined within national boundaries and there areseveral international agreements that can guide us in finding new ways oftackling new problems that have arisen in this field. It is obvious that the initialpayment to artists and holders of copyright has to be increased since the percent-age system for later stages of reproducing and broadcasting, etc. has becometotally unrealistic. I am firmly convinced that there are solutions to theseproblems and that UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other internationalbodies will have their share in solving them. I therefore welcome, in thedistinction by the forum when treating the public and private goods: The roleof copyright should also be reconsidered in order to define a new generallyaccepted fair use of information. By encouraging free access to the world’spublic knowledge (the people’s own heritage), UNESCO can contribute to

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establishing a counterweight to the power of the market where information isconsidered as a commodity to be paid for.

UNESCO should use a set amount of funds to support the digitization ofpublic material (e.g. finance portable scanners). The role of copyright (so faronly used to enforce market rights) should be reconsidered. In particular, theright of users to access public materials should be balanced against the predomi-nantly private exploitation of information. Preservation and transmission ofinformation was considered to be among the ethical responsibilities of the presentgenerations for future ones. Summing up, it is stressed that a different answermay be required with respect to entertainment and literature, which, of course,has become an acute problem.

As for violence, sex and drugs, privacy and confidentiality on the Internet,the question is even more complicated. On the one hand, we have to defendthe freedom of expression, on the other we have the fact that traditionally eachnation tried to adopt a code of conduct whether through legislation, supervisionand blocking access to certain movies, etc. I have to admit that I have nopractical formula for solving these questions, but it is obvious that they haveto be dealt with. UNESCO’s INFOethics Virtual Forum is fully aware of this,even if concrete proposals need to be worked on.

The third aspect is the main focus of my contribution to this debate andit has to do with language. At the outset, I mentioned the importance of languageas a symbol of our national identity in Iceland. I do not know how many ofyou are aware that Icelandic, as spoken today, is one of the classic languagesof Europe. It is the roots of the other Scandinavian languages and has changedso little that the vast classical Icelandic medieval literature, Icelandic Sagas,the Eddas, etc. written in the thirteenth century are still easily read without anysort of translation. Although puristic, the language is also very elastic – it is aliving language coping with the notion of time including new technology. Acomputer is called tölva in Icelandic to give you an example, a word describingthe function of that machine.

Language is thus both a symbol and a practical tool of communication.At the last UNESCO Conference in Paris, it was obvious that a great majorityof Member States did not look upon language as merely a tool of access toinformation and communication, but that language has an intrinsic value initself closely connected with our cultural identity. Languages of the world areprecious parts of our cultural diversity and I refer once again to the Pérez deCuéllar report.

If modern technology will be shaping our future at the beginning of thenext millennium, as now appears pretty obvious, in what language will thatshaping take place and how will it affect our identity and our cultural andcreative diversity? Coming from a small nation with limited resources, I haveoften been somewhat surprised at how English-speaking people seem deaf toproblems regarding language. I suspect that if half of their televisionprogrammes were in French or in Chinese, they would understand what we

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were talking about. It would certainly influence their youngsters and their senseof language. And not only that, the programmes would be a reflection of analien society with different sets of value and cultural backgrounds from the tele-vision viewers. Some people look upon this as a desirable internationalizationbringing us better understanding of each other as it is called. That, I sincerelydoubt. And on what premises? At least I am profoundly convinced thatprogrammes such as the popular and not unintelligent “Frazier”, do nothing todeepen my understanding of Asian or African countries or even European forthat matter. In that respect, the menu is too small and uniform and dictated bytotally different aims.

And when it comes to the computer with its vast and exciting newchannels of spreading information and knowledge and also its, so far, not wiselyexplored possibilities of artistic creativity, what language does it speak? Well,I do not have to tell you that. And I do not have to tell you either how thedomination of one language in this field is inconsistent with your own culturalidentity, not to mention, if like me, you use computers for writing every day.It simply drives me schizophrenic. We have examples of writers who have beenforced to write in other languages than their own sometimes with good andcreative results. But that is totally different. The aim is the opposite: I want touse the new implement in exactly the same way as an English-speakingcolleague of mine would do but on my own premises and in the language thatis the expression of my thoughts and feelings and is the embodiment of myartistic taste. I am told this is a financial matter. You come from a small nation,speaking a language that few speak. You are not a market to be reckoned withby the profit-making manufacturers of the new technology. So much for ourcreative diversity.

Well, let us be realistic. The manufacturing of the new technologicalinstruments to the greatest extent is seen as putting a product on the market.The “nouveaux riches” in many countries are those who profit from this industryand this market. It is a profit-making process. And, if the creative diversity thatUNESCO, thank God, is trying to protect as the richness of the world, is notin conformity with the aims of profit-making, the impact of new technologywill be such that all the small markets with languages, customs, history, artsand literature all those strange varieties that at least for me are the fascinationof the world, will be at risk.

The laws of the market are cruel and they can be pretty blind to valuesof this kind. I think, however, in terms of accessibility that it is necessary tostart a dialogue with leading manufacturers of hardware and software. Thedialogue should be about global ethics, about those who do not have access tothe computerized world and do not know how to use the tools they do nothave. This dialogue should also be carried out with representatives of othermajor industries and international financial corporations, leading universities,governments with a view to forming a network for the globalization ofaccessibility in the future. Now to languages. It is as simple as this: if we, whorepresent the small nations regardless of whether our culture is small or big in

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creative terms, do not want to become second-class nations with a second-classlanguage i.e. a language that may be used at home or even writing but not thecomputerized language that will shape the new generations and be the windowto the world, then we have to do our homework. First of all, we must uniteour forces and learn from each other’s experiences. And we must be aware thatprotecting our culture and language means costs in plain money that presumablyno one else will pay for us.

At the last UNESCO General Conference in Paris, Professor Robinsonfrom the Summer School of Languages drew the attention of the participantsto the new possibilities of simultaneous translation in the computer industry. Itis costly, but the technical prerequisites are already there. Since then severalthings have happened for example here in Europe. Within the European Unionthere has been a project called EUROMAP. The aim was to investigate theposition of member language vis-à-vis the new information technology. Nowthe second phase of the project, called EUROMAP II, is starting and its aimis to establish a network which is coherent with the five-year plan finishing in2003. I mention this here as an example of some reactions to the questions ofcomputerized language techniques. Within the EU there is also the databasecalled Parole. I am sorry to say that Icelandic is excluded from this database.Last year Icelandic, Norwegian and Irish scientists asked for the inclusion ofIcelandic, Norwegian and Gaelic in the database where all the EU languagesare represented. Unfortunately, the EU rejected this proposal maintaining thatthe costs were too high compared to what the EU might gain from its inclu-sion. So, even there the market views prevail.

Are we generally aware of these problems? Don’t we care or do we thinkthat others will do our homework? And, what can we do? I will give you oneconcrete example. Last June the Minister of Culture in Iceland, Mr BjörnBjarnason, sent a letter to the directors of the Microsoft Corporation regardinga meeting to discuss the Icelandic translation of the Microsoft software. Thediscussion was linked to the celebrations in the year 2000 of the Norse discoveryof America in the year 1000, which Ambassador Einar Benediktsson had raisedat a meeting with Microsoft officials in Seattle.

There was a prompt answer from Microsoft given in a letter of 3 July,signed by two of the leading officials of the company, stating that Microsofthas a sincere interest in meeting with Iceland’s wishes in this respect. Thecompany expressed its intentions to have good collaboration with languageinstitutes and governments worldwide and considers it an honour to be instru-mental in protecting and cultivating the language of Leifur Eríksson, the discovererof America. Ladies and gentlemen, I have not much to add, since I would liketo conclude on these notes of optimism. We have talked a lot and the word isstill starting in spite of all progress. We have been talking about some of thevalues that in life are dearest to our hearts. We have been talking about theidentity that every living soul needs and since time remembered language hasbeen at the core of that identity. But now it’s time to act and I hope that I havegiven you some hints as to what we might do.

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TAIK-SUP AUHDean, Graduate School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Korea University, Republic of Korea

Promoting multilingualism on the Internet: the Korean experienceWith a geometric proliferation of the Internet, an estimated 2.5 million Koreans are linked tothe global medium. For a majority of them, according to a recent survey, the Internet remainslargely an unexplored reservoir of knowledge and information due to the language barrier.Their grasp of English is quite rudimentary, sufficient only for processing basic informationsuch as the weather, sports and erotic visuals. As a result, they are denied the tremendousopportunities that the Internet has to offer, namely, in-depth information and more seriousdiscussions with citizens all around the world. Some positive progress is being made to rectify the situation: Korean-language sites are increasing in number with a richer variety ofinformation and more sophisticated and inexpensive translation software become readilyavailable to domestic users. More should and can be done by the public and private sectorsto enrich the information environment by promoting multilingualism on the Internet.

Promouvoir le multilinguisme sur l’Internet :l’expérience de la CoréeL’Internet connaissant en Corée une progression importante, on estime à 2,5 millions lenombre de Coréens qui se sont raccordés au réseau mondial. Pour la majorité d’entre eux,nous dit une récente enquête, l’Internet reste dans l’ensemble un réservoir inexploré deconnaissances et d’informations en raison de l’obstacle que leur oppose la langue. La maîtrise de l’anglais chez les Coréens étant assez rudimentaire, elle leur suffit tout juste à consulter les sites météorologiques, sportifs ou érotiques. Ils ne peuvent donc profiter desextraordinaires possibilités que l’Internet peut offrir, à savoir une information approfondie et des débats sérieux avec les internautes du monde. On s’emploie à remédier à la situation et certains progrès ont été faits : les sites en coréen sont plus nombreux et plus étoffés et des logiciels de traduction plus puissants et bon marché sont désormais à la disposition desutilisateurs. Beaucoup reste à faire et peut être fait par le secteur public et le secteur privé pour promouvoir le multilinguisme sur l’Internet et enrichir ainsi l’environnement informatif.

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Fomentar el multilinguismo en Internet:la experiencia coreanaGracias a la progresión geométrica de Internet, se estima que 2,5 millones de coreanos estánconectados a esa red mundial. Según un estudio reciente, para la mayoría de ellos Internetsigue siendo en gran medida una fuente de conocimientos e información inexplorada debido a las barreras lingüísticas. Su conocimiento del inglés es muy rudimentario, apenas suficientepara procesar información básica como la meteorología, los deportes y el material audio-visual erótico. En consecuencia, están privados de las inmensas oportunidades que brindaInternet, en particular, información pormenorizada y debates más serios con los usuarios dela red de todo el mundo. La situación ha empezado a mejorar: son cada vez más numerososlos espacios en lengua coreana que contienen una más amplia variedad de información, y se están tornando más accesibles para los usuarios privados los programas informáticos detraducción más elaborados y de bajo costo. Los sectores público y privado deberían y podríancontribuir más a enriquecer el entorno de la información promoviendo el multilingüismo enInternet.

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Introduction

Since its birth a generation ago, the Internet has been dominated by the Englishlanguage and North American culture. In a 1998 survey conducted by theInternet research group, marketer, two thirds (68 per cent) of a little over60 million Internet users worldwide reside in just two countries, the UnitedStates, with 37 million users, and Canada, which has just over 4 million.About 60 per cent of the Internet host computers are located in the UnitedStates. Nine out of 10 Internet users today are English speaking. No fewerthan 82 per cent of home pages (Web sites) are in English, according to theInternet Society’s survey of 60,000 computers with Internet addresses.

Yet some foresee an end to this electronic hegemony. The number ofnon-U.S. Internet users is about to outnumber those inside the country soonand increase by ninefold over the next five years, from 16.4 million in 1997to 143 million by the year 2002, representing an annual growth rate of 70 percent. In that case, the present practice of conducting business, presenting newsand information, and performing discussion on the Internet will have to bedrastically changed. The widespread use of English will eventually be contestedand the Internet itself will become multicultural. This is already happening. Aconsortium of American computer companies has developed a universal digitalcode known as Unicode to allow computers to represent the letters and charactersof virtually all the world’s languages. Major search engines like Yahoo andExcite offer their services in multiple languages. Netscape Communications inpartnership with the leading Latin American Internet service, Star MediaNetwork, provides a free Internet guide in Spanish and Portuguese. Internetservices in languages other than English, like Star Media, are starting to provideworld and regional news, weather, stock listings, e-mail, chat rooms, Internetaccess and more, all in the users’ own language.

Given such developments, optimists argue that far from ending diversity,the Internet will promote it by allowing even small groups of people to dissemi-nate their messages worldwide. By overtaking the “middle range” languages,it may actually protect minority languages threatened with extinction. A widerrange of languages on the Internet means at least in theory that a wider rangeof ideas will be exchanged in cyberspace, the long-promised global village.Despite a tremendous influx of non-English languages in recent years, however,the Internet has a long way to go before it becomes a truly multilingual medium.As long as English can be understood by the largest number of Internet users,cyberspace will continue to be dominated by English as the primary language

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for international discourse and commerce, European languages as a tool forregional and specialized communication, and many other minor languages forlocal communication.

At first glance, there is an advantage to having one language dominantin cyberspace. In a world of five to eight thousand different ethnic groups whoreside in nearly 200 nation-states speaking 5,000 distinct languages, somelanguage must be the common language of the Internet. Many people believethat English must by default be the standard language on the Internet, much asit is the international language of aviation. At present, there are clear indicationsof English becoming a lingua franca in cyberspace. The Internet, the networkof networks, is most likely to be governed by the logic of the “Metcalfe’s Law,”the so-called magic of interconnections. Connect any number of machines, “n”,whether computers, phones or even cars, and you get “n” squared in expo-nential value. Simply put, the values of the interconnected entities increaseexponentially. To expand this logic further, as English-speaking countries havehappened to take the central role in world politics and economy in the modernperiod (namely, Pax Britannica and Pax Americana), the English language willdeepen its hold on the world as more people go on line. As a recent BritishCouncil report shows, the evolution of the English language accelerates as itspreads beyond its Anglo-Saxon origins. The critical mass of English amongstproviders and users is likely to drive the usage inexorably towards monoglotEnglish. Even the French, famously fastidious about guarding their languageagainst dilution by foreign words and phrases, has been forced to surrender toAmerican vernacular on Internet matters. As English continues to dominate thecyberspace with greater intensity and speed, global resistance to this situationaccelerates with equal strength. Some countries already disgruntled by theencroachment of the American culture from pop music, blue jeans, to videosare worried that their cultures will be further eroded by an American dominancein cyberspace. In their minds, English, by association, immediately evokes anegative image of colonial imperialism. They feel that it may threaten theircultures, their languages, even their identities. For this ideological reason, manypeople in the Third World countries are opposed to having English as the linguafranca for commerce and trade, crisis management, and scholarly and intellectualdiscourse on the Internet. While the Internet is awash with information, almostall of it flows in one direction, i.e. from the United Sates to the rest of theincreasingly wired world. It brings home the age-old controversy regardingunbalanced and unidirectional flow of information from the world’s richestcountries to the Third World, an ongoing controversy that prompted UNESCOto seek a New World Information and Communication Order (NWIO) on oneoccasion.

For ideological as well as practical purposes, many countries have takensteps to protect the Internet from excessive American influence. The FrenchGovernment once filed a lawsuit against a Georgia Tech campus in Metz, France,whose Web page did not translate its contents into French. Arab countriesproposed the creation of an Arab Intranet; a closed network in which

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indiscriminate access to pornography and political discussion could be blocked.Canadian content requirements are to be extended to the Internet to keep outthe American “cultural vulture”.

The Korean experience

American culture has continued to exert its influence in Korea, first throughChristian missions, trade and Hollywood productions, and more recently viathe Internet. Thanks to the Korean Government’s aggressive drive, an estimated2.5 million Koreans are linked to the global medium. An equally large shareof the credit for the phenomenal growth of the Internet goes to the mediaorganizations in Korea, which have in recent years vigorously campaigned forintroducing the “Net” to the school community through such programmes asthe KidNet (Chosun Ilbo) and Internet in Education (Joongang Ilbo).

In the vicissitudes of hopes and fears about the Internet, two isolated butinterrelated events recently took place in Korea, all with a nationalistic overtone.One is Microsoft’s abortive attempt to buy out a local Korean software companyin exchange for a multi-million dollar investment. The other has to do with asomewhat radical proposal by a Korean writer to adopt English as a commonlanguage on the Internet.

Microsoft triggers off Korean nationalism

In the midst of the currency crisis in Korea came the shocking announcementthat the Hangul and Computer (H&C) Company, a Korean software company,had agreed with Microsoft to stop development of its popular Arae A Hangulword processor programme in exchange for a $20 million capital investment.Apparently, what Microsoft hoped for in the deal was to secure a monopolisticright over its Korean language version of Windows and Word for Windows inthe Korean market. When it first appeared in 1990, Arae A Hangul named afterthe Korean alphabet invented by King Sejong more than five centuries ago wasthe only word processor based on Hangul instead of Roman letters with Hangulmapping. Arae A Hangul, “insanely great” in the words of Apple Computer’sfounder Steven Jobs, was multilingual at a time when DOS versions of Wordand WordPerfect barely went beyond ASCII. This made it easy to develop anumber of attractive fonts frequently used in displaying old Korean characters.

Media reports of the deal aroused anger and frustration among Koreancomputer users and non-users alike. Defenders of Hangul, who were opposedto Microsoft’s planned equity participation in H&C, quickly invoked the issueof Korean national pride to rally public support for the programme. A massivenationwide campaign saved Hangul at the eleventh hour from the threat ofextinction as its developer, H&C, reversed its earlier decision to sell off thesoftware, bowing to a nationwide campaign spearheaded by the Korean scholarlycommunity and venture capitalists. With hindsight, invoking Korean pride as

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a defence against predatory foreign companies appears to be too far-fetchedand even xenophobic. On the other hand, Microsoft’s aggressive marketingstrategy to effectively terminate H&C’s further development of Hangul can beviewed as both selfish and insensitive to Korean nationalistic sentiment.

English as a common language?

Now that 2.5 millions of Koreans are linked up to form a global community,how will they communicate? The majority of Korean Internet users was foundto use the global medium mainly for communication within national boundaries,according to an Internet user survey. To most of them the Internet remainslargely an unexplored reservoir of knowledge and information due to thelanguage barrier. Their grasp of English is quite rudimentary, sufficient onlyfor processing basic information such as the weather, sports and erotic visuals.Only a fraction of the Internet users can, to whatever degree, comprehend andproduce written or spoken utterances in English. As a result, they are deniedthe tremendous opportunities that the Internet has to offer, namely, in-depthinformation and more serious discussions with the citizens all around the world.To be an effective Internet user, one has to be equipped with both receptiveand productive abilities in English. Such an expectation, however, appears tobe neither practical nor realistic as far as Korea is concerned.

Bok Koh-Ill, a professional Korean writer, thinks otherwise. He came upwith a radical idea to make English an official language of Korea along withKorean. Touching on the sensitive theme of Korean nationalism, Bok arguedthat “putting ‘emotional’ nationalism under control is not enough”. “As theworld is rapidly moving toward a ‘Terrestrial Empire,’” he further asserted,“not only the political supranational organizations such as the WTO and IMFbut also the communication tools like the Internet are increasingly integratedinto one unity”. Now comes his argument concerning English, the dominantlanguage on the Internet. Bok observed that “the emergence of the universallanguage is interlocked with the enlargement of network”. He predicted that“the Korean language will soon be little more than a museum piece as morenations will adopt a bilingual system in which their own languages coexist withEnglish”. His underlying perspective about language is that “language is a tool,and worshipping it as an idol is irrational”.

Sensationalism notwithstanding, Bok’s audacious proposal immediatelytouched off a flurry of verbal battles between the conservatives and liberals inKorea. In a wild exchange of high-pitched diatribes, Bok’s opponents arguedthat English was not panacea and accepting his idea would wither Korea’sunique traditions and harm the very cultural foundations of society. Bok’ssupporters applauded the accuracy of his observation that Koreans possess anexcessive national pride, which Bok sees as the obstacle to the advancementof the Korean society. Bok even dared to challenge all his critics by asking,“If you had to choose between English and Korean for your child’s nativelanguage, which one would you select? If you choose English, your child is

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sure to have faster access to cutting-edge technology and information. If theKorean language is your choice, your child is doomed to lag behind in compe-tition with others”. Whether he will succeed in his effort is far from certain. Boksays, “In our society, nationalism and national language are far too sensitive issuesto be discussed with composure”. Yet his other key point that Koreans are toosensitive to these kind of issues seems not that far from reality. A non-randomon-line survey taken immediately after the verbal battle showed 58 per cent ofthose polled disagreed with Bok. Even more noteworthy is the fact that as highas 42 per cent agreed with Bok and his idea. The deepening dispute seems hereto stay, at least for a while.

Technological aspects of multilingual translation

For a truly multilingual Internet, the long-promised global village, to come ofage, there are a host of difficult hurdles to overcome, including, among the many,the technical difficulties of communicating in the majority of the world’slanguages and development of hardware and software for machine-aided trans-lations. Some progress has been made, and more is in sight, in the developmentof hardware and software for processing texts, from 7-bit ASCII to ISO-Latin,and more recently, to Unicode (ISO 10646), a coding scheme for characters ofmost of the world’s scripts. Widely hailed as a significant breakthrough inelectronic communication worldwide, Unicode character encoding, however,may not be the best one to use in our environment. For example, the SoftwareLaboratory of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) found thatChinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK) ideographs share the same code space,when Unicode is used in a global search-engine context. Thus, if a Japanesesearcher inputs a string for searching, it can equally match against Chinese andKorean counterparts. Another major problem with Unicode for CJK users isthat it doesn’t contain enough code space to capture all ideographs. For thedevelopment of a perfect multilingual architecture, incorporating languages thatbuild compound characters or right-to-left ordering needs further tests.

Transmitting a message in a language of the reader’s preference is onething; one’s ability to comprehend it is quite another. In order to send and receivea message, most readers will have to rely on human translators/interpreters. TheInternet is home to many language translation sites that offer everything fromsimple on-line dictionaries to e-mailed translation services. From the desktop,one can request a translation by selecting to pay for human translation. Theglobal nature of the Internet has proved a boon to translation services, such asTAR Communication in New York, which translated Web-based press releasesinto 28 languages during the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. Translationbusiness via the Internet within the next five years is expected to account for30 per cent of their work.

Given the volume and variety of messages on the Internet, however,exclusive reliance on human translation appears to be an unrealistic proposi-tion. It is too slow and costly to make it a sensible choice for maintaining

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multilingual websites. A viable alternative is machine-aided translation, whichhas been vigorously pursued mostly in Japan, Canada and Europe with some-what mixed results. Systran, available on the French Minitel network since1983 and Canada’s Meteo system, which translates meteorological bulletinsbetween French and English, are considered to be success stories.

Korean translation softwares

In Korea, there are several translation softwares capable of machine-translatingforeign language texts into Korean. In an attempt to assess the quality of thesesoftwares, the author had a wide variety of texts in Japanese and Englishtranslated into Korean by means of King Sejong, one of the most populartranslation softwares in the market. To begin with a conclusion, the Japanese-Korean translation effort proved to be a resounding success, whereas thetranslated version of the English texts was dismally unsatisfactory. In terms ofthe syntax and grammar both Korean and Japanese share a lot of things incommon, whereas there is a mile of difference between Korean and English.It seemed as if the intercultural difference involved in the English-Korean trans-lation were an insurmountable wall indeed. The English texts included AbrahamLincoln’s Gettysburg address, a “USA Today” article headlined “White HouseLoses Round in Lindsey Case”, a passage in Jean Baudrillard’s “La Penséeradicale”, excerpts from the novel “Le Petit Prince”, and a paragraph in NicoRanderaad’s article “Authority in Search of Liberty”. This mini exercise yieldeddisconcertingly unsatisfactory results. The translated versions were totallyunintelligible, and not good enough to be revisable even with the interventionof human editors.

It appeared that the texts replete with sophisticated literary expressions,Lincoln’s address and Baudrillard’s work in particular, simply defied machine-aided translation. Of the five different kinds of the English texts, only the“USA Today” article concerning a U.S. court’s refusal of the White Houseappeal to block prosecutors from questioning a presidential aide about MonicaLewinsky showed some sign of hope. Compared with the other texts, the newsarticle revealed a relatively high level of fidelity in translation. Why did thenewspaper article alone fare reasonably well, while other texts simply failed tobe translated into Korean? The translator’s familiarity with the subject matter,i.e. President Clinton’s sex scandal, could be an important factor. A moreplausible explanation lies in the journalistic style in which the article is writ-ten. Journalists are required to adhere to the journalistic principle of brevityand precision when they write about an issue or event. All the important elementsare to be clearly spelled without excessive literary ornamentation.

Such a finding could have a practical implication for the informationproducers on the Internet. For the benefit of a large number of populationsworldwide they are strongly encouraged to provide a brief and concise abstractof the full text in a machine-friendly manner, so that the abstract can be translatedinto many languages without losing fidelity. Also useful in multilingual

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translation will be a two-step process now being implemented by several groupsincluding the United Nations University in Tokyo. In the two-step process, atext is first thoroughly analysed into component parts (title, paragraph, sentence),clarified when necessary and possible by a dialogue with the author, then trans-lated into an intermediate, abstract representation which is used to generatetranslations in different languages. In this way, readers who have no receptiveability in a language other than their own could at least get the gist of thematerial on hand with the help of translation softwares.

Human-assisted machine translation

Given the poor quality of machine translation and the expensive nature of humantranslation, the only logical option available to Korea, and for that matter tomany countries in the world, appears to be human-assisted/validated machinetranslation. Experts at numerous regional and international conferences havealready addressed the crucial importance of human-assisted translation. Tobriefly summarize their recommendations and suggestions:(1) it is vital that a human validator is used to correct automatic translation;(2) it is important to take cultural-specific notions into account when under-

taking translations between culturally different linguistic areas;(3) human translations can benefit from processing of files against terminology

databases to ensure that technical phrases are translated in a domain-specificway;

(4) as keyword matching does not work across domains or across languages,searchable concept-based terminology resources and thesauri are needed;and

(5) it is important to integrate machine translation and domain-specific termino-logy sets with authoring tools to speed up translation services.

Technological solutions to machine translation is one thing, financialdifficulty associated with making machine translation services available throughthe Internet is another. Because these services take up too many CPU cycles,Information Service Providers would rather offer these services via specialistservers, not as a part of their mainstream operations. The question then arisesas to who pays for such servers, and how. Also, the preponderance of Englishon the Web, with some estimates ranging as high as 95 per cent, appears at oddswith the huge investments in translation to be made by the software industry.

Investments are likely to be made in the cost-effective Europeanlanguages, but not in minor languages. Preparing for the multilingual Internetcalls for a concerted effort by both public institutions and industry players thatproduce and utilize language services, tools and systems. Regional cooperationamong nations that share cultural and linguistic similarities, such as Korea,Japan and China, must be strongly encouraged not only by the governmentsconcerned but also by regional and international organizations such as

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UNESCO. Through collaborative R&D arrangements, they can jointly developmultilingual translation tools and services in a much more cost-effective way.

From ephemeral to robust cyber community

As personal computers become less expensive and user-friendlier, people outsideNorth America and European countries are becoming increasingly linked. Inthis atmosphere, diversity of languages will further enrich the on-line environ-ment by making it possible for people of different cultures and languages toengage themselves in more serious in-depth discussions with other people. Thereare many advantages of a multilingual Internet: it would allow much moreeffective and wide diffusion of information and knowledge than would other-wise be possible; common mistakes and misunderstandings resulting fromlanguage barrier will be curtailed; and it could be a crack in Americanahegemony over Internet culture.

A multicultural and multilingual Internet has the potential to be simulta-neously more universalistic and more particularistic, more global and morelocal, more cosmopolitan and more parochial, and more mass-oriented and moreelite-oriented. The cybersociety created by the Internet, as we know it today,is drawn heavily from the rich and educated in the rich countries. By appearingto be global and universalistic, the Internet masks its very particular and elitecharacteristics. If it were allowed to continue to develop the way it has been,the global medium would fall a victim to its own success by further benefitingthe rich and well-educated at the cost of the underprivileged.

The Web is an ephemeral community, to borrow words from Jim Falk,which is “unstable and transitory”. “Relationships within an ephemeral commu-nity, whether emotional or intellectual, are likely to be partial, satisfying onlyone or a few of the members’ needs.” In contrast, Falk maintains, a robustcommunity is one in which “the members have not only a sense of interrelated-ness and shared experience, but also share common ideals and believe that byvirtue of belonging to their community they can make great progress towardsachieving their objectives than through belonging to other communities.Members will invest personal resources, energy and commitment into it becausethey consider it stable, growing, supportive and effective”. Multilingualism onthe Internet is a necessary, if not the sufficient, condition for transforming anephemeral cybersociety into a robust one.

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References:

Caldwell, B. (1997, June 30). In any language, it’s still Cobol. Information Week,issue 637, p. 12, 1/2p, 1c.

Casselman, B. (1995). Our home and native tongue: A linguist’s notes on the originsof distinctively Canadian terms. Canadian Geographic, 115(6), p. 22.

CEN/TC304-Character Set Technology Workshop (1996, November) Providingmultilingual support in middleware: Implementing the universal character set ISO 10647 in the European information society. (http://www.e5.ijs.si/il8n/ws-bled.html).

Coleman, F. (1997, April 24). A great lost cause: France vs. the Internet. US news & World report, 122(15), p. 57, 3p, 1c.

El-Khodari, N. (1997). Is multilingualism important to Canada?(http://www.uottawa.ca/fgingras/doc/multilingual-internet.html).

Falk, J. (1996, November 5). The meaning of the web.(http://www.scu.edu.au/ausweb95/papers/sociology/falk/).

Fouser, R. (1998, June 24). Why Hangul is ‘insanely great’. The Korea Herald.Grewal, S. (1996). Networks and the worldwide web: Multilingualism on the

worldwide web.KIUSE: Korea Internet User Survey for Everyone (1998, June 16).

(http://www.im-research.com/whatsnew/what.htm). Korea Time staff (1998, July 23). “English as official language” sparks intense debate. Korea Time, 12. (http://www.kpi.or.kr/kinds-cgi).Kwon, R. (1997, October 7). It’s a small world after all. PC Magazine.

(http://www.zdnet.com./pcmag/issues/1617/pcmg0053.htm).Marriott, M. (1998, June 18). As more non-English speaker log on, many languages

thrive. The New York Times on the web.(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/circuits/articles/18eng.html).

Nader, R. (1995). Virtual’s search for reality on dictionary landscape. Public citizen, 5(3), p. 12.

Oudet, B. (1997 March) Multilingualism on the Internet. Scientific American, special report.

Pollack, A. (1995, August 7). A cyberspace front in a multicultural war. The New York Times.

Scientific American editors (1997, March). The Internet: Bringing order from chaos.Scientific American, special report.

Shimizu, S., Kambayashi, T., Sato, S., & Francis P. (1997). A framework formultilingual searching and meta-information extraction. (rodem.ingrid.org: 8080/inet97).

Stanko, G. (1997, March 10). Cultural imperialism online? Journal of Commerce,411(28926), p. 10. (http://www.JOC.com).Themultilingualinformationsociety(MLIS)(http://www.isi.gov.uk/isi/europe/mils.html).

The multilingual information society (MLIS) work program for three years 1996-1998.(http://www2.echo.lu/mlis/en/al4.html).

Troutener, J. (1995). Easing into the Internet. Technology & Learning, 16(3), p. 12.Web Internationalization & Multilingualism Symposium (1996 November).

Social, political and cultural aspects. (http://www2.echo.lu/oii/en/w3c-int.html).Young, N. (1997, December 29). Cultural imperialism aside, English spans linguistic

gulfs. Christian Science Monitor, 90(23), p. 15.

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http://www.e5.ijs.si/il8n/ws-bled.html

http://www.uottawa.ca/fgingras/doc/multilingual-internet.html

http://www.scu.edu.au/ausweb95/papers/sociology/falk/

http://www.im-research.com/whatsnew/what.htm

http://www.kpi.or.kr/kinds-cgi

http://www.zdnet.com./pcmag/issues/1617/pcmg0053.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/circuits/articles/18eng.html

http://www.JOC.com

http://www.isi.gov.uk/isi/europe/mils.html

http://www2.echo.lu/mlis/en/al4.html

http://www2.echo.lu/oii/en/w3c-int.html

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THEME THÈME

TEMA

PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY,

SECURITYIN CYBERSPACE

VIE PRIVÉE, CONFIDENTIALITÉ

ET SÉCURITÉ DANS LE CYBERESPACE

VIDA PRIVADA, CONFIDENCIALIDAD,

SECURIDAD EN EL CIBERESPACIO

B

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MESA REDONDA

PROTECTING PRIVACYAND CONFIDENTIALITY RIGHTS

PROTECTION DU DROITÀ LA VIE PRIVÉE

ET À LA CONFIDENTIALITÉ

PROTECCIÓN DE LOS DERECHOS A LA VIDA PRIVADA

Y A LA CONFIDENCIALIDAD

3

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RAINER KUHLENChair, Information Science Department, University of Constance, Germany

Trust - A principle for ethics and economics in the global information societyTrust, defined as confidence in the reliability of a person or a system, is considered to be of growing ethical and economic importance for all processes in electronic markets and value-added information services on the Internet. Trust in electronic systems or value-addedservices such as search engines, electronic commerce, electronic payment, expert systems, andintelligent agents is necessary, because average users cannot achieve sufficient informationabout the systems’ basic principles or performance, but, nor can they escape the systems. Trust is thus a necessary substitute for knowledge or certainty. Acceptance and, consequently,the use of electronic information devices, both in private and professional (commercial andpublic) environments, depend on the existence of trust-building mechanisms and institutions(trust centres).

La confiance - principe éthique et économique dans la société mondiale de l’informationLa confiance, qui est le fait de croire dans la fiabilité d’une personne ou d’un système, n’acessé de prendre de l’importance sur le plan éthique et économique pour tout ce qui concerneles marchés électroniques et les services d’information à valeur ajoutée sur l’Internet. Cette confiance dans les systèmes électroniques et les services à valeur ajoutée comme lesmoteurs de recherche, le commerce électronique, le paiement électronique, les systèmes expertset les agents intelligents est nécessaire parce que l’utilisateur, qui est incapable de connaîtresuffisamment bien les principes de base du fonctionnement des systèmes et leurs performances,ne peut se passer de ces systèmes. Aussi la confiance remplace-t-elle nécessairement laconnaissance et la certitude ?. L’acceptation et, du même coup, l’utilisation des dispositifsélectroniques d’information, dans la vie privée comme dans la vie professionnelle (commerciale et publique), sont subordonnées à l’existence de mécanismes et d’institutions(centres de confiance) qui contribuent à assurer la confiance.

La confianza - un principio para la ética y la económia en la sociedad mundial de la informaciónSe estima que la confianza, definida en relación con la fiabilidad de una persona o sistema,cobra una creciente importancia ética y económica para todos los procesos en los mercadoselectrónicos y los servicios de información con valor agregado en Internet. La confianza en los sistemas electrónicos o servicios con valor agregado como los motores de búsqueda, elcomercio electrónico, el pago electrónico, los sistemas especializados y los agentes inteligentes,es indispensable en la medida en que el usuario medio no puede obtener información suficientesobre los principios básicos o el rendimiento de esos sistemas a los que, empero, tampocopuede eludir. Por consiguiente, la confianza es un sustituto necesario del conocimiento o lacerteza. La aceptación y el consiguiente uso de los dispositivos de información electrónicos, enlos medios tanto privados como profesionales (comerciales y públicos), requieren mecanismos einstituciones que inspiren confianza (centros de confianza).

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Trust and uncertainty in technical and abstract systems

Trust has become a central topic in the literature of sociology and philosophyin the last ten years. The reason for this is that modern technical and abstractsystems are increasingly thought to be lacking in security and certainty. AnthonyGiddens in his book “The Consequences of Modernity” (1990) points out thatthese systems have become more and more complex and can only be partiallymastered by experts, whom we have to trust without knowing in detail why. Ifthis analysis is right, namely that we are bound to live in a world in which infor-mation is underdetermined on principle and that we cannot extricate ourselvesfrom this situation by ourselves, then compensation mechanisms are needed.Nobody can live in a permanent situation of uncertainty about information.

The theoreticians of modernity (in addition to Giddens, Niklas Luhmannand Ulrich Beck) consider trust the main way to compensate for our lack ofknowledge in handling modern systems. Trust reduces uncertainty; it does notmake up for lack of knowledge, but it allows us to believe and act as if we werein a state of full and certain knowledge.

Uncertainty with respect to information technology systems

We are not concerned with technical and abstract systems in general but withinformation technology systems. Ordinary people do not have, and are not likelyever to acquire, sufficient knowledge about the theoretical assumptions of thesesystems or the way they function. Uncertainty, insecurity, and even mistrust aretherefore likely to be the basic attitudes towards information technology andinformation systems, and all the more so given their global expansion. We shallmention here only a few signs of the growing mistrust of information technologyand machine-driven information systems.

Growing uncertainty with respect to the job market due to the fact thatintensive usage of information technology, reinforced by new means of organizinglabour globally, is cutting jobs rather than creating new ones. Greater uncertaintyand mistrust in the Internet environment. What makes us sure that the searchengines, the Yahoos, Alta Vistas and robots, index Web sites without ulteriormotives, that is without manipulating data? Are we sure that they provide us withthe information, and only the information that we actually need? What happenswith our personal data when we make inquiries on an information market place

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or when we carry out financial transactions? How can the supplier of informationgoods be sure that the person who orders electronically is really the person heor she claims to be? What should we do if Web sites we wish to visit ask usto accept “cookies” which nest in our personal computers and carry out actionswe are not aware of? Who can guarantee that they are not harming our computersor us?

Are we sure that our personal or professional e-mail is not being readby people who are unauthorized to do so? How reliable are the automaticsummaries or the automatic translations, which our decisions are based on?How responsibly will the software stock agents handle our personal moneywhen we allow them to buy and sell stocks for us? All of us who use theInternet for information and communication will be able to give more examplesfrom our personal and professional lives. In the following, we want to discussthe problems of uncertainty and the construction of trust in two main areas:electronic information markets and intelligent software agents, whose growinginfluence will become more and more relevant for human information work.

Information machines

We have all learned in the early days of our childhood how to build up trusttowards other people. As a species we have some 100,000 years of pertinentexperience. This may be considered the basis of personal ethics. How wecompensate for information deficiencies with respect to abstract systems such asadministration or money, or with respect to technical systems such as aeroplanes,we also have learned more or less satisfactorily with some 1,000 to 100 yearsof experience. But we have not yet mastered how to handle informationmachines in a comparable situation of uncertainty. Information machines aremore abstract than their technical, mechanical or organizational counterparts.Yet they carry out actions which are more directly related to our daily lives.They intrude very far into what has traditionally been considered the privilegeddomain of humans as opposed to other animate beings: the domain of intellectualknowledge and intelligent actions.

Consequently, we must ask ourselves what the delegation of informationwork to information machines means for our self-understanding and our identity:will it mean a major alienation, even more severe than the alienation from non-autonomous work? Will it create a spatial and temporal discontinuity in ourlives, which is even more dramatic than that produced by abstract and technicalsystems? To put it in a nutshell: is the intelligent agent – to mention only thisexample of an elaborated information machine – more influential in our dailylives than the television set, the automobile or the aeroplane? How shall wejudge the agent’s influence when he/she/it (?) not only solves informationproblems but also defines our information problems by watching us and makinginferences about our needs? The situation is all the more dramatic because weoften understand less about information systems and their principles andfunctions than we do about abstract and technical systems.

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Information uncertainty in electronic markets and network services

Within the framework of this paper we cannot discuss the basic anthropologicalquestion of what consequences the delegation of information work to informationmachines will have for human autonomy. Rather we would like to elaborate onsome examples of informational insecurity which occur in electronic informationmarkets and how this uncertainty can be reduced by trust mechanisms. Thediscussion can be divided into two main parts:

Two major concerns for users are:• how trust can be established in the correctness and the relevance of

the information which is provided by the systems, and• how they may be confident that their personal information, which will

inevitably be given to the providers in the process of interaction, willnot be misused.

Providers also have many problems of uncertainty and consequently trust,which stem from the fact that they usually do not have sufficient informationabout their customers. Not only does this make marketing very difficult but italso makes it difficult to establish trust in business relations. Although it is notour main concern here, it is worth mentioning that a serious market problemarises when it is at the same time easier and easier to achieve customer informationelectronically and harder and harder to achieve social acceptance for this kind ofinformation gathering. Business in this respect, as we will see later, will have towork on trust-building mechanisms; otherwise information-gathering will beimpossible.

Information-based insecurity of users

Information is not a one-way street. Even passive or receptive information situationsproduce information traces, which may be of interest to others, who may use them,without authorization, for purposes unknown or even unacceptable to the originaldata producers. Very often users of informatics systems and visitors to electronicmarket places are not aware of how extensively personal interaction data is beingcollected and made accessible to third parties of whom the original users are notaware. The “public” arena of information markets in their present anarchic stateis widely opaque.

Lack of transparency and lack of acceptable control mechanisms influencethe thinking and behaviour of users with respect to private and professionalinformation services. The more or less uncontrolled use of personal interactiondata puts the (already 30-year old) debate on data protection in a new perspective.Privacy will become a major trust-building concept and the basis for an infor-mation-market ethics. [Belloto 1997, 67] proposes to ensure privacy by meansof access control. Access control refers to the ability of information users to keep

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a check on their own outgoing (interaction) data and, equally, to keep a checkon the process of incoming data. Privacy may be defined as a capability todetermine what one wants to reveal and how accessible one wants to be.“Access control seems thus to be a necessary requisite for the construction oftrust in electronic market systems: users must be able to know (have feedback)about and control the consequences of their interactions with technology interms of how visible and accessible they and their information are to others”[Bellotto 1997, 68].

This basis of trust in the sense of access control is not available in electronicmarkets at the moment. There is widespread uncertainty in the public about themechanisms of data collection and the unauthorized use of information. Users,for example, do not trust providers’ assurance that “cookies” will be used onlyfor internal statistical purposes. They are often not even informed that this kindof information invasion is taking place. More sophisticated observationtechniques will be available very soon, not only in the “real” world by the useof laser voice detection or of electronic mini-video drones which fly around inour private space watching us, but also increasingly in the virtual electronicworld of information markets. These unknown procedures will undermine thebasis of trust necessary for personal and commercial transactions. The destructionof trust in the virtual market is not all that different from that in real life.

Trust as an economic factor

To what extent this kind of informational insecurity will hinder people fromtaking advantage of the information- and transaction-related services of theInternet is not known. We have no empirical data concerning the consequencesof this destruction of trust. But the problem, of course, has been recognized bythe information economy. Unlimited information gathering cannot be consideredan accepted business practice. Astonishingly (or understandably) enough, theacceptance of information goods and services does not depend primarily onobjective system performance criteria (these are more or less opaque andincomprehensible anyway) but on the extent to which trust can be establishedin them. Trust is an “as-if” event. What counts is not the quasi-objective data(although these, too, need to be made public) but our personal understandingand our emotions towards the systems and services in question. Trust is alreadya success factor for electronic markets, and the construction of trust will turninto a business itself.

Trust, originally a very personal, even intimate concept of every-day life,has become a trade-mark of the market. Trust has become a business forcompanies, which guarantee – for a price – data protection, data security, privacyand access control, all factors of information self-determination. Trust-buildingperformance, even trust-software, is already a competitive factor on electronic(information) markets. The founding and spreading of enterprises such asTrustee is a consequence of this “trust business”. In most cases, these trustcompanies are an initiative of the information economy itself. What they do is

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provide companies which are active providers on the electronic markets withan electronic quality stamp, hopefully after an intensive checking process, whichis designed to produce confidence in customers. It certifies that the companiesin question pursue an open information gathering policy, that is, that they havea transparent information policy.

This trust-ensuring quality stamp is considered to be a substitute, acompensation for our individual inability to control the companies’ informationbehaviour, in order to build, trust in their information practices. How do wehandle this delegation of trust-building? Is it only a marketing trick of theinformation industry? Should we trust it in a situation where suspicion and evenmistrust are more appropriate, since it is our most personal belongings, ourinformation and knowledge base, which are at stake? We will come back tothis question at the end of this paper. We believe that there is a need for otherinstruments of trust-building. Self-regulation is, of course, the most appropriatemeasure for all information markets and for handling the information ethicsproblems involved in them. But self-regulation does not necessarily mean thatwe leave it up to the commercially driven forces of the market to establishtrust. What we have learned from experience, in the United States in particularfrom the failure of the information decency act and from the debate about therights to cryptographic algorithmic software, is that, on the contrary, the stateand its institutions cannot be trusted in these personal matters either. Instead,we consider “webs of trust” the only adequate way to solve the problem oftrust-building.

Trust in agents

Information markets will be highly influenced by the advent of a new breed ofinformation machines, so-called intelligent software agents, which/who (?) are atthe moment however still in an experimental stage of development. They arebeing promoted in particular by the M.I.T. media lab. Software agents areautonomous, cooperative and mobile machines, which are equipped with knowl-edge about their owner/user and about the domain in which they are designedto operate. Agent technology is widely considered to be a very important toolfor overcoming the problems of information access, problems immediatelyevident to anyone, who tries to master the huge amount of information directlyaccessible to end-users by means of direct manipulation. As with the task ofestablishing trust on information markets we can distinguish between trust inagents from a user’s and from a provider’s point of view. Some people evenbelieve that trust is a challenge for the interaction between software agentsthemselves when they communicate in openly distributed systems.

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Trust in agents from a user’s point of view

Delegation of information work is always critically a matter of trust, especiallywhen transactions with financial consequences are involved. Delegation meanson principle a loss of personal control and produces a risk that the job, whichwas delegated, will not be carried out in the way it was intended to be. Wewant to emphasize the following critical points: insecurity about the correctnessof work done by information agents turns out to be particularly dramatic becauseit is almost impossible for the human user to trace the agent’s steps on its jour-ney through global networks or to know which kind of information it has givento other agents or systems, which may ultimately transmit to people of whomthe original user is not aware. While the danger of misuse of credit card infor-mation (the software agent may need the credit card or other financial means)is highly discussed, we believe the basic information problem is an even moresensitive one: the problem that other (unauthorized) parties may learn of thekind of information a person is interested in. This is quite obvious in a commercialenvironment, but it is also relevant in one’s private life to keep information, andinformation interests, personal and protected.

We consider other information problems even more relevant. How cana user be sure that the software agent will:

• achieve a reasonable degree of representation of information,• make a sound judgement about the truth-value of the information

gathered by the agent itself or with the help of other agents, and • be able to infer whether this information is really relevant for the

user?• have semantic and even pragmatic competence? And is it desirable

to provide machines with the kind of competence that ultimately maylead to a further loss of human information autonomy?

The problem of delegating information work has been solved in the pastby personal information assistants: librarians, information brokers, officers,managers. Their social and communicative competence was a sufficient basis forestablishing trust in their information behaviour and performance. But how canthis be achieved by machine information assistants, by software agents? Canagents be provided with social and communicative competence, and, if that isnot possible, what kinds of compensation mechanisms are needed to establishtrust in agents? Will emotional transfer be facilitated if agents are presented in away that is more appealing? Can the question of trust be reduced to a questionof design? Is it a must that agents, as many believe, should appear, anthropo-morphically, as pictures or cartoon human beings? Or is this counter-productive?If we want to achieve acceptance in the performance of software agents, thereis a feeling on the part of those involved in research and development that trustis the key factor. It is indeed so far not much more than a feeling. Agenttechnologists normally lack the competence to handle social questions of trust-building. Different means and different participation models are required, whichis again a task for webs of trust.

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Aspects of trust in agents on electronic markets from a provider’s point of view

The provider’s point of view is, as mentioned earlier, not the focus of thispaper. We merely wish to point out that agent technology will only be effectiveif market place owners or information service providers allow agents to entertheir electronic domain, where they can look for the information they aredesigned to seek. It is a fact that more and more providers are refusing to permitthem entry, with the effect that agents come back to the human user with themessage: “system was blocking out our agents”. Providers obviously do notbelieve that the agents will report objectively about their services. This is partlycorrect, as can be seen from the performance of a well-known agent such asBargainFinder, which makes buying decisions only on the basis of pricesneglecting other trust-relevant factors, considered by the provider to be morerelevant (such as customer service, business experience, reliability, etc.)

Trust among agents

Mobile agents are agents which, once released, can navigate more or less inde-pendently through electronic networks in order to solve the problems for whichthey are designed. Because they work independently, there is a need for anabsolutely safe identification procedure which will make it clear to what extentthe agents are allowed to use other computers’ power and services. Here again,Java technology produces situations of uncertainty when the Java byte code isintegrated into the local HTML code causing somewhat unpredictable actionsin the host computer. How can the host computer “trust” the invading agent?How can the agent trust that the computer will not do any harm to him/it? Isit even acceptable to apply concepts like trust, which are fundamentally socialin nature to the actions of soft- and hardware devices.

The same question arises in distributed agent systems, where agentsexchange information and work together cooperatively on complex tasks. If anagent has good reasons (based on experience or recommendations from otheragents) to trust another agent, it will be cooperative; otherwise it will have tocalculate the risk or will even avoid cooperation. Is this already the first steptowards an autonomous world of information machines? There are seriouspeople in philosophy who are already talking about an e-per (e-persons) ethicswhere information assistants/agents will have ethical rights and duties. All thismay be far away and beyond the reach of UNESCO’s mission in informationethics. But it is obvious that agents in a distributed cooperative environmentneed to know something about the competence and reliability of other agents.This might well be described in terms of trust. Researchers at M.I.T. havedeveloped a trust- or reputation-building mechanism (a so-called Better BusinessBureau) which agents in the Kasbah-system use for their work. Each time anagent has finished a job in a distributed environment, it writes a report aboutits experience with the other agents, judging their competence and reliability:

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how good was the information, how fast did they react, how secure was thefinancial transaction, and even how much he/it liked the contact with the otheragents. A new world of machine trust.

Conclusion

The debate on trust in electronic markets and for the use of software agentshas several dimensions.

We foresee a public debate in the near future – comparable to other globaldebates such as those about atomic energy, biogenetics, and environmentalpollution – on the question of whether and to what extent human informationautonomy and the human self-image as an intelligent being will be threatenedby increasingly delegating information work to information machines, of whichsoftware agents are only the beginning.

UNESCO should prepare for such a discussion and should not simplyreact to the currently dominant Internet topics. Electronic markets will be difficultto escape in the near future. In order to establish an environment, which is basedon mutual respect, and trust rather than on mistrust and suspicion, the followingproblems need to be solved in an appropriate way and by consensus.

Society must find compromises in defining principles for fair and openuse of information, which acknowledge both the right to individual privacy(defined as active and passive information self-determination) and the need forreasonable marketing strategies based on information about the consumers.Privacy is not the right to be left alone. There is a need for a symmetric informationrelation between providers and users rather than a secret information-gatheringmarketing policy. Mutual transparency is in the long run the best trust-buildingdevice. Electronic transaction processes and delegated information work arealways subject to potential mistrust and even “Angst”. There is a need for personal,media and organizational trust devices to compensate for the lack of informationand understanding.

Trust-building in general is a very complicated, and in the end, an ethicallybased process: trust is built up by dominant value systems and attitudes, whichhave traditionally been controlled and mediated by the political powers, themedia and many social organizations. Today, global electronic communicationforums on the Internet are developing into the media of the future and maythus become responsible for the construction of public opinion and consequentlypublic values.

Trust is also built up by an open information policy. Making public thebasic principles of information devices is important, even if a full understandingcannot be achieved by everyone. A special responsibility is incumbent oninformation experts, who are able to verify the reliability and truth-worthinessof information devices and market places. Trust as an “as-if”-procedure is alsobuilt up by delegating the responsibility for controlling information devices to

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trusted experts. Trust also depends on the actual experience of users. Trust ishard to create but easy to lose. Trust must be handled as a very precious good.

Trust-building also needs to be institutionalized, because personal expe-rience and delegated personal expertise are not always sufficiently available.Trust centres and commercial trust companies will be successful only if theycan achieve public acceptance beyond political and commercial interest. Theconcept of webs of trust, the consensual trust-building process between trustedexperts, is an appropriate means of institutionalized trust-building. Prominentinstitutions such as UNESCO can play an important role in establishing globalwebs of trust in all fields of information ethics, information markets andinformation devices and can keep them under control in an open environmentof mutual confidence. This may sound like Utopia, but it can indeed be a partof a realistic information policy.

References:

[Agre/Rotenberg 1997] P. E. Agre; M. Rotenberg (eds.): Technology and privacy: The new landscape. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, London, UK, 1997

[Bellotti 1997] V. Bellotti: Design for privacy in multimedia communicationsenvironments. In: [Agre-Rotenberg 1997], 63-98

[Brenner/Zarnekow/Wittig 1998] W. Brenner; R. Zarnekow; H. Wittig: IntelligenteSoftwareagenten. Grundlagen und Anwendungen. Springer: Berlin etc. 1998

[Burkert 1997] H. Burkert: Privacy-enhancing technologies: Typology, critique, vision.In: [Agre/Rotenberg 1997], 125-142

[Giddens 1990] A. Giddens: The consequences of modernity. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA: 1990

[Kuhlen 1995] R. Kuhlen: Informationsmarkt – Chancen und Risiken derKommerzialisierung von Wissen. Schriften zur Informationswissenschaft 15.Konstanz: Universitätsverlag Konstanz (UVK) 1995

[Samarajiva 1997] R. Samarajiva: Interactivity as though privacy mattered. In: [Agre/Rotenberg 1997] 277-309

[Reeves/Nass 1996] B. Reeves; C. Nass: The media equation. How people treatcomputers, television, and new media like real people and places. CambridgeUniversity Press 1996

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MARC ROTENBERGDirector, Electronic Privacy Information Center, United States of America

Preserving privacy in the information societyThe protection of privacy remains a central concern for democratic nations. The right ofprivacy is well-established in national law and international norms. Courts and commentatorshave made clear the value of this right for human dignity, personal autonomy and democraticself-governance. Yet governments today are struggling with new challenges to privacy.Technologies have created new threats, as well as new opportunities. Businesses have soughtto exploit the commercial value of personal identity. And systems of routinized surveillancehave become more widespread. What are the prospects for privacy in the twenty-first century?What is the role of governments and of citizens in the protection of privacy? What is the roleof UNESCO?

La protection de la vie privée dans la société de l’informationLa protection de la vie privée reste une préoccupation majeure des nations démocratiques. Le droit au respect de la vie privée est inscrit dans les législations nationales et dans lesnormes internationales. Les tribunaux comme les commentateurs n’ont pas manqué de soulignerle prix de ce droit à la dignité humaine, au libre-arbitre et à l’autonomie démocratique.Pourtant, aujourd’hui, les gouvernements se trouvent confrontés à de nouvelles formes d’atteintesà la vie privée. Les technologies, en ouvrant des possibilités inédites, ont dans le même tempscréé d’autres menaces. Le monde des affaires cherche à exploiter la valeur commerciale del’identité individuelle. Et les systèmes de surveillance automatique ne cessent de se répandre.Quel avenir le XXIe siècle réserve-t-il à la protection de la vie privée ? Quelle part lesgouvernements et les citoyens doivent-ils prendre à la protection de la vie privée ? Quel rôledoit jouer l’UNESCO en la matière ?

La protección de la vida privada en la sociedad de la informaciónLa protección de la vida privada sigue siendo una preocupación esencial para las nacionesdemocráticas. El derecho a la vida privada está bien establecido en las legislaciones nacionales y las normas internacionales. Los tribunales y comentaristas han puesto de mani-fiesto la importancia de este derecho para la dignidad humana, la autonomía personal y laindependencia democrática. No obstante, actualmente los gobiernos deben hacer frente a nuevosretos relacionados con la protección de la vida privada. Las tecnologías han creado nuevasamenazas, así como nuevas posibilidades. Las empresas procuraron explotar el valor comercialde la identidad personal, y han proliferado los sistemas de vigilancia rutinaria. ¿Cuáles son lasperspectivas para la intimidad en el siglo XXI? ¿Cuáles son las funciones del gobierno y delciudadano en la protección de la vida privada? ¿Qué papel ha de desempeñar la UNESCO?

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Introduction

The right of privacy is well-established in international law. The core privacyprinciple in modern law may be found in the Universal Declaration of HumanRights. Article 12 of the Declaration states “No one shall be subjected to arbitraryinterference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacksupon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of thelaw against such interference or attacks”. The United Nations Guidelines for theRegulation of Computerized Personal Data Files (1990) set out Fair InformationPractices and recommend the adoption of national guidelines to protect personalprivacy.

Appropriately, the United Nations Guidelines note that a derogation fromthese principles “may be specifically provided for when the purpose of the fileis the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the individualconcerned or humanitarian assistance”. More generally, the protection of privacyis considered a fundamental human right, indispensable to the protection ofliberty and democratic institutions. William Pfaff made this point well whenhe wrote recently, “The defining characteristic of totalitarianism is its assaulton privacy. The individual in a totalitarian state is deprived of privacy in orderto destroy his or her liberty”. At this Congress we are asked to explore the ethicaland legal dimension of cyberspace and to identify a set of core principles topromote democracy and empower citizens. This effort could lead to specificrecommendations for UNESCO. Our specific task is to consider protection ofprivacy and human rights in the Digital Age. To address this challenge, it isnecessary to review what we know about the protection of privacy, what weknow about threats to privacy, and what we do not know about the future ofprivacy protection. Then we should consider the competing views of government,the private sector and citizens’ organizations as to how we should proceed. Finally,we must review our fundamental concerns as citizens and representatives oforganizations involved with matters of human rights and outline a plan for futureaction.

What we know about the protection of privacy

The protection of privacy is not a new subject. It has multiple dimensions anda well-established history. Among its key characteristics is the recognition thatprivacy is a fundamental human right, that it is firmly established in law, and

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that Fair Information Practices provided a useful articulation of privacyprinciples in the information world.

Privacy as a fundamental human right

Philosophers and ethicists have described privacy as an indispensablecharacteristic of personal freedom. Privacy is associated with autonomy, dignity,spirituality, trust and liberty. References to the value of private life may befound in the Bible, the history of Periclean Athens, as well as the history andculture of many peoples around the world. The American jurist Louis Brandeisdescribed privacy as “the right to be let alone” and as “the most fundamentalof all rights cherished by a free people” in a famous article on the Right toPrivacy (1890). Brandeis noted that French law provided relief for invasionsof private life and urged the adoption of a similar legal right in the commonlaw countries. The right was first recognized in the United States in a 1902case in the state of Georgia. Since that time courts in the United States andaround the world have often allowed individual plaintiffs to seek legal reme-dies for invasions of private life.

In the realm of information technology, the right of privacy has focusedon the ability of individuals to control the collection and use of personalinformation held by others. A German court has described this as the right of“informational self-determination.” This right is often articulated as fairinformation practices and codified in civil law.

The right of privacy is established in law

The right of privacy is well-established in international and national law.Following the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948of which Article 12 speaks directly to the issue of privacy, similar provisionswere adopted in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, theEuropean Convention on Human Rights, and other regional conventions andagreements. At the national level, most governments have a general right ofprivacy set out in their Constitutions. Privacy rights have also been establishedby means of case law and enactment of legislatures. Such laws typically seekto protect privacy in a particular context, such as laws that protect the privacyof communication by limiting the circumstances in which police may undertakewiretapping or when a merchant may sell personal data. (A new survey availablefrom Privacy International describes the current state of privacy protectionaround the globe. Information about the survey is available on the Internet athttp://www.privacy.org/pi/ and http://www.gilc.org/)

Interestingly, the integration of the European countries and the creationof the European Union have underscored the clear establishment of privacy asa legal claim. The European Union Data Directive resulted from the need tocarry forward certain legal rights even as the legal and economic arrangementamong the European governments was undergoing a substantial transformation.

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The effort in Europe to extend legal frameworks for privacy protection hasencouraged similar efforts in East Asia, North America and Latin America. Thatprivacy protection remains a central concern for governments on the eve of thetwenty-first century is a significant indication of the importance of this funda-mental human right.

Fair information practices

Privacy principles are often articulated as “Fair Information Practices”. FairInformation Practices set out the rights of those who provide their ownpersonally identifiable information and the responsibilities of those who collectthis information. Although there is no fixed agreement on what specific principlesconstitute Fair Information Practices, there is general agreement about the typesof principles that are likely to be included in them. These include the right of anindividual to limit the collection and use of personal information, to obtain accessto the information when it is collected, to inspect it and to correct it if necessary,transparency, and to have some means of accountability or enforcement to ensurethat the practices will be respected. The responsibilities of data collectors includethe obligation to maintain security of the information, to ensure that the data isaccurate, complete and reliable so that inappropriate determinations about anindividual are not made. Some commentators have recently proposed that FairInformation Practices should also include such principles as the right to anonymityand minimization of data collection. Fair Information Practices provide the basicstructure of most privacy laws and polices found around the world. They can beseen in such general agreements as the OECD Privacy Guidelines of 1980 aswell as more detailed legal code as the Subscriber Privacy provision containedin the US Cable Act of 1984. Current efforts to establish privacy protection forthe Internet typically focus on the application of Fair Information Practices toInternet-based transactions.

What we know about threats to privacy

The threats to privacy came from multiple sources. They can be broadly clas-sified as technologic threats, threats from government action and threats fromthe private sector and commercial services.

Technology threatens privacy

In the modern era, technology has long been viewed as the source of manyprivacy concerns. But the relationship between technology and surveillance isnot a simple one. Technology takes on certain forms and may lead to theadoption of new systems for surveillance by a process that might almost beunderstood as a dialectic between the purposeful creation of a particular systemfor surveillance, the subsequent development of a means for such surveillancenot previously considered, and then the resulting creation of a new purposeful

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system for surveillance. It would be tempting to view this process, as almostautonomous, but human accountability should not be ignored in any system ofsurveillance. Among the key characteristics of technology in the surveillancerealm are amplification, routing and sublimation. Amplification refers to theability of technology to extend the ability to gather information and intrudeinto private life. Examples of amplification are linked directly to the sensoryabilities. A zoom lens on a camera allows a reporter to see further and recordevents that might not otherwise be observed. A listening device permits a policeagent to intercept and overhear a private communication. New techniques forthe detection of heat behind walls make it possible for police to determinewhether growing lamps are in use inside a home, possibly indicating the presenceof marijuana.

Techniques for amplification invariably also capture information over andbeyond that which may be justified by the initial inquiry. A paparazzo’s lensturned on a celebrity may capture a private or personal moment. A listeningdevice installed by a police officer to monitor the activities of criminals may alsorecord the conversations of innocents. The device to detect heat behind wallsmay detect two people making love upstairs as well as the marijuana lampslocated downstairs. There is considerable debate about whether it is appropriateto regulate amplification techniques. While it is true that some of these methodsintrude into private life, it is also clearly the case that such technologies havebeneficial applications. Regulating the technique rather than the activity inevitablyraises the danger of criminalizing behaviour that might otherwise be consideredpermissible. Thus one of the first lessons of legislating to protect privacy is theneed to focus on the underlying activity and not the technology itself.

Routinization is the process of making intrusion into private life an ongoingprocess. Here technology is used to establish a pattern or practice of surveillance.Again it is possible to conceive of both appropriate and inappropriate forms ofroutinized surveillance. A camera trained on a bank cashier’s desk is probablyan appropriate use of surveillance technology as it provides protection to boththe bank and the customer in the case of a robbery or simple dispute. However,a camera placed in the changing room of a department store would be more prob-lematic. While it could be argued that the purpose of the camera is to detershoplifting and lessen the unnecessary costs to the merchants, customers are likelyto find a camera in a changing room is simply too intrusive.

Techniques for routinization are increasingly combined with methods forrecording so that a camera trained on a street corner now routinely records allactivities that are viewed and a phone line for a service representative routinelyrecords all conversations with customers. We are still in the early stages ofincorporating new techniques in the realm of routinized surveillance, but itshould be anticipated that the next stage in theses systems will be the adoptionof methods for processing information so that it would be possible for thecamera in an airport to view the facial profiles of passengers in a terminal,compare these images with a massive database of facial profiles, and determinein virtually real-time the actual identity of individuals in the terminal.

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Sublimation is the means by which a technique for privacy invasionbecomes increasingly difficult to detect. Hidden cameras, listening devices andsimilar data gathering techniques are particularly problematic, because there islittle opportunity for the data subject to escape detection and frequently littleopportunity in the political realm to challenge the desirability of such techniques.Illegal wire surveillance by law enforcement agencies is a long-standing privacyconcern, in part because it is so difficult to detect, to assess, and to challenge.While technology is not required for an invasion of privacy, the ability of tech-niques to amplify, routinize and sublimate surveillance has raised some of thegreatest privacy concerns.

Governments threaten privacy

Many of the most serious threats to privacy come from government. In the mostextreme form, when a government arrests and imprisons a person it has deniedthe individual the dignity of privacy almost absolutely. Government can alsodiminish privacy through schemes for compelled identification, drug testing,physical searches of one’s home or person, database profiling, genetic testingand polygraph examinations to name just a few. Government threats to privacyare particularly problematic, because once they are established, citizens havelittle choice but to comply. There are no alternatives to a requirement for nationalidentity, or drug testing as a condition for public employment.

Actions by government that have provoked the most outrage often involveproposals for national identity, census enumeration and recently proposals toregulate the use of privacy enhancing techniques such as encryption.

Transparency, which is a laudable goal for the functioning of democraticsociety, takes on a different meaning in the context of government surveillance.Governments often seek a “transparent citizenry”, a populus whose actions arereadily identifiable and easily monitored.

Corporations threaten privacy

Corporations threaten privacy in a variety of ways. In the workplace, corpora-tions seek to exert greater control over workers through a variety of monitoringand surveillance practices. Such practices include the monitoring of telephonecalls and computer use, the video surveillance of changing rooms and bathrooms,drug testing and polygraphs. More generally, corporations threaten privacy inthe marketplace through the extraction of commercial value from consumersin their personally identified transactions. It is no longer sufficient for customersto offer payment for goods and services. They must now also provide personaldetails that can then be used by companies for subsequent purposes. Somerequests are necessary and appropriate for a particular transaction. For example,a person who wishes an item to be shipped to his or her home should expectto provide a home mailing address. In many more areas data collections areunrelated to a particular purpose.

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This process of extracting commercial value in the marketplace might becalled the “common of identity”. Efforts to limit this process focus on eitherregulatory restrictions on the collection of information or technical means topromote commercial transactions that do not require the disclosure of personallyidentifiable information. In summary, the danger with corporations is theemergence of the “transparent worker” or the “transparent consumer,” individualswho, because of their economic relations with private corporations, arecompelled to disclose aspects of their personal lives they might otherwise chooseto keep private. Transparency in this relation, as in the relation with governmentin the context of surveillance, is one-sided. It is not the transparency of a window,but that of a one-way mirror.

What we do not know

While the right of privacy and the threats to privacy are fairly well understood,there is much we do not know.

Whether the Internet will provide greater privacy or less

It remains an open question at this point whether the Internet will see a signifi-cant increase or decrease in privacy. There is certainly a strong case that theInternet will usher in a new era of massive, routinized surveillance. It is possiblewith the current protocols for Internet communication to record virtually everyactivity of Internet users, the information they receive, the people theycommunicate with, their preferences and their predilections. Such extensivedata collection is far more intrusive than was possible in the previous era ofbroadcast communication or in typical commercial relations. In the broadcastera, recipients of information were largely anonymous. In typical commercialrelations, information is usually obtained only once a purchase occurs.

There are also strong commercial incentives on the Internet to reduceprivacy. Many of the current business models are based on the concepts of“personalization” and “one-to-one marketing” that require far more knowledgeabout individual preferences and buying habits than was previously availablein a mass market commercial environment. Many websites today offer to“personalize” their display for users or ask extensive questions about a user’sinterest before any commercial relationship has been established. The technicalmethods of the Internet come together with the personalization marketing goalsin the implementation of such protocols as “cookies”, which allow the trackingof users across various websites and the targeting of commercial advertising.Elaborate “ad servers” create customized advertising on a website for a particularuser based on what is known about the user from other websites he or she hasvisited. These techniques make it a real possibility that what is viewed on acomputer screen in one’s home could be known to almost anyone anywhere inthe world.

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It cannot however be ignored that the Internet provides a platform fornew forms of communication and interaction that can literally build in privacysafeguards. The use of encryption techniques in browser software, for example,permits the transfer of credit card numbers and other personally identifiableinformation in a secure manner. Anonymous payment techniques would allowcommerce without the disclosure of personally identifiable information.Anonymous e-mailers make possible the sending of messages without requiringthe disclosure of the sender’s identity.

Whether these new techniques for privacy will get the upper hand in theonline world remains to be seen. There are government objections to these tech-niques, as well as strong commercial incentives to minimize anonymous activity.But for the first time it is possible to conceive of a technological environmentthat properly designed could provide new levels of privacy protection.

Whether legal safeguards will survive globalization

One of the great challenges to privacy protection is only partially technical innature. The growth of the Internet has coincided with the increased globaliza-tion of world trade, the rise of the European Union, the diminished ability ofcentral banks to control currency markets, and even the question of whetherindividual nation-states can effectively exercise their sovereign authority. In thisenvironment, it has become commonplace to simply assert that national govern-ments will be unable to exercise any legal control over the Internet and alsothat current law is unlikely to have much of an impact in this digital world.But this view is wrong in at least two respects. First, governments do in factexercise a great deal of control, regardless of what the “cyber-intelligentsia”claim. Internet disputes are resolved in real courts and computer criminals arethrown into real jails. Second, as the Internet has become more commercialand more mainstream, the reliance on traditional legal institutions has increasednot diminished. There are no formal methods for adjudication in cyberspaceand thus governments and private parties have turned naturally to traditionalmeans for dispute resolution and the prosecution of harmful acts.

Third, and perhaps most significantly, governments have found that wherethere are interests that should be protected, collective action can be taken at thesupra-national level to protect these interests. Thus, for example, national govern-ments, particularly the United States, have moved aggressively to establish inter-national agreements to protect copyright in the digital environment. The WorldIntellectual Property Organization, the World Trade Organization, the BerneConvention all reflect the ability of national governments to act collectively toprotect interests that may be damaged by the emergence of digital networks orthe increase in global trade.

In many respects, privacy protection anticipates the problem of protectionacross national borders. Indeed, the OECD Privacy Guidelines were a directresponse to questions about privacy and transborder data-flows. Further, theData Directive of the European Union is a clear attempt to harmonize protection

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0across national borders. While it is not clear if national legal norms will survivethis process of globalization, it is clear that a good foundation is already inplace.

Whether law is a sufficient instrument to protect privacy

For much of the history of privacy law, the relationship between law and techno-logy was understood as a simple equation: technology creates the risk to privacy,it is the role of law to protect privacy against this incursion of technology. Thusprivacy law has been established to control the use of personal informationcollected by means of computerized databases, private conversations overheadthrough telephone networks. Although it has sometimes been said that technologyoutpaces the law, raising the question of whether the law can operate effectivelyin a technological environment, it should be noted that legal standards basedon fair information practices, rather than the regulation of particular techniques,have actually withstood the test of time fairly well. Thus the US Privacy Act of1974 is still operational a quarter of a century later and the OECD Guidelinesof 1980 continue to exert enormous influence on the shaping of privacy practicesalmost two decades after their adoption. Thus the current discussion regardingthe OECD Guidelines is not about updating or revising the principles, but ratherapplying them in the new information environment. However, given theopportunity that the Internet provides for new technical solutions for privacyprotections, it is worth considering how such methods might be developed andadopted.

Whether new technology can protect privacy

The limitations of law have renewed the focus on technical methods to protectprivacy, but it remains unclear as to whether technology can provide a compre-hensive solution. It is necessary in the first instance to distinguish betweengenuine technical means to protect privacy and those technical means that infact promote collection of personally identifiable information. PrivacyEnhancing Technologies (PET) are generally understood to be those that limitor eliminate the collection of personally identifiable information. Such methodsinclude techniques for anonymous and pseudo-anonymous payment, commu-nication, and Web access. By limiting the collection of personal information,these approaches provide for transactions which avoid the creation of personalinformation. By analogy to the environmental context, this would be much likethe design of an engine that generated no pollutants. Privacy ExtractingTechniques (~PET) typically create a technological framework that facilitatesthe disclosure of personal information, often without any assurance of protectionor legal safeguards. These techniques which are often confused with true PETsare put forward by commercial firms and others as a “technical solution” toprivacy, when they are in fact designed to make it easier to obtain personaldata. Whether new technology can protect privacy will thus depend on severalfactors, including progress in the development of these techniques, their

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acceptance by consumers and others, and the ability to discern actual methodsfor privacy protection from those that are likely to erode privacy protectionfurther.

What we are asked to consider

A variety of arguments are put forward about how to address these new privacychallenges. Here I summarize the main characteristics of these claims.

The Private sector

The private sector argues that market systems and new technology provide newopportunities to protect privacy that do not require regulation or the rule of law.They believe that it is possible to use contract-based interactions to negotiateprivacy preferences. These preferences, they believe, will vary from individualto individual and circumstance to circumstance. Techniques to implement thisapproach include P3P, the Platform for Privacy Preferences. P3P is a technicalstandard that allows a Web client or user to articulate a privacy preference anda Web server to specify the level of privacy that will be respected. When a clientcontacts a server a negotiation takes place between the two to establish the rules.If the client’s privacy preferences can be accommodated by the server, then thesession will begin. If the server will not accommodate the client’s privacypreferences, then the client can decide whether to continue or not.

A related approach is trust labels, which provide a visible image on aWeb page that is linked to a privacy policy. There is no assurance with the sealthat any particular privacy policy will be implemented, but the seal does providea readily identifiable link to a company’s privacy policy. An example of thisprogramme is Trustee. There is also an effort underway among the BetterBusiness Bureau in the United States, the European Commission, and theJapanese Government to develop new privacy labels for the Internet. There aremany problems with the so-called “self-regulatory” approach to privacy protection.Fundamentally the initiatives eliminate any baseline requirement for privacyprotection and eviscerate currently established privacy rights and norms. Oneof the consequences of the contract approach is to exclude from certain activitiesindividuals who express high or even moderate privacy preferences. Thus theproblem of discrimination against those who wish to exercise a privacy rightemerges. Privacy laws, which generally recognize a principle of fair or lawfulobtaining of personal information, would generally not permit such an open-ended negotiation.

There is also the interesting question of whether negotiating privacyrelations is actually efficient as the economic argument presumes. Consider theapplication of a negotiated privacy protection to the current regime of telephonecommunication. Such an approach would require individuals to consider at thetime of each call how much privacy they desire and then determine whetherthe recipient of the communication, or for that matter, the communication carrier,

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will respect the individual’s privacy preference. On first pass, a call to a doctormay require a high privacy preference. A conversation with a friend may requirea moderate privacy, while a call to a merchant may be only a low privacy need.What if the call to the doctor is only to confirm the time of a previouslyscheduled appointment, while the call to a merchant is to purchase a surprise giftfor a family member?

Such a negotiation over privacy preferences in routine telephone communi-cations would certainly introduce new transaction costs. Moreover, it would tendto squeeze out the high level of protection that all telephone users currently enjoyfor telephone calls of all purposes. Serious doubts remain about the private sectorclaim that privacy can be adequately protected by self-regulatory means.Moreover, the self-regulatory approach is likely to result in a substantial reductionin the protection of privacy.

Government

The government often emphasizes the benefits of new technology to protectpublic safety and to promote efficient administration. One of the most prob-lematic recent debates concerns the use of CCTV. The government argumentis that these cameras placed on street corners reduce the incidence of crime bysubjecting individuals to ongoing surveillance.

Governments have also proposed means of national identity to promotethe efficient administration of services. In the development of these new meansfor monitoring the activity of citizens, government might acknowledge a privacyconcern but are unlikely to allow it to substantially change or preempt thedevelopment of such systems. Privacy is sometimes accommodated so as tolegitimate a new system for social surveillance.

Citizens’ groups

Citizens’ groups argue that our primary concern should be to extend fundamen-tal legal norms to the new digital world. The Global Internet Liberty Campaign(GILC), a coalition of more than 50 NGOs in 20 countries, took action on thequestion of the citizens’ rights to use cryptography and other technical methodsto protect personal privacy when the subject was under consideration by theOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 1996. The matterof government efforts to regulate the use of encryption was already a contro-versial matter, particularly among users of the Internet. A noted cryptographerPhil Zimmerman faced prosecution in the United States for the alleged distributionof cryptographic techniques, that were then considered by United States exportregulation to be a munition requiring a license. Internet organizations organizedcampaigns against the prosecution of Zimmerman and the restrictions on the useof encryption. These campaigns invariably emphasized the excesses of govern-ment control in this area.

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But it was the GILC that first clearly articulated the basis for this claimas a matter of international legal norms. The organization issued a Resolutionin Support of the Freedom to Use Cryptography in Paris that stated at the outsetthat “the use of cryptography implicates human rights and matters of personalliberty that affect individuals around the world”, and further that “the privacyof communication is explicitly protected by Article 12 of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civiland Political Rights, and national law”. On the basis of these norms, the GILCurged the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to base itscryptography policies “on the fundamental right of citizens to engage in privatecommunication”. The Cryptography Guidelines of the OECD included aprinciple on Protection of Privacy and Personal Data that stated “The funda-mental rights of the individuals to privacy, including secrecy of communicationsand protection of personal data, should be respected in national cryptographypolicies and the implementation and use of cryptographic methods”.

What should guide our actions

Faced with these new challenges to privacy, and these competing views of howbest to protect privacy, how should we proceed? If we were primarily concernedwith the economic benefits of our actions, we might ask which course wouldprovide the most short-term commercial gain. But as our focus is on theprinciples of human rights and the life of the citizen in the Information Societyas a full participant with meaningful claims in the political world, we shouldtake a different approach.

First, we should accept the premise that law has a fundamental role in theprotection of human rights and democratic institutions. While it is an imperfectinstrument, it also establishes the principle that all people in all countries of theworld, regardless of wealth or social status, are entitled to certain essential free-doms and one of these freedoms is the protection of private life. Law not onlyimbues citizens with the rights that are necessary for self-governance, it alsoprovides the legitimacy that allows others to rely on a legal system for redress.

Second, we should not adopt a view of technology that it is autonomousor stands apart from the actions of specific individuals or institutions. AsThomas Edison said, “What man creates with his hand, he should control withhis head”. We should call for accountability from those who develop systemsof surveillance while at the same exercising our own responsibility to engagethe political process to seek technical methods that advance the aims of privacyprotection.

In the end, we must side with the interests of the citizen. Neither govern-ments nor corporations are in much need of political assistance these days. Bothcan take care of their interests with great efficiency. But citizens and citizens’organizations must continue to engage the political process if the rights of theindividual are to be preserved in the on-line world.

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What we should do

We have learned in recent years that privacy is more than a subject for debateamong academics. It is a matter of personal concern that has often resulted indirect political action. Citizens in Australia have taken to the streets to protesta national identity card. In Germany, the population objected to a nationalcensus. In the United States, users of the Internet expressed their opposition toefforts by the government to limit the availability of strong techniques to protectpersonal privacy. Currently, the members of the Global Internet LibertyCampaign are organizing in more than 30 countries to end the treatment ofencryption as a munition so that it could be more widely available to protectthe privacy of citizens.

The protection of privacy is increasingly a call to political action.

Reaffirm support for fundamental legal instruments

There is a tendency in all discussions of cyberspace to imagine that our societyhas gone directly from the era of the horse-drawn cart to the age of spaceexploration with hardly a step in between. But of course, the history of commu-nications technology is made up of stages, during which timely issues such astechnological change, internationalization, the role of law and technical standardswere considered. The protection of privacy is one of the issues that has beenconsidered previously during technological developments and it would be wiseto recognize and understand earlier efforts to address this issue.

Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the OECDGuidelines, the United Nations Conventions, and other similar documents areall still relevant to the current effort to preserve privacy in the informationsociety. Indeed, these documents may provide the best, most well-informedconsideration to date of how best to protect this fundamental human right inlight of technological change.

Thus the starting point for an international effort to protect privacy in ournew on-line world should be to reaffirm support for international instrumentson privacy protection.

Assert the applicability of legal norms across national borders

A second effort would be to assert the applicability of legal norms acrossnational borders. Although it may be fashionable to speak about the Internetas a “regulation-free zone”, in fact there is plenty of regulation for the Internet,except not enough to protect the privacy of its inhabitants. Users of the Internethave at least as much right to claim a legal right to protect their personality asauthors and holders of copyright have to claim a legal right in their artisticworks. The creation of the borderless cyberspace has not slowed the call forthe adoption of new laws to protect digital works; it should not slow the effortto adopt new safeguards for the digital persona. The protection of privacy across

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national borders benefits in particular from the establishment of internationallegal norms, such as Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,as well as previous efforts to promote the transborder flow of information whilerespecting the privacy of the individual as was the aim of the OECD Guidelinesof 1980. It would be a grave mistake for UNESCO and the human rightscommunity generally to turn its back on these well-established legal norms andleave the protection of privacy to the cold logic of the marketplace and thetechnical methods that are intended to promote the disclosure of greater amountsof personal data.

Promote the development of technology to protect privacy

While we should not lessen our efforts to ensure the effective application ofprivacy rights across national borders, neither should we ignore the possibilitythat technology may provide some solutions to the protection of privacy. Buthere we should be careful to distinguish between means that in fact protectprivacy and those that merely appear to. In the first instance, the best form ofprivacy protection by technological means is that which ensures anonymoustransactions. Anonymity is the ideal privacy technology, because it avoids thecreation and collection of personally identifiable information. Anonymity existsby custom and practice in many contexts today. Travel, communication,commerce, as well as the receipt of information typically occur with a highdegree of anonymity, at least to the extent that the actual identity of the personon the sidewalk, at the payphone, at the lunch counter, the reader of a maga-zine or the viewer of a television programme is rarely known.

Techniques for anonymity should be robust, trustworthy, and simple toimplement in routine commercial transactions. All reasonable efforts should bemade to promote the development and adoption of techniques for anonymityand related approaches for the protection of actual identity. This defence ofanonymity is not intended to promote the life of the hermit or to discouragesocial relations. Quite the opposite. A strong right of anonymity gives individualsthe opportunity to choose freely with whom to share aspects of personality andto form bonds of trust. Anonymity is not a description of a static state. It is arather the starting point for a dynamic, evolving series of social relations thatderive their authenticity and value from the opportunity for each individual tochoose his or her friends, colleagues, neighbours and lovers.

In the second instance, the next best form of privacy protection by techno-logical means is that which ensures the application and enforcement of FairInformation Practices. For example, techniques that allow individuals to limitthe use of data, to gain access to their own data, and to make corrections whereappropriate should be encouraged as they seek to establish by technical meansthose rights and responsibilities that would otherwise be accomplished in law.

The least desirable means to protect privacy by technology are thoseproposals that encourage individuals to enter into negotiation for the purposeof obtaining consent for the collection and use of personal data. Such techniques

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have no independent privacy component and simply offer a framework formarket-based transaction to prevail over privacy claims. Such techniques maybe appropriate for the purchase of soap or shoes but they are hardly compatiblewith the protection of fundamental human rights that are well established inlaw.

Encourage citizen participation in decision-making

Lastly, it is important to emphasize that the active and meaningful participationof citizens in the decision-making process is the procedural consideration thatshould guide the development of all law and policy concerning the developmentof the Information Society. Such interests are invariably underrepresented indecisions taken by national and international governing bodies. No group has agreater stake in the protection of privacy than the new inhabitants of cyberspace.Let us enjoy the benefits of the future while preserving the freedoms of ourpast. That is the promise and the challenge of the Information Society.

References:

Agre and Rotenberg, Technology and Privacy: The New Landscape (MIT Press 1997),

Bennet, Regulating Privacy (University of Illinois 1992), EPIC web site[www.epic.org],

Gandy, The Panoptic Sort: A Political Economy of Personal Information (1993),Global Internet Liberty Campaign website [www.gilc.org],Privacy International website [www.privacy.org/pi/],Rotenberg, The Privacy Law Sourcebook (EPIC 1998)

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ROHAN SAMARAJIVADirector-General of Telecommunications, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Sri Lanka

Trust and privacy in cyberspace: A view from Asia In many developed countries, the discussion of electronic commerce is taking place in thecontext of almost universal connectivity to the basic telecommunication networks. The problemof these societies accustomed for decades to interactions in the “virtual space” of the telephonenetwork is one of proceeding to transactions and deeper relationships. In most countries of theSouth, basic telecommunications connectivity is still a distant goal. As a result the trust, privacyand security issues take on a very different complexion in these countries. In the United States,studies showed that the telephone company was one of the most trusted institutions in society.But the unregulated, inefficient, monopoly, government-owned telecommunications providers inmost of Asia do not have that legacy. Because of poor service, corruption and related factors,they may be among the least trusted institutions in these societies. Therefore, designers ofelectronic commerce systems will have to approach the problem in novel ways. Privacy, definedas the ability to control the limits of social relationships, is a basic human trait that takes differ-ent forms depending on the cultural context. Access information (e.g. telephone numbers) that isjealously guarded in developed Western economies, is looked at differently in settings such asSri Lanka. The overall problem is one of building trust in different social, economic and culturalcontexts. The Sri Lankan case can shed light on this problem.

Confidentialité, sécurité et respect de la vie privée dans le cyberespace : le point de vue d’un asiatiqueDans les pays développés, le débat sur la question du commerce électronique prend placedans un milieu où le raccordement au réseau de télécommunications de base est presqueuniversel. Le problème, pour ces sociétés accoutumées depuis des décennies aux interactionsdans « l’espace virtuel » du réseau téléphonique, est de passer du stade de transactions à desrelations plus approfondies. Dans la plupart des pays du sud, le raccordement au réseau detélécommunications de base n’est encore qu’une perspective lointaine. Aussi la question de laconfidentialité, du respect de la vie privée et de la sécurité se pose-t-elle en des termes trèsdifférents. Des études américaines ont montré qu’aux États-Unis, la compagnie du téléphoneest l’une des institutions auxquelles la société fait le plus confiance. En Asie, en revanche,dans la plupart des pays, les opérateurs de télécommunications, qui sont des organismespublics détenteurs d’un monopole, inefficaces et non réglementés, n’ont pas cette image. Lamauvaise qualité du service rendu, la corruption et tout ce qui en découle en font probablementles institutions en qui la société a le moins confiance. Aussi, les concepteurs des systèmes decommerce électronique devront-ils aborder le problème autrement. Le respect de la vie privée,sous-entend la capacité de poser des limites aux relations sociales, est un désir fondamental de l’homme, qui prend des formes différentes dans des contextes culturels différents. Lesrenseignements d’accès (par exemple, les numéros de téléphone) dont la confidentialité estjalousement gardée dans les économies occidentales développées, sont considérés toutautrement dans un contexte tel que celui du Sri Lanka. La question qui se pose est celle decréer la confiance dans des contextes socio-économiques et culturels différents. Le cas duSri Lanka peut aider à éclairer le problème.

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Confianza y vida privada en el ciberespacio: un punto de vista asiaticoEn muchos países desarrollados el debate sobre el comercio electrónico se está llevando acabo en el contexto de una conexión casi universal a la red básica de telecomunicaciones.El problema para estas sociedades acostumbradas desde hace decenios a las interaccionesen el “espacio virtual” de la red telefónica reside en pasar a transacciones y relaciones más profundas. En la mayoría de los países del Sur el acceso generalizado a las telecomu-nicaciones sigue siendo un objetivo remoto. En consecuencia, los problemas de confianza,vida privada y seguridad revisten allí una forma muy diferente. En los Estados Unidos deAmérica se ha demostrado mediante estudios que la empresa telefónica es una de lasinstituciones que más confianza inspira en la sociedad. En la mayor parte de Asia, empero,los proveedores de telecomunicaciones no reglamentadas, ineficientes, monopólicas y pertenecientes al gobierno no poseen ese legado. Debido a la mala calidad de los servicios,la corrupción y otros factores conexos, pueden figurar entre las instituciones que gozan de menos confianza en esas sociedades. En consecuencia, los diseñadores de sistemaselectrónicos comerciales deberán abordar el problema de modo innovador. La vida privada,definida como la capacidad de controlar los límites de las relaciones sociales, es un rasgohumano fundamental que adopta distintas formas en función del contexto cultural. Lainformación sobre el acceso (por ejemplo, los números de teléfono), celosamente protegidaen las economías occidentales desarrolladas, se percibe de manera diferente en lugarescomo Sri Lanka. El problema consiste en generar confianza en distintos contextos sociales,económicos y culturales. El caso de Sri Lanka puede ser esclarecedor al respecto.

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Introduction

Much of the discussion of the Information Society, and in particular electroniccommerce, assumes near universal connectivity to telecommunications networks.This is true for developed market economies but is generally not true for countriesof the South. As a result, firms and individuals from the developed marketeconomies will populate much of the virtual spaces within which electroniccommerce and other cyberspace interactions will take place. In addition, theseactors have had decades of experience with technologically mediated non-proximate communication and have relatively well-developed legal and ethicalframeworks that can serve as foundations for dealing with cyberspace issues.Actors based in countries of the South do not have this base. In most cases, theyare experiencing very rapid growth in basic telephony and the introduction ofmultiple new communication technologies such as mobile telephony and the Internetsimultaneously. The combination of these factors makes the task of influencing thedevelopment of ethical and legal frameworks for cyberspace a challenge for actorsbased in the South.

Over the past few years, the cyberspace discussion has been reframed interms of electronic commerce, signifying the importance of transactions (definedas interactions that involve exchanges of value) and relationships (defined asiterated interactions or transactions between the same parties). Electroniccommerce throws into sharp focus problems of trust and privacy. If a secureenvironment, characterized by trust, can be established for the conduct oftransactions, it may be assumed that interactions and relationships will belooked after as well. This presentation focuses on electronic commerce for thisreason. Electronic commerce, and the wider concept of cyberspace, do notmap one-on-one with the geographical spaces of countries or regions, such asmy country of Sri Lanka. A Sri Lankan may conduct electronic commerce withanother Sri Lankan in Sri Lanka. But this would be the exception. In mostcases, the transactions will occur between Sri Lankans and those located outsidethe national territory. The question of which cultural mores and ethical andlegal frameworks apply to these transactions does not have a clear-cut answer.While I would not go as far as to claim that only the mores of cyberspaceapply, it is nevertheless not possible to apply directly concepts and frameworksfrom geographically defined spaces.

A preliminary definition of the key concepts of trust and privacy is necessary.Trust is defined by Giddens, as “confidence in the reliability of a person or asystem, regarding a given set of outcomes or events, where that confidence

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expresses faith in the probity or love of another, or in the correctness of abstractprinciples (technical knowledge)”. The primary condition that creates a needfor trust is the lack of complete information, generally associated with a person,who is separated in time and space or a system whose workings are not fullyknown. Lacking complete information about a system, a user has to develop atrust-related attitude toward it. This can range from complete trust throughmistrust to angst. Dealing with any commercial organization necessarily requiresa trust-related attitude. When transactions with such complex systems aremediated by a technological system such as an electronic commerce platform,the importance of trust is heightened. Trust is dynamically generated and hasto be worked on. In interpersonal relationships, one party’s actions, particularlyself-disclosure or lack thereof, can reinforce, diminish, or destroy the otherparty’s trust. With care, this claim can be extended to commercial relationships.Trust-building behaviour on the part of a commercial organization would includethe absence of coercion in making and receiving disclosures and a degree ofself-disclosure.

The above understanding of trust overlaps with a definition of privacy,derived from research on everyday social practice – “the capability to explicitlyor implicitly negotiate the boundary conditions of social relations”. The defin-ition includes control of the outflow of information that may be of strategic oraesthetic value to the person and control of inflow of information, includinginitiation of contact. Privacy is a precondition for trust. Trust affects privacy.A user’s trust in the information practices of a system is likely to make con-sensual surveillance possible, which can enhance trust. The resultant spiral willlead to stable and productive customer relationships. Where low trust leads tocoercive surveillance, the opposite spiral leading to mistrust and angst is likelyto result.

The above definitions of trust and privacy are abstract. As Fukuyama hasdiscussed in a broader context, trust varies across situations and cultures. Whatthis short comment seeks to do is to identify the key factors that must be takeninto account in developing ethical and legal frameworks for effective electroniccommerce outside the developed market economies, drawing primarily on thecase of Sri Lanka.

Low connectivity

In most countries of the South, basic telecommunication connectivity is still adistant goal, let alone the advanced Internet infrastructure that provides thebasis for electronic commerce. Electronic transactions between companies andorganizations, particularly those involved in worldwide commercial relation-ships, do take place within the context of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).However, these closed user systems do not fall within the commonly understoodmeaning of electronic commerce that involves transactions with consumers inan open system such as the Internet. The availability of telecommunicationconnectivity from home, office, or personal device is the precondition for

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electronic commerce. In addition, a computer and modem (or equivalent) plusa subscription to a service provider are required. These preconditions do notexist for all but a small number of individuals and organizations. The situationin Sri Lanka is illustrative.

In Sri Lanka, less than 10% of households are equipped with a telephoneand teledensity (calculated only for fixed-access lines) has just gone over twotelephones in the past year. Even with the current extraordinary growth ratesfor fixed-access telephones that were over 30% last year and may be as highas 40% for the current year, it is unlikely that universal connectivity in theform of telecommunications access from every home will be achieved in thenear future. Domestic tariffs which are being driven up by the loss of inter-national subsidies are likely to stall network expansion unless the countryexperiences sharply improved economic growth, most likely associated withthe end of the war in Sri Lanka. In the near term, electronic commerce in coun-tries such as Sri Lanka will take two forms: elite individuals and firms withthe wherewithal for electronic commerce will purchase goods and servicesthrough electronic commerce, primarily from off-shore suppliers; vendors inSri Lanka who establish electronic commerce sites will engage in transactionswith off-shore individuals and firms.

This will be in addition to the closed electronic commerce systems thatwill involve local firms participating in multinational production and tradingrelationships. Given the asymmetry between the Sri Lankan and off-shoreparticipants (e.g., a Sri Lankan reader buying books from Amazon.Com; a SriLankan Bed and Breakfast operator accepting reservations from Europeantourists), it is unlikely that there will be a specific Sri Lankan component in thedesign of the commerce sites or the practices that will be developed aroundthem. The book purchaser will follow the general practices of Amazon.Com;the B&B operator will adapt to the needs of clients. In the same way that manyAmerican cultural practices form the basis of the current Internet culture simplybecause a majority of the early Internet users were Americans, it is likely thatthe methods and frameworks of the developed countries will pervade theemerging virtual marketplace.

Lack of experience

Individuals and organizations in developed market economies have had decadesto get accustomed to interactions in the “virtual space” of the public telephonenetwork. The basic ethical and legal frameworks have been established fortelephone-based interactions; though some of the newer uses of the networksuch as credit card based purchases, audiotex, and the use of calling-lineidentification have required attention. The remedies to the problems posed bythese new applications draw on the frameworks developed for basic servicesover the past decades. In the same way, the more complex challenges posedby Internet-based applications draw on past experience. In common with mostless-developed countries, Sri Lanka has relatively short experience with

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widespread everyday use of technologies for non-proximate communication.The telephone was introduced to Sri Lanka in the late nineteenth century, withina few years of its invention, but it took 106 years to connect the first 100,000 tele-phone lines, in contrast with the third and fourth 100,000 lines that wereconnected in months.

The slow growth in the early years and the explosive growth in recentyears mean that most telecommunication users are “newbies”. Users have littleexperience with interaction in the virtual spaces created by the different telecom-munication networks. The overall environment of a society has an impact onhow its members approach electronic commerce. Fukuyama talks of high-andlow-trust societies and generally correlates low-trust societies with low-growthsocieties. While there are problems with parts of his analysis, in general it iscorrect to state that commercial transactions in relatively poor countries suchas Sri Lanka are not marked by high degrees of trust. While trust exists infamily and similar settings, it is low in organizational and commercial settings.

Trust allows transactions to take place with lower transaction costs becausethe parties allow consensual surveillance or proceed with less information. Whenthe starting point is low trust, there is a much greater likelihood that thetechnological system through which the transactions occur will be designedto extract information coercively, which if known to the other party, leads tomistrust, which in turn could lead to greater reliance on actions hostile to -trust-building in countries such as Sri Lanka. This vicious downward spiral isnot counteracted by the experience of users in effectively functioning virtualenvironments such as telephone networks.

Trust in the system provider could facilitate those friction-laden relationsbetween consumers and vendors. Usually, a telecommunication provider suchas Internet service provider or a telecommunication operator, broadly defined,provides the platform for electronic commerce. In the United States, studieshave shown that telephone companies are among the most trusted institutionsin society (this trust has been rapidly declining in the past two decades). Buttelecommunications providers in most of Asia that were until recently or arestill unregulated, inefficient, government-owned monopolies are unlikely to havethat legacy. Because of poor service, corruption and related factors, they maybe among the least trusted institutions in these societies. Whether the manynew entrants to the telecommunications field will be capable of building uptrust is yet to be seen.

Privacy attitudes

There is no general agreement as to what measurable privacy attitudes are.However, attitudes to a key item of access information, the home telephonenumber, may be used as a proxy for the present purposes. The attitude todisclosure of home telephone numbers in the United States has changed overthe years. Despite it being common practice to penalize those who wish to keep

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their names and numbers off directories by charging extra fees, as many as50% of subscribers in states such as California and Nevada have unlistednumbers. In all parts of the United States the proportion of unlisted numbersis increasing. This is perhaps driven by the use of the telephone for directmarketing, polling, and similar activities that disrupt home life.

In Sri Lanka, and perhaps in other Asian countries of similar status, theattitude toward disclosure of telephone numbers is quite different from contem-porary United States attitudes. Perhaps as a result of thinking of the telephoneas a status symbol (which was justified at a time when one had to wait 10 yearsand/or exercise much political or other influence to get a phone), it is commonto include home telephone numbers in business cards. Even under the businessentries, in the telephone directory. The absence of direct marketers and pollingfirms may also contribute to this attitude.

It is possible that this tendency to disclose personal information is not acharacteristic of a particular culture, but is a feature of a network in the earlystages of formation. As connectivity increases, the members of the networkmay understand the value of controlling access. As long as the network isrelatively isolated, as was the case with national telecommunication networksuntil recently, because of high international calling charges, this “natural”evolution has an element of symmetry built into it. But in the present situationwhere “between-network” communication is increasing very rapidly, themembers from the low-penetration networks may tend to exercise less controlover their personal information, while those from the mature networks willguard their privacy. This asymmetry may have to be addressed in designingethical and legal frameworks.

There is one qualification to the above argument. It is possible thateconomic factors can powerfully override the above-discussed forces shapingprivacy attitudes. In Sri Lanka, cellular operators charge most customers forincoming calls. As a result, the attitude toward disclosure of cellular numbersis diametrically opposed to the attitude regarding fixed-access numbers.Generally, these numbers are not given out freely and there is no demand fora cellular telephone directory even though a significant number of subscribersare using the cellular phone as a substitute and not as a complement to fixed-access service. In designing ethical and legal frameworks for electroniccommerce, it may be worthwhile to consider economic incentives.

Concluding comments

An Asian or Sri Lankan perspective on cyberspace developments is inherentlycontradictory, because cyberspace does reflect geographical spaces. However,it is true that human beings and organizations that interact in cyberspace arestill located in physical spaces, still have a majority of interactions in, and aresubject to the laws and culture of, those spaces. Hopefully, the above explorationof the contradiction yielded some new insights.

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The cultural mores and ethical and legal frameworks emerging in cyber-space will be disproportionately influenced by actors based in the developedmarket economies, though not necessarily by national cultures. Language andother factors that function as cultural screens need further examination. Actorsbased in the rich countries will also bring with them a heritage of experienceof interacting in non-proximate settings, unlike those from the South, who havegained access to telecommunication networks only recently. In the end, the keydifference will be between those who are wired into the networks and thosewho are not, whatever their geographical location.

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KAZEM MOTAMED NEJADProfessor of Communication Sciences, Iran

Towards regional cooperation for protecting privacy rights in cyberspace: the impact of Islamic laws and ethicsThe author, after emphasizing the importance of the protection of proprietary and securityrights of information in today’s world, presents the theoretical foundations for the freedom of information and the principles of legal limitations at the global level. He makes acomparative review of some new laws of industrial states for the protection of proprietary and security rights in the new domains of communication and information in cyberspace. He then discusses new efforts in some developing countries, including Iran, to establish newlaws in protecting proprietary and security rights of digital communication and informationsoftware. Concluding, he stresses the necessity for global protection of proprietary andsecurity rights in electronic communication as well as the transmission of information andexpansion of international and regional cooperation.

Vers une coopération régionale pour la protection du droit au respect de la vie privée dans le cyberespace : l’impact des lois et de l’éthique islamiquesAprès avoir souligné combien il importe de protéger les droits exclusifs et le droit à la sécurité de l’information dans le monde contemporain, l’auteur indique quels sont les fondements théoriques de la liberté de l’information et les principes qui en régissentjuridiquement la limitation au niveau mondial. Il procède à une étude comparée de quelques-unes des lois récemment adoptées dans les pays industriels pour protéger les droits exclusifs et le droit à la sécurité de l’information et de la communication dans ce domaine nouveau qu’est le cyberespace. Il évoque ensuite les efforts accomplis dans certains pays en développement, dont l’Iran, pour établir une nouvelle législation de protection des logiciels. En conclusion, il insiste sur la nécessité d’une protection mondiale des droits exclusifs et du droit à la sécurité de la communication électronique ainsi que de la transmission de l’information, et prône un développement de la coopérationinternationale et régionale.

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Hacia una cooperación regional para la protección del derecho a la vida privada en el ciberespacion: las repervusiones de las leyes y la etica islamicasTras recalcar la importancia de proteger los derechos de propiedad y seguridad de lainformación en el mundo actual, el autor presenta los fundamentos teóricos de la libertad de información y los principios en que se basan las restricciones jurídicas en el planomundial. Realiza un análisis comparado de algunas nuevas legislaciones de los paísesindustrializados en materia de protección de los derechos de propiedad y seguridad en losnuevos ámbitos de la comunicación y la información en el ciberespacio. A continuación se refiere a los esfuerzos realizados recientemente en algunos países en desarrollo, entre ellos Irán, a fin de establecer nuevas leyes de protección de la propiedad y la seguridad de los programas informáticos de comunicación e información. Al concluir, destaca lanecesidad de fomentar una protección mundial de los derechos de propiedad y seguridad en la comunicación electrónica, así como la transmisión de información y la expansión de la cooperación internacional y regional.

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Introduction

Le progrès et le développement des nouvelles technologies de l’informationdepuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale et surtout l’avènement récent de l’Internet,a ouvert des horizons nouveaux aux autoroutes de l’information électroniquesur les plans aussi bien nationaux que régionaux et mondiaux. Cette évolutionrapide n’a pas été sans soulever des problèmes divers relatifs notamment auxdroits et libertés individuels, au respect de la vie privée, au maintien de l’ordrepublic, à la défense des intérêts de l’État, etc. De nombreux pays, et essentielle-ment les pays occidentaux, ont très tôt dans des domaines tels que les mass-media(la presse, la radio et la télévision), les télécommunications et la télématique,pris l’initiative de légiférer afin de prévenir les problèmes suscités qui n’allaientpas tarder à survenir. Le principe de la liberté de l’information étant acquis, ils’agissait de prévoir des limites à celle-ci, afin entre autres de préserver la vieprivée des individus qui allait être mise en danger sous l’effet de l’explosiondes nouveaux moyens de communication.

Parallèlement aux États, au niveau supranational, les Nations Unies entre-prenaient la réglementation de la liberté de l’information et de ses limites,d’abord en 1948 à travers la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme(articles 19 et 29) et plus tard en 1966 à travers le Pacte international relatifaux droits civils et politiques (articles 19 et 20). Cette réglementation interna-tionale devait être une première étape favorisant une meilleure collaborationdes États dans ce domaine. Mais, c’est au niveau régional, que l’élaborationen 1950 de la Convention européenne pour la sauvegarde des droits de l’hommeet des libertés fondamentales (et notamment son article 10) et l’élaboration parla suite d’autres textes ont permis une réelle coopération des pays européensmembres du Conseil de l’Europe ou de la Communauté ÉconomiqueEuropéenne (C.E.E.) – aujourd’hui l’Union Européenne. Cette coopérationrégionale, pourrait servir d’exemple encourageant aux pays en voie de dévelop-pement qui souhaitent collaborer dans le domaine de la libre circulation desinformations.

Les pays membres de l’E.C.O. (Economic Co-operation for Development)– Organisation de la Coopération économique en Asie centrale et occidentalequi a depuis la chute de l’empire soviétique acquis une notoriété considérable –pourront s’inspirer de manière fructueuse d’un tel précédent. Cette organisation,reconstituée en 1990 en remplacement de l’ancienne R.C.D. (Regional Co-operationfor Development) – Coopération régionale pour le Développement – par l’Iran, laTurquie et le Pakistan fut à la suite du démembrement de l’ex-Union soviétique,

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et de l’indépendance des Républiques de l’Asie centrale et du Caucase élargieau Kazakhstan, au Kirghizistan, au Tadjikistan, au Turkménistan, à l’Ouzbékistan,à l’Azerbaïdjan et aussi à l’Afghanistan.

Ainsi, constituée de dix pays membres comptant une superficie de7 millions de Km2, englobant au total une population de plus de 300 millionsd’habitants, à peu près équivalent à celle de l’Europe occidentale, cetteOrganisation pourrait servir à l’image de l’Union européenne à un cadre decoopération portant dans des domaines aussi bien économiques que politiqueset culturelles. Dans le domaine de la libre circulation des informations et de seslimites, cette organisation pourrait bien s’inspirer des instruments déjà élaboréspar sa consœur de l’Europe. Il ne faut pas perdre de vue que les pays de l’E.C.O.ont en commun un héritage historique et culturel, lequel ne peut que contribuerà renforcer les efforts de coopération au sein de cette Organisation.

Depuis leur accès à l’indépendance, les Républiques de l’Asie centraleet le Caucase ont tenté ne serait-ce que pour des raisons économiques à resserrerleurs relations avec les pays voisins méridionaux mais aussi plus particulière-ment avec l’Iran. Ces relations étaient, il faut le rappeler, interrompues sous ladomination de l’empire soviétique. Une fois indépendants, ces pays ont trèsrapidement adhéré à l’E.C.O. en vue de surmonter leur isolement économiqueet culturel dans une région revêtant une position stratégique de nos jours, surtoutà cause de ses ressources énergétiques en gaz et en pétrole. A la suite de cetteadhésion, de nombreux instruments de coopération dans le domaine de lacommunication furent élaborés. A titre d’exemple, on peut citer l’accord entrele Turkménistan et l’Iran qui a abouti à la construction de la ligne de cheminde fer, dénommée la « Nouvelle route de soie » reliant l’Europe à l’Asie centraleet orientale; l’accord entre l’Iran, le Turkménistan et le Tadjikistan portant surla construction du réseau de télécommunication intercontinental en fibre optique(The Trans-Asia Europe Fiber Optic Cable System, T.A.E.F.O.S.), destiné àrelier l’Asie orientale et l’Europe à travers l’Asie centrale et l’Iran [1] ; la créationde l’Agence d’information régionale des pays limitrophes de la mer Caspienne ;les accords pour l’échange des programmes audiovisuels entre les organisationsde radiodiffusion-télévision des pays membres de l’E.C.O. ; les projets concernantla collaboration des pays de la région pour la formation et le perfectionnementprofessionnel des journalistes et d’autres collaborateurs dans le domaine de lacommunication [2].

Malgré ces premiers efforts positifs de coopération, aucune réglementa-tion portant sur les divers secteurs de la communication n’a été jusqu’à ce jourélaborée. Pour arriver à ce stade, encore faut-il que ces pays tentent de revoirleurs législations nationales qui ont certainement besoin d’être réactualisées.Ce n’est qu’une fois ce travail accompli, qu’ils pourront se préparer à harmo-niser leurs législations dans le cadre de la coopération régionale.

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Les législations nationales des pays de l’E.C.O

Les législations nationales des pays membres de l’E.C.O. réglementent laprotection de la vie privée des individus.

Les lois constitutionnelles

Les constitutions des pays membres de l’E.C.O., qui sont pour la plupartrécentes, contiennent des dispositions concernant aussi bien le principe de laliberté de l’expression et de l’information que la protection de la vie privée etle respect du secret des communications personnelles.

• En Iran, la Constitution de la République islamique du 3 décembre 1979,déclare inviolable la dignité de l’individu (article 22) et interdit toutesatteintes au secret des correspondances, des conversations téléphoniqueset des messages transmis au moyen des télécommunications, sauf dansles cas prévus par la loi (article 25) [3].

• La Constitution de la République de Turquie, du 7 novembre 1982, déclarele droit de l’individu au respect de sa vie privée et l’inviolabilité de celle-ci, excepté pour les cas rendus nécessaires pour les investigations judiciairesou ceux prévus par la loi (article 2). Ce texte affirme également le principede l’inviolabilité du droit de l’individu à la liberté de communication (article22), mais aussi la protection de la dignité, des droits et de la vie privée del’individu et de sa famille (article 26) [4].

• En République d’Ouzbékistan la Constitution du 8 décembre 1992 a prévupour chaque individu le droit de défense contre toute atteinte à sa dignitéet à sa vie privée (article 27, alinéa 1). Elle interdit en outre toute atteinteau secret des correspondances et des conversations téléphoniques, saufdans les cas prévus par la loi (article 27, 2e alinéa) [5].

• La Constitution de la République du Tadjikistan, du 6 novembre 1994,affirme le principe du secret des correspondances, des conversationstéléphoniques, des courriers et des télécommunications (article 23). Cettemême disposition interdit le recueil, le stock, l’usage et la publicationdes informations concernant la vie privée des individus sans leur consen-tement [6].

• Dans la République du Turkménistan la Constitution du 18 mai 1992 aprévu le droit pour tous les citoyens de sauvegarder leurs vies privées,leurs correspondances, leurs communications téléphoniques, leurs autrescommunications ainsi que leur honneur et dignité face à toute interventionarbitraire [7].

• La Constitution de la République du Kirghizistan du 5 mai 1993 a préciséla garantie des droits et des libertés fondamentales des individusconformément aux principes du droit international, des conventions inter-nationales et des accords sur les droits de l’homme (article 16, 1er alinéa).Selon cette Constitution chaque individu a droit à la liberté et au secretde ses correspondances, au respect de sa vie privée, à l’inviolabilité de

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ses secrets personnels et familiaux et au respect de ses communicationspostales et téléphoniques [8].

• En République du Kazakhstan la Constitution du 28 janvier 1993 affirmel’inviolabilité de la vie privée des citoyens (article 33, alinéa 1er).Conformément à ce texte, l’ingérence dans la vie privée des individus,l’inquisition de leurs croyances, ainsi que le recueil, le stock et l’usagedes informations relatives à la vie privée des individus sans la permissionde la loi sont interdits (article 33, alinéa 2) [9].

Les lois ordinaires

Dans la plupart des pays membres de l’Organisation de Coopération économique,les atteintes à la vie privée et au secret des informations et des communicationsdes individus sont sanctionnées conformément aux dispositions des codes pénaux.

A titre d’exemple la nouvelle loi pénale de la République islamique d’Iran(la loi pénale islamique de 1996) a consacré un certain nombre d’articles auxdélits relatifs aux atteintes contre les communications confidentielles et à ladivulgation des secrets professionnels.

• L’article 582 de cette loi a prévu des sanctions contre l’ouverture, lecontrôle et l’élimination des correspondances et des télécommunicationsou l’écoute et la divulgation illégales des conversations téléphoniques parles fonctionnaires et les agents d’État. Nuire aux individus par le téléphoneet les autres moyens de télécommunication est également sanctionné parl’article 641 de ladite loi.

• L’article 648 de la nouvelle loi pénale iranienne a prévu des sanctionscontre la divulgation des secrets professionnels par les médecins, les chirur-giens, les pharmaciens et les membres des autres professions.

• Le menace et le chantage concernant la divulgation des secrets personnelsdes individus ou de ceux de leurs proches sont sanctionnés par l’article669 de la loi mentionnée.

• L’article 700 de cette même loi sanctionne celui qui fait un pastichecontre les individus, soit au moyen de prose ou de poème, soit au moyende l’écriture ou de la parole, mais aussi celui qui publie ce pastiche.

Les lois particulières

Les lois sur la presse, l’audiovisuel, les télécommunications et l’informatiquedans certains pays de l’Organisation de la Coopération économique, commedans la plupart des pays du monde, comportent des dispositions sanctionnanttoute divulgation d’informations relatives à la vie privée des individus et ausecret de leurs communications.

• La loi iranienne sur la presse (mars 1986) interdit la publication des infor-mations contenant des menaces qui porteraient atteinte à l’honneur et àla dignité de l’individu ainsi que la divulgation des secrets personnels(article 31).

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• En République du Kazakhstan, la loi sur la presse et les autres moyensde communication de masse consacre trois articles à la vie privée, à l’hon-neur et à la dignité de l’individu. L’article 5 de cette loi, abordant les abusde la liberté de l’expression, fait interdiction de publier des informationsqui viendraient à intervenir dans les affaires personnelles des individus etporteraient atteinte à leur dignité et à leur honneur.

• L’article 38 de la même loi interdit et sanctionne pénalement la publica-tion des informations irréelles qui portent atteinte à la dignité et à l’hon-neur des citoyens. L’article 42 de ladite loi prévoit également les modalitésde réparation des préjudices moraux subis du fait de la publication desinformations nuisibles à l’honneur et à la dignité des citoyens [10]. Dansle domaine des télécommunications la loi iranienne sur la création de laSociété nationale des Télécommunications (1971), prévoit des sanctionsà l’encontre de celui qui utilise son réseau de télécommunications en vuede nuire aux individus, ou de nuire avec intention et mauvaise foi à leurscommunications (article 14).

• La République islamique d’Iran dispose depuis 1979 d’un « Conseilsupérieur de l’Informatique ». Or, la loi portant création de ce Conseil(la loi de juin 1979), contrairement aux lois similaires dans d’autres pays,ne traite pas des problèmes relatifs à la liberté de l’information électro-nique et ses limites, à savoir le respect de la vie privée et le caractèreconfidentiel de certaines informations.

Les réglementations déontologiques

La plupart des membres de l’Organisation de la Coopération économique, nedispose pas encore de réglementations déontologiques quant aux activités del’information. Ce vide est sans aucun doute lié au passé politique de ces paysqui ont très longtemps été soumis à des régimes totalitaires et autoritaires.

• En Turquie le « Code d’honneur de la presse », adopté en 1960 par le« Conseil d’honneur de la presse », a interdit la publication des infor-mations et des nouvelles portant atteinte à l’honneur et à la dignité desindividus, ainsi que la divulgation de leurs affaires privées d’une façonindécente [11].

• Au Pakistan les « Principes déontologiques du journalisme », adoptés en1972 par le « Comité consultatif » de la presse, ont prévu des dispositionsconcernant la nécessité de respecter la personnalité et l’honneur des indi-vidus et l’interdiction de divulguer leurs vies privées, sauf dans les casnécessaires pour l’intérêt public [12].

• Le « Syndicat des rédacteurs et des reporters iraniens » a au sein de« l’Ordre déontologique de la presse » affirmé en 1960 la nécessité derespecter la vie privée, la dignité et l’honneur des individus. Au cours deces deux dernières années, à la suite des élections présidentielles récentesde l’Iran, des efforts nouveaux ont été déployés pour la reconstructionde la société civile et la réouverture de l’espace public du pays. Ainsi,

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parallèlement à la création d’une nouvelle « Société professionnelle desjournalistes iraniens » en octobre 1997 et à l’organisation du « Deuxièmeséminaire sur les problèmes de la presse iranienne » par les universitaireset les journalistes en mai 1998, un projet du « Pacte des principes déonto-logiques professionnels des journalistes » contenant entre autres desdispositions sur le respect de la vie privée et la dignité et l’honneur desindividus a été élaboré [13].Il est à rappeler que durant ces dernières années dans certains pays musul-

mans comme l’Indonésie, la Malaisie, l’Égypte et l’Iran des colloques ont étéorganisés afin d’aboutir à des accords entre les journalistes des pays musulmanscomportant les principes islamiques d’éthique professionnelle du journalisme.La dernière rencontre commune des universitaires et les journalistes d’un certainnombre de pays musulmans à ce propos fut organisée à Téhéran en décembre1996 sous la dénomination suivante : « Premier symposium sur le code d’éthiqueislamique des journalistes », et sous l’égide du « Centre d’Études et desRecherches sur les Médias ». Dans la résolution finale de ce symposium, uneattention particulière a été portée à la préparation future des principes générauxde l’éthique professionnelle des journalistes musulmans, mais aucune précisionne fut donnée sur le contenu de ces principes.

En revanche, les participants des différents pays musulmans à ce sympo-sium, y compris l’Iran, le Pakistan, la Malaisie, le Liban et le Nigeria ont dansleurs articles abordé les problématiques relatives à la protection de la vie privée,la dignité et l’honneur des individus [14]. Hormis ces efforts, dans les autressecteurs d’activités de l’information, c’est-à-dire les télécommunications,l’informatique et la télématique, on ne trouve apparemment pas beaucoupd’enthousiasme pour la préparation des principes déontologiques dans les paysconcernés.

Les expériences législatives des pays industrialisés

Pour combler leur retard dans le domaine de la réglementation de la liberté del’information et de ses limites, aussi bien au niveau national que régional, lespays membres de l’E.C.O. pourraient se pencher sur les législations nationalesdes pays industrialisés, mais également sur la législation communautaire envigueur au niveau européen.

Les législations des États-Unis et de la France

Les expériences législatives récentes des États-Unis et de la France sontreprésentatives des réglementations modernes dans le domaine des nouvellestechnologies.

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a) Les États-Unis

Aux États-Unis durant ces trois dernières décennies, consécutivement à l’essordes nouvelles technologies de l’information, différentes réglementations concer-nant la protection de la vie privée des individus ont été élaborées.

• La loi sur la liberté de l’information « The Freedom of Information Act »votée par le Congrès des États-Unis en juillet 1967 est un exemplerévélateur dans ce domaine. Parmi les neuf limites prévues par cette loiau libre accès aux documents administratifs de l’État, la septième estconsacrée aux « dossiers personnels et médicaux, et les dossiers similairesdont la révélation constitue une invasion injustifiée de la vie privée » [15].

• La loi sur la vie privée (The Privacy Act) votée en 1974, se référant àla loi ci-dessus, limite l’accès aux dossiers personnels collectés par legouvernement. Ces dossiers sont ceux qui comportent des informationsconcernant le nom des individus, leur transaction financière, leur passémédical, leurs dossiers judiciaire et professionnel [16].

• La loi sur la protection de la vie privée (The Privacy Protection Act),votée en 1980, a prévu des dispositions pour la protection des photo-graphies, des bandes dessinées, des notes d’interviews et des projetsd’articles. Cette loi protège en effet les journalistes américains face auxperquisitions judiciaires effectuées dans les rédactions des journaux [17].

• La loi sur la politique nationale du câble, « The Cable Policy Act » votéeen 1984, comporte également des dispositions limitatives tendant à protégerla vie privée et la personne humaine [18].

• La loi concernant les communications électroniques et la vie privée,« The Electronic Communications Privacy Act » (E.C.P.A.), votée en1986, protège les courriers électroniques individuels (E-Mail) face auxinterventions illégales [19].

b) La France

Trois lois votées en France au cours des années 1970 ont été déterminantespour la protection de la vie privée :

• La loi du 17 juillet 1970 comporte des éléments relativement clairs dedéfinition et de sanction des atteintes à la vie privée. Le nouvel articledu code civil français, introduit par cette dernière loi, affirme dans sonalinéa 1er que « Chacun a droit au respect de sa vie privée ». Pour renforcercette protection, l’alinéa 2 de ce même article envisage les cas d’« atteinteà l’intimité de la vie privée » [20]. La loi du 17 juillet 1970 a introduitdans le Code pénal, par les articles 368 à 372 de nouvelles dispositionsqui définissent pour la première fois en droit français les infractionsd’atteinte à la vie privée et prévoient des sanctions dans ces cas [21].

• La loi du 6 janvier 1978 relative à l’informatique, aux fichiers et auxlibertés, au moyen de ses articles 4 et 5, a prévu également des limitesconcernant la protection de la vie privée.

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• La loi du 17 juillet 1978 sur le droit d’accès aux documents adminis-tratifs par son article 6 a interdit toute mise à disposition de documentsdont la consultation ou la communication porteraient atteinte « au secretde la vie privée, des dossiers personnels et médicaux, aux secrets de ladéfense nationale, de la politique étrangère … ou de façon générale auxsecrets protégés par la loi … » [22]. D’autres pays industriels disposentégalement de législations intéressantes dans ce domaine, tel est l’exempledu Canada (avec une loi datée 1982) et de l’Australie (avec une loi datéede 1988) [23].

La réglementation communautaire en Europe

Les pays membres de l’E.C.O. pourraient à l’image des pays européens tenterd’harmoniser leurs réglementations, notamment dans le domaine de la libertéde l’information et de ses limites, à savoir la protection de la vie privée. Eneffet depuis l’adoption de la Convention européenne de sauvegarde des droitsde l’homme et des libertés fondamentales en 1950, les pays européens ont àtravers les institutions communautaires élaborés plusieurs instruments juridiquesafin de réglementer la liberté de l’information.1. Aux termes de l’article 8 de cette Convention : « Toute personne a droit au

respect de sa vie privée et familiale … et de sa correspondance ». L’alinéa 2de l’article 10 de cette même convention qui fixe les limites à la liberté del’information met l’accent sur la « protection de la réputation ou des droitsd’autrui ».

2. La Déclaration du Conseil de l’Europe sur les moyens de communicationde masse et les droits de l’homme (23 janvier 1970) consacre sa section« C » aux « mesures destinées à protéger l’individu contre toute ingérencedans l’exercice de son droit au respect de sa vie privée » [24].

3. La Directive 95/46/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil de l’Unioneuropéenne du 24 octobre 1995 relative à la protection des personnesphysiques à l’égard du traitement des données à caractère personnel et à lalibre circulation de ses données, revêt également une importance capitaledans la protection de la vie privée à l’égard des nouvelles technologies del’information.

4. Le texte précité a été complété par la Directive 97/66/CE du Parlementeuropéen et du Conseil de l’Union européenne du 15 décembre 1997 concer-nant le traitement des données à caractère personnel et la protection de lavie privée dans le secteur des télécommunications.

5. Le livre vert de la Commission européenne du 16 décembre 1996 sur laprotection des mineurs et de la dignité humaine dans les services audio-visuels et d’information fait partie des instruments destinés à protéger lavie privée des individus face à l’essor des nouvelles technologies del’information.

6. Dans le cadre de la coopération économique générale des pays occidentaux,il est utile de citer la Directive de l’Organisation pour la Coopération

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Economique et le Développement (O.C.D.E.) relative à la protection de lavie privée et les barrières des données transfrontières adoptée en 1980 [25].

Il semblerait que c’est au niveau européen que les institutions régionalesaient déployées le plus d’effort pour tenter d’élaborer une réglementation concer-nant la liberté de l’information. Les Organisations de coopération des autresrégions du monde n’ont pas à ce jour beaucoup agi dans ce domaine :

• Au niveau du continent américain, le seul instrument juridique en vigueurdans le domaine qui nous intéresse se limite à la Convention américainerelative aux droits de l’homme, adoptée le 22 novembre 1969 à San José,Costa Rica. L’article 11 de cette Convention est consacré à « la protectionde l’honneur et de la dignité de la personne », alors que ses articles 13et 14 affirment respectivement le « respect des droits ou la réputationd’autrui » et « la sauvegarde effective de l’honneur et de la réputationd’autrui ».

• En Afrique, sur le plan de la coopération régionale, le retard dans l’adoptiond’une réglementation dans le domaine de la liberté de l’information estencore plus net. Il semble que la Charte africaine des droits de l’homme,signée par les chefs d’États et des gouvernements africains à Nairobi le27 juin 1981, constitue le seul instrument juridique de référence. L’article 27de cette Charte affirme la nécessité du respect de chaque individu commelimite à la liberté de l’expression.

En prenant davantage conscience de l’intérêt que peut présenter unecoopération plus poussée dans le domaine de l’information, les pays membresde l’E.C.O. seront plus enclins à renforcer leur collaboration au niveau régional,puisque les pays européens ont été les pionniers en la matière et l’on pourraitsuivre la voie qu’ils ont tracée depuis bientôt cinquante ans.

Cependant cela est loin d’être aussi simple que l’on pourrait penser aupremier abord. Pour parvenir à un tel degré de coopération, encore faudrait-ilque chacun des pays de l’Asie Centrale et Occidentale accomplisse au préalableun effort au niveau interne. Une coopération régionale en vue de promouvoir laliberté de l’expression et de l’information n’est réalisable que si les pays membresde l’institution régionale ont déjà fait leur preuve en matière de démocratie auniveau national. La promotion de la liberté au niveau supranational est tributaired’un développement économique et démocratique à l’échelle nationale. Les paysmembres de l’E.C.O. devraient chacun de manière séparée tenter de lever lesobstacles auxquels ils sont confrontés, afin de développer aussi bien l’économieque la démocratie. Il ne faut pas oublier que ces pays ont derrière eux un longpassé autoritaire et même totalitaire, ce qui freine la réalisation de la démocratie.

Par ailleurs, les crises intérieures de certains pays de l’E.C.O., comme laguerre d’Afghanistan, le conflit du Tadjikistan et les relations antagonistesd’Azerbaïdjan avec l’Arménie, constituent autant d’embûches au développementnational et donc à toute coopération régionale. D’autre part, sous-équipés encore

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en moyens de communication électronique, ces pays n’ont peut-être pas jusqu’àce jour ressenti le besoin de légiférer en la matière au niveau national et encoremoins au niveau régional.

Bien entendu il ne faut pas perdre de vue que les pays de l’Asie centraleet de l’Asie occidentale ont en commun un héritage historique et culturel qui afavorisé des communautés linguistiques, littéraires et religieuses entre ces payset qui sans aucun doute pourrait servir à intensifier leur coopération dans lecadre de l’E.C.O. L’ouverture politique des pays comme l’Iran qui depuis uncertain temps fait l’apprentissage de la liberté de la presse[26] ou le développementque connaissent d’autres pays voisins dans le domaine économique, puisquedotés de richesses naturelles considérables en gaz et en pétrole, sont autant designes positifs contribuant à accélérer la coopération régionale au niveau del’E.C.O.

Il est à souhaiter que les pays membres de l’E.C.O. puissent aboutir auniveau régional à l’adoption d’instruments juridiques garantissant la libertéd’expression et d’information tout en reconnaissant bien sûr les limites de cetteliberté dont la protection de la vie privée fait partie.

Notes :

01. Fifth E.C.O. Summit Meeting and Almaty Declaration, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 11 May 1998, in: E.C.O. News Bulletin, (Teheran), No. 20, July 1998, pp. 1-6.

02. Second E.C.O. Ministerial Meeting on Transport and Communications, Ashgabat,Turkmenistan, 14 March 1998, in: E.C.O. News Bulletin (Teheran), No. 20, July 1998, p. 13.

03. Constitution de la République Islamique d’Iran. Téhéran : Ministère del’Orientation, Islamique, 1980.

04. The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, Ankara: Prime Ministry, Directorate-General of Press and Information, 1990.

05. Elahé Koulaï (Tabarestani) : Les Constitutions de la Fédération de la Russie et les, Républiques de l’Asie Centrale. – Téhéran : Nachré Dadgostar, 1998 (en persan), p. 61.

06. Ibid, p. 89.07. Ibid, p. 89.08. Ibid, p. 139.09. Ibid, p. 171.10. La loi de Kazakhstan sur la presse et les autres moyens de communication

de masse, dans : Revue Trimestrielle d’Etudes sur l’Asie centrale et le Caucase(Téhéran), Vol. 2, No. 6, Automne 1994 (en persan), p. 293-306.

11. J. Clement Jones: Mass-Media Codes of Ethics and Council, in: Report and Paperson Communications. Special Issue. – Paris: UNESCO, 1980, pp. 32-33.

12. Leïla Rastgar : L’Ethique professionnelle et les journalistes iraniens, dans :Rassaneh. Revue trimestrielle d’Etude et de Recherche sur les Médias, vol. 7, No. 3, Automne 1996 (en persan), p. 8.

13. Kazem Motamed-Nejad : Le pacte des principes déontologiques professionnels des journalistes, dans : Deuxième Séminaire sur les problèmes de la presseiranienne. Recueil des articles. – Téhéran : Centre d’Études et de Recherches sur les Médias, 1998 (en persan), p. 944-948.

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14. Resolution of the First Symposium on the Islamic Code of Ethics for Journalists,in: Rasaneh, Vol. 7, No. 4, Winter 1997, pp. 1-2.

15. Ralph L. Hoslinger: Media Law.- New York: McGraw Hill, 1991. – SecondEdition, pp. 354-355.

16. Ibid, pp. 198-199.17. Ibid, pp. 335-340.18. Ibid, pp. 475-49.19. Susan J. Drucker: Personal Liberties and Personal Perils: Communication Rights

in Cyberspace, in: Intermedia, Vol. 24, No. 6, January 1997, pp. 35-37.20. Emmanuel Derieux : Droit de la Communication, Paris : L.G.D.J., 1990,

p. 451-452.21. Ibid, p. 454.22. Ibid, pp. 454-455.23. Rex Winshury: An Essay on Privacy: the right to be alone – the most comprehensive

of rights (depending what country you live in), in: Intermedia, Vol. 21, No. 4-5,August/September 1993, pp. 30-32; Paul Mallam: Privacy and communications:the example of Australia, in: Intermedia, Vol. 22, No. 5, October-November 1994,p. 32-40.

24. Communication : Extraits d’instruments internationaux. – Paris : UNESCO,Commission International d’Étude des Problèmes de la Communication, 1978, p. 42-44.

25. Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Data Barriers – Paris:Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 1980.

26. Kazem Motamed-Nejad : Médias et pouvoir en Iran, dans : Cahiers d’Études sur la Mediterannée Orientale et le monde Turco-Iranian (CEMOTI), No. 20,juillet-décembre 1995, p.3-43 ; Kazem Motamed-Nejad and Naiim Badii: The Problems of Press Freedom in Iran: from the Constitutional Revolution to the Islamic Revolution – Teheran: Allameh Tabatabaï University, Department of Communication Sciences, 1998 Department of Communication Sciences,Allameh Tabatabaï University, Teheran, 1998.

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SIMON DAVIESVisiting Fellow, Computer Security Research Centre, London School of Economics, United Kingdom

The new frontiers of privacyPrivacy is emerging throughout the world as a key issue in law and culture. The newEuropean Data Protection Directive which came into force in October 1998 provides thefoundation for a global privacy regime. The Internet users adopting a range of powerful new privacy-friendly technologies are also increasingly enforcing privacy at an individuallevel. Meanwhile, privacy has found its way on to the agenda of mainstream consumer and campaign groups. In short, the issue has come of age. This presentation outlines the new dimensions of privacy that are likely to influence business and politics in the comingdecade.

Les nouvelles frontières de la vie privéeLe respect de la vie privée apparaît de plus en plus dans le monde comme un problème clé du droit et de la culture. La nouvelle Directive européenne sur la protection des données quientrera en vigueur en octobre 1998 fournit les fondements d’un régime universel du droit aurespect de la vie privée. Ce droit est d’ailleurs de plus en plus défendu au niveau individuelpar les usagers d’Internet qui font appel à une gamme très efficace de nouvelles technologiespropres à préserver la confidentialité de l’information. En même temps, le respect du caractèreprivé de l’information est désormais un thème qui mobilise les associations de consommateurset autres groupes d’influence. En d’autres termes, cette préoccupation a désormais cessé d’êtremarginale. La présente intervention décrit les nouveaux aspects du problème qui risquentd’influencer la vie économique et politique au cours de la prochaine décennie.

Las nuevas fronteras del derecho a la intimidadEn todo el mundo, el derecho a la intimidad se está convirtiendo en una cuestión fundamentaltanto en el plano jurídico como en el cultural. Una nueva Directiva de la Unión Europeasobre Protección de Datos va a entrar en vigor en octubre de 1998, sentando las bases de un régimen general de respeto a la intimidad. En el plano individual, los usuarios de Internettambién están contribuyendo a imponer ese derecho mediante la utilización de una serie denuevas tecnologías sumamente eficaces, que son compatibles con el respeto a la vida privada.Además, la cuestión de la protección de la intimidad ha llegado a figurar en los programas y campañas de los principales grupos de consumidores. En resumen, esta cuestión ya hallegado a su punto de sazón. En esta presentación se ponen de relieve las nuevas dimensionescobradas por el derecho a la intimidad, que en el próximo decenio van a tener probablementerepercusiones tanto en la esfera económica como en la política.

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Privacy has become one of the most important human rights issues ofthe modern age. At a time when computer-based technology gives governmentand private sector organizations the ability to conduct mass surveillance ofpopulations, privacy has become a crucial safeguard for individual rights.According to opinion polls, concern over privacy violation is now greater thanat any time in recent history. Uniformly, populations throughout the world reporttheir distress about encroachment on privacy, prompting an unprecedentednumber of nations to pass laws, which specifically protect the privacy of theircitizens.

The basis for this legal activity rests on a growing understanding thatprivacy is a fundamental right. Privacy is a concept which underpins humandignity and other key values such as freedom of association and freedom ofspeech. These rights are established squarely in international covenants, andare protected specifically in the constitutions of many nations. Moreover, theincreasing sophistication of information technology, with its capacity to collect,analyse and disseminate information about individuals, has introduced a senseof urgency to the demand for legislation. Here I wish to set out the factorswhich are driving the new surveillance societies of the world, and describe thekeen awareness that is fuelling a resurgence in privacy activism. The tensionbetween these two forces will grow logarithmically in coming years.

I must repeat what others have said many times: privacy is endangered.New developments in medical research and care, advanced transportationsystems and financial transfers have dramatically increased the level of infor-mation generated by each individual. Computers linked together by high-speednetworks with advanced processing systems can create comprehensive dossierson any person without the need for a single central computer system. Moreimportant, surveillance has become a fixed design component in virtually allinformation technology.

Rapid advances in the development of powerful technology, in conjunc-tion with the demand for greater bureaucratic efficiency, are promoting a seam-less Web of surveillance from cradle to grave, from bankbook to bedroom.New technologies developed by the defence industry are spreading into lawenforcement, civilian agencies, and private companies. At the same time,outdated laws and regulations are failing to check an expanding pattern ofabuses. Human rights groups are concerned that much of this technology is

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being exported to developing countries, which lack adequate protections.Currently, there are few barriers to the trade in surveillance technologies.Government and citizen alike could potentially benefit from some of the ITschemes being implemented in the private and public sectors. New « smartcard” projects in which client information is placed on a chip in a card maystreamline complex transactions. The Internet will revolutionize access tobasic information about government services. Encryption can provide secu-rity and privacy for all parties.

However, the successful implementation of these initiatives requires a bold,forward-looking legislative framework. Whether governments can deliver thisframework will depend on their willingness to listen to the pulse of the emergingglobal digital economy. It will also depend on industry recognizing the need forstrong protection of privacy. My own view is that – notable exceptions aside –privacy is seldom recognized outside Europe, either by government or the privatesector. Industry continues to pursue models of self-regulation that are, at best,lowest common denominator protection for consumers. Ever since personal infor-mation became a “value added” component of business, few companies havebeen willing to relinquish the opportunity to amass and process all manner ofdata.

In 1994, conscious both of the shortcomings of law, and the many differ-ences in the level of protection in each of its States, the European Parliamentpassed a Europe-wide directive which will provide citizens with a wider rangeof protection from abuses of their data. The Data Protection Directive sets abenchmark for national law. Each EU State must pass complementary legislationby October 1998. The Directive also imposes an obligation on Member Statesto ensure that the personal information relating to European citizens is coveredby law when it is exported to, and processed in, countries outside Europe. Thisrequirement has resulted in a growing pressure outside Europe for the passageof privacy laws. Those countries, which refuse to adopt meaningful privacy law,may find themselves unable to conduct business with Europe.

The passage of the Directive highlights an interesting irony. While it isclear that the invasion of privacy is recognized more than ever before, it isequally true that it has never been so substantial. And while Europe sets out topioneer a global privacy regime, it is also setting out to create the foundationsfor a global surveillance society. Earlier this year, a report commissioned by theEuropean Parliament confirmed the existence of a network of supercomputersoperated by the secretive United States National Security Agency (NSA), anagency responsible for intercepting communications across the world for thebenefit of American business and government.

The report “Assessing the Technologies of Political Control” commis-sioned by the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee stated “WithinEurope, all e-mail, telephone and fax communications are routinely interceptedby the United States National Security Agency, transferring all target informa-tion from the European mainland via the strategic hub of London. Then bysatellite to Fort Meade in Maryland via the crucial hub at Menwith Hill,

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Yorkshire”. The report added that the NSA, in collaboration with Germany andthe United Kingdom, indiscriminately intercepts electronic communications toextract valuable information using artificial intelligence systems to identify keywords. At the same time, the United Kingdom civil rights organizationStatewatch uncovered the existence of a document “Memorandum of under-standing on the lawful interception of communications”, signed jointly byEuropean nations and the United States. Creating a global communicationsintercept arrangement that appears to have been agreed outside the purview ofnational parliaments.

These revelations have sparked activity among civil rights and directaction groups in some countries. The European Parliament is set to take theunprecedented step of debating the issue in plenary session in September 1999.Until recently, these and other surveillance schemes went largely unnoticed. Inthe past two years, however, dozens of activist groups have formed loosealliances to – as one campaigner described it – “put the pieces together”. At amore mundane level, domestic surveillance and privacy invasion are fallingprey to an increasingly educated public and media, who are less willing toaccept “public interest” arguments in support of surveillance. The next 10 yearswill be interesting. I have no doubt that the current mania for establishingsurveillance schemes will spawn a resilient and dynamic privacy movement. Ialso believe that citizens will start to use their rights under data protection law.If Big Brother persists, he is likely to have a fight on his hands.

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MESA REDONDA

PROTECTING PROPRIETARY AND SECURITY RIGHTS

PROTECTION DES DROITS À LA PROPRIÉTÉ

ET À LA SÉCURITÉ

PROTECCIÓN DE LOS DERECHOS

DE PROPIEDAD Y A LA SEGURIDAD

4

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YOUSEF NUSSEIRPresident, National Information Centre, Jordan

Protection versus accessibility on the Internet and the IntranetIn the world of open access to enormous amounts of data via the ever-expanding connectivitythrough the Internet, it is becoming more and more difficult to decide where to draw the linebetween what could be considered protection and what is considered accessibility issues.What are proprietary rights and what is the public domain, what are security rights and whatare access rights. These issues are ethical, cultural and legal, hence discussed as such in thispaper along with the Jordanian experience in establishing the National Information System, a national intranet, and the manner in which these issues are addressed.

Protection ou accessibilité sur les réseaux Internet et IntranetDans un monde où de plus en plus de gens sont raccordés à l’Internet et peuvent ainsi accéder librement à d’énormes quantités de données, il devient de plus en plus difficile de fairela différence entre ce qui devrait relever de la protection et ce qui met en jeu l’accessibilité ;comment définir les droits exclusifs et le domaine public ; comment définir le droit à lasécurité et le droit à l’accès. Il s’agit-là d’enjeux éthiques, culturels et juridiques, analyséscomme tels dans cette intervention, qui parallèlement rend compte de l’expérience jordanienned’établissement d’un Système national d’information, l’Intranet national, et de la manière dont les problèmes en jeu sont abordés.

Protección y accesibilidad en Internet y en las redes InternasEn un mundo de acceso libre a inmensas cantidades de datos a través de las conexiones en constante expansión de Internet, es cada vez más difícil hacer una distinción entre lo que se podría considerar una cuestión de protección y lo que se percibe como un problemade accesibilidad, entre lo que son los derechos de propiedad y lo que es el dominio público,entre el derecho a la seguridad y el derecho de acceso. Estas cuestiones son de índole ética,cultural y jurídica y se examinan desde esos puntos de vista en esta ponencia, en la que se expone asimismo la experiencia jordana de establecimiento del Sistema Nacional de Información, una intranet nacional, y la manera en que se abordan estos asuntos en el país.

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In this world of open access to enormous amounts of data via the ever-expanding connectivity through the Internet, it is becoming more and moredifficult to decide where to draw the line between what could be consideredprotection and what is considered an accessibility issue. What are proprietaryrights and what is the public domain, what are security rights and what areaccess rights. These issues are ethical, cultural and legal, hence discussed assuch in this paper along with the Jordanian experience in establishing theNational Information System, a national Intranet, and the manner in whichthese issues are addressed. The current and future changes and trends in theworld economy, together with the challenges presented by globalization andthe information revolution, concern all countries. A good understanding of theemerging market place and its capacity to create investment opportunities, aswell as its creativity in the use of information technology, form the basis foractive participation in the global economy.

Communities that utilize information and information technologies toeffect the necessary changes in the way we live and work are coming to beknown as Smart Communities. This is the environment in which communitiesaround the world will be doing business and interacting. However, technologyalone will not create a smart community. It is the dedicated smart human beingthat remains the driving force. I dare say that there will come a time whenactual reality is considered an illusion created by lack of virtual reality. Globalcompetitiveness will be the norm in the next century. National and localeconomies will have to shift towards one global economy. This in itself posesa great challenge for small economies to initiate the process of integration intothe global scene. It is no longer enough to take the decision to participate inthe globalization activities, one must also have something to participate with,namely, information and knowledge, and some sort of a competitive edge.

In a recent publication by the EU Commission, namely, the “green paperon the convergence of the telecommunication, media and information technologysectors and the implications for regulation”, it was emphasized that Europeshould quickly embrace the changes implied by the convergence. It was alsostated that continuing support should be given to research and developmentactivities in these areas. Otherwise, Europe would be left behind travelling inthe slow lane of the global information highway.

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If the advanced developed countries of Europe realize the impact andthe challenges ahead in a cyber-economy environment, what about thedeveloping countries? Where do we stand? What are the future prospects? TheInternet phenomenon is no longer looked at as a connectivity tool for e-mailingyour colleagues or exchanging business information, it is now becoming a forceeffecting a major change in the way we live.

Harvard President Neil Rudenstein asked in his opening remarks at theSecond International Conference on Internet and Society last May: “What doesthe Net mean for the future of how we conduct business and how we governourselves? How do we think about personal privacy, and how do different nationsand cultures relate to one another? Will the Internet make us a more inclusive andperhaps more equitable society or is it more likely to widen the gap between thehaves and have-nots? We all know that there is a gap. But how big? Let me givejust three indicators: the total GDP of all the Arab countries, including the oil-richcountries, is well below that of Spain. The average telephone line penetrationrate in Europe is approaching 50 per 100 inhabitants, while in the Arab countriesit is less than six. PCs penetration rate in Europe is close to 30 per 100 inhabitants,in the Arab countries it is less than one. To me this means that if Europe ismarching ahead with its development, then we in developing countries shouldrun just to maintain the gap, let alone reduce it. Some think that the Internetcould enable developing countries to leapfrog into the information age.

Yet, the fact remains that there is an urgent basic need to assist thosedeveloping countries to enhance their capacity-building, their infrastructure, andtheir information base so as to have the capability to embrace and utilize thenew technologies and their implications and thus to participate in the cyber-economy of the twenty-first century. And as President Nelson Mandela oncesaid knowledge sharing is crucial and we need to see others as partners andnot adversaries. No one really knows how the Internet and related technologieswill evolve in the future. There are unlimited possibilities. However, we allrealize that whatever happens there are responsibilities and obligations that weowe our children especially insofar as social equity, privacy and the globalcommunity are concerned.

I would like to address few issues that fall within the ethical, culturaland legal frameworks of protection and accessibility on the Internet andIntranets. When is protection a valid and viable resolve and when does itbecomes an infringement of personal freedom or of the democratic process?By protecting your children from obscenity on the Internet, are you violatingtheir personal freedom? By protecting your community from extremism andfundamentalism of any kind, are you violating the people’s democratic right toknow? Where does one draw the line? Who decides, especially when weconsider the different value structures within different societies around theglobe? What could be seen as obscene in an Arab society might be seen asnormal practice in a Western society. The same goes for extremism and funda-mentalism. This poses the question: whose values is the Internet promoting?And are these values in line with our society’s values or in contradiction with

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them? Do they affect our culture and our harmony? Do we need protectionmeasures? And how do we go about it?

According to the Internet society, over 80 per cent of all websites on theNet are in English, and two-thirds of Internet users live in the United States.This implies American dominance. Obviously, the United States is a greatdemocracy, but one must appreciate that there are different value systems inthe world. Hence, society should find a balance between what should be consideredas a protection measure and what should be considered as freedom of expres-sion, without neglecting the fact that exploiting the wealth of information, whichis made available on the Internet, is essential for socio-economic development.Information exchange promotes understanding and cultural harmony. Protectionmust not be a smothering tool in any society.

In all countries and in both the public and private sectors, there are typesor categories of information that are considered private and proprietary, andothers that are considered to be in the public domain. Nowadays, it is becomingmore and more difficult to draw the line between the two. The public right toknow is becoming the default rule. However, there still remains the questionof industrial secrets, business transactions, personal data, national security andothers that should not be publicly accessible for obvious reasons. But wheninformation, which is considered to be public good, is not made accessible tothe public for a variety of reasons, then rules and regulations even legislationshould enable the public to have access to it. However, there is no excuse forunlawful entry, hacking of protected data. Committing computer crimes shouldbe punishable by law. This issue is still not fully addressed by the legislativeprocess in most societies and totally neglected in many. Unlawful access toprivate databases is not yet seen as a crime in many countries. The right of anindividual or an organization to protect his/her/its private information shouldbe upheld.

The fact that there are technologies that could help to protect personaldata and secure its transferability across the Net should be encouraged andmade available to those that need it. Encryption software comes to mind. Dowe allow the wide use and easy dissemination of such technologies or maintainthe restrictive nature of such activities for security reasons? The race betweenhackers and technology enterprises is and will remain a continuous process.The battle of the wits is being fought for various non-ethical or harmless reasons.A global mechanism is needed to monitor those activities within a frameworkof a global information infrastructure, rather than having each country deviseits own set of rules and regulations that could affect the rights of the individual.

Self-regulation is another issue that is becoming a major theme in theinformation industry; especially where content is concerned. Again, this issubject to the ethics and value systems of those that have the access and thetechnology. Who are those people? In a recent article in the December issueof Wired, entitled “The Digital Citizen”, Jon Katz analysed the results of asurvey conducted by Frank Luntz, a pollster and strategist in Arlington, Virginia.The survey which was done on behalf of Merrill Lynch Forum and Wired

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Magazine, revealed that the millions of people on the Net are by and largeknowledgeable, tolerant, civic-minded, committed to change, optimistic, partic-ipatory, culture-proud and passionate about freedom.

With such profound virtues how can we go wrong with this communityof enlightened futurists? But then, where does the obscenity on the Net comefrom? Cyber-crime? Maliciousness? Indeed, the majority of people on the Netmight possess those virtues, but the few that don’t could inflict a great deal ofdamage on the global community. Hence, protection measures are necessaryand insofar as the developing countries are concerned, essential. Those countriesthat are still finding their way into cyberspace are easy targets and should beprotected. Self-regulation is a necessary option, but should also be coupled withlegislation that would ensure its proper implementation.

Turning to Jordan, we have embarked on a national effort to establish acomprehensive information base in Jordan, in an attempt to elevate the utilizationof information as a main resource in the development process. This effort ismanifested in the establishment of a National Information System. The NationalInformation System (NIS) aims at developing information sources at the nationallevel and setting up sectoral networks linking information generating andcollecting centres, thus ensuring the flow of information to decision-makers,planners and researchers in both the public and private sectors in Jordan. Onecould look at NIS as the Jordanian Intranet operating at the national level. Thiscooperative effort is coordinated and managed by the National InformationCentre (NIC) which was established in 1993.

In its role as a catalyst, organizer and coordinator, NIC is entrusted withtasks ranging from the development of information sources in cooperation withrelevant national institutions, setting up unified procedures and standards,providing access to timely information, networking related information sourcesand human resource development. Within the framework of NIS several issuespertaining to privacy, confidentiality and data security are of concern. This isemphasized in the National Information Policy Framework, which was preparedby NIC, together with other statements as prepared by national committees,and in particular, Information Security and Privacy Guidelines.

Although Jordan is an active participant in cyberspace, there are so farno official actions taken to ensure protection of data or to formalize ethical andcultural issues of concern to the Jordanian community. However, these issuesare of concern and have been addressed in several forums within the frameworkof NIS and its information policies. The main highlights pertaining to thoseissues could be summarized as follows:

• Access to public information is the right of every citizen. But personaland private information should be protected against public access.

• Intellectual property rights of individuals and institutions should by upheld.Legislation governing IPR has already been passed by parliament.

• Preservation of culture is being handled through the publication ofJordanian information on the Net and in the Arabic language on NIS.

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• Accessibility to the Net is open to the public without any restrictions.However, awareness campaigns are being conducted to draw attention toundesirable information, which is available on the Net. So far, no legislationhas been enforced at the national level to cater for that.

• Guidelines on data security and privacy have been prepared anddistributed to all public organizations. However, it is still left to eachorganization to set up its own mechanism and regulations to protect theirprivate data. Firewalls are being employed at various institutions tocontrol accessibility. But no encryption technologies are yet being usedin the public or private sectors.

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A.K. CHAKRAVARTIAdviser, Information Technologies, Government of India, India

Protecting proprietary and security rights in cyberspace:Initiatives in IndiaBuilding upon a well-developed software capability, India is currently formulating an actionplan to become a global information technology power and one of the largest generators and exporters of software within the next 10 years. As part of this, specific studies have beencarried out and recommendations made through an interministerial Standing Committee toformulate the necessary cyber laws protecting proprietary and security rights in cyberspace.This work has been backed up with a series of international state-of-the-art technical studies of cyber laws related to certain key areas (Digital Signature Law, IPR, cryptography technologyand policy directions and cyber laws for computer-related crimes) to draw a parallel for theIndian scenario (website: www.doe.gov.in). The approach adopted in formulating cyber laws ispresented with its specific details.

Protection des droits à la propriété et à la sécurité dans le cyberespace : les initiatives de l’IndeSur la base des capacités en matière de génie logiciel dont elle s’est dotée, l’Inde est en trainde mettre au point un plan d’action qui lui permettra de devenir une puissance mondiale dansle domaine de l’informatique et l’un des plus importants développeurs-exportateurs de logicielsdans les dix années à venir. Dans ce cadre, des études ont été faites et des recommandationsformulées au sein d’un Comité permanent interministériel chargé de mettre au point un droit du cyberespace protégeant les droits exclusifs et la sécurité dans le cyberespace. Ces travauxs’appuient sur une série d’études techniques de la législation internationale sur certains pointsessentiels en rapport avec le cyberespace (loi sur la signature numérique, droit de propriétéintellectuelle, techniques de cryptage, orientations et législation en matière de délit informatique)afin de dresser un parallèle avec ce qu’il est projeté de faire en Inde. (Site Web : www.doe.gov.in).La démarche suivie pour établir ce droit du cyberespace est décrite en détail.

Protección de los derechos de propiedad y seguridad en el ciberespacio: iniciativas en la IndiaBasándose en la capacidad establecida de producir programas informáticos, la India estáelaborando un plan de acción para convertirse en una potencia mundial de la tecnología de lainformación y uno de los productores y exportadores más importantes de programas informáticosen los próximos diez años. En este marco, también se han realizado estudios específicos yformulado recomendaciones por conducto de un Comité Permanente interministerial encargadode elaborar las leyes necesarias para proteger los derechos de propiedad y seguridad en elciberespacio. Esta labor se ha respaldado mediante una serie de estudios técnicos sobre la legislación actual en materia de ciberespacio en el plano internacional, en relación con algunos temas fundamentales (ley sobre la firma numérica, derechos de propiedad intelectual,tecnología de la criptografía y orientaciones de política así como leyes para los delitos relacionados con la informática), a fin de establecer un modelo para la situación india (espacioWeb: www.doe.gov.in). Se presenta el planteamiento adoptado para formular dichas leyes, condetalles concretos.

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Overall framework of the Indian scenario

The Indian Information Technology (IT) industry particularly software has seenimpressive annual growth rate of around 50% in the last five years. Indian softwaredevelopment capability now has worldwide recognition. Today, internationalInfotech giants are coming to India to set up software development activities.India is likely to emerge as a global software development centre linked up toworldwide operations. The confidence of the public at large as investors insoftware companies can be seen from the fact that the stocks of the Indian softwarecompanies have been doing very well. In the last year or so, a large number ofinitiatives have been taken with a view to strengthening the indigenous capability.These include Supercomputers, ATM test bed, Java Competency Centre of India,better datacom infrastructure, a framework for Cyber Laws, Internet and relatedissues, expansion of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), software qualitycertification, Multimedia Promotion Programme, Localization of Software,National S&T Net, Electronic Governance, National Information Infrastructure(NII) test beds, Action Plan for NII for National Development, National SoftwareCapability Enhancement Programme, IPR Promotion Programme, etc.

The Government of India, recognizing the impressive growth the countryhas achieved which is still a small portion of the potential to be achieved, hasresolved to make India a Global IT Superpower and a front-runner in the ageof the Information Revolution. The Government of India considers IT as anagent of transformation of every facet of human life that will bring about aknowledge-based society in the twenty-first century. To accomplish this taskthrough a specific IT Action Plan and Policy, in May 1998 the Government ofIndia set up a High-level National Task Force on Information Technology andSoftware Development. The first of its Reports, contains 108 recommendationsfor the IT Action Plan covering the needed revisions and additions to existingpolicies, procedures for removing bottleneck and achieving such a pre-eminentstatus for India, was accepted by the Government, on 25 July 1998. Furtherwork is progressing rapidly; the totality of the work done and the current statusof work are available at: http://it-taskforce.nic.in. [1].

The importance accorded to Data Security Systems and Cyber Laws givenby the National Task Force on IT could be gauged from the fact that eightspecific items of Action Plan (S. No. 100 to 107) pertain to this subject.

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Protection under the Indian copyright act

The Indian Copyright Act was amended in 1994 to extend more effectiveprotection to computer programmes as literary works and to protect computer-generated works. The meaning of “literary work” included works such as computerprogram, tables and compilations including computer databases. The rights of thecopyright holder, the rights of the users, and the punishment of infringement ofcopyright of software, etc., are all extensively covered.

India is a signatory to the Berne Convention (1971) and to the RomeConvention and the Indian Copyright Act as amended in 1994 with a broad-baseddefinition of software and making copyright infringement as a recognizableoffence is rated as an effective piece of legislation. Under the TRIPS Agreement,besides the General Provisions and Basic Principles given therein, insofar asInformation Technology is concerned, Section 1 of Part II entitled “Copyrightsand Related Rights” provide the necessary clauses with respect to ComputerProgram and Compilation of Data (Article 10) and its relationship to the BerneConvention (Article 9). Section 6 covers provisions for Layout Design(Typographies) of Integrated Circuits (Articles 35, 36, 37 and 38). Insofar assubstantive provisions of TRIPS in Computer Program and Compilation ofData are concerned, the Indian Copyright Act (amended in 1994) is broadly inconformity with the Berne Convention. Work to draft sui generis legislation forprotection of intellectual property in layout design of integrated circuits in linewith the requirements of WTO/TRIPS has begun.

WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and PhonogramsTreaty: The above two treaties adopted by WIPO which organized a DiplomaticConference (2-20 December 1996), indicate that the process of adapting theinternational rights regime to the emerging Digital Age has begun. That theprocess of adaptation has only begun, that it is not at the end, not even at thebeginning of the end but at the end of the beginning, is worth repeating [2,3]. Avery significant factor that emerged during the Diplomatic Conference is therealization on the part of the world community of the ever increasing need forstriking a balance between the rights of the authors/owners of copyright andneighbouring rights on the one hand and the interests of society on the other,when framing new legislation whether nationally or internationally.

The Indian Copyright Act (amended in 1994) may need only minoramendments to make it conform to the new treaties. India is following veryclosely the rapidly emerging technological and commercial scenario in the worldto take appropriate steps at a suitable time. In this regard, it may be noted thatIndia has been elected Chairman of the newly formed WIPO StandingCommittee on Information Technology.

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IPR promotion programme in IT: The DoE initiative

In order to build up greater awareness, develop insights into the complexmechanism of creation, ownership and protection of intellectual property acrossthe country and thereupon take necessary action and to respond to the needsof the digital era, the Department of Electronics, Government of India has setup an IPR Cell and is implementing an IPR Promotion Programme. As a single-point IPR knowledge resource, the IPR Cell, with the participation of variousinterest/knowledge groups, analyses worldwide new developments in IPR inthe context of Multimedia/NII/GII/Emergent Global Digital Economy [4]. Theseare published and presented in the various forums to increase awareness in thecountry of the emergent scenario and to take appropriate initiatives.

In line with the WIPO Treaties’ Digital Agenda, a project has been initiatedin the country to conceptualize Electronic Rights Management System [5].

Standing Committee on the formulation of cyberlaws

India has placed great emphasis on Information Technology and in order to respondto the needs of Cyberspace/digital economy, aspects related to the formulation ofCyber Laws for Electronic Data Transfer and Transaction a high-level inter-ministerialStanding Committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Department ofElectronics has been set up. It is composed of Secretaries from the Ministry ofCommerce, Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Telecommunications,Director-General, National Informatics Centre, Department of AdministrativeReforms and Public Grievances, Secretary, Department of Information Technology,Government of Andhra Pradesh and representatives of Manufacturers Associationof Information Technology (MAIT), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerceand Industry (FICCI), and National Association of Software & Services Companies(NASSCOM).

The Standing Committee set up various subgroups in specific priori-tized/identified areas. The Department of Electronics set up a Core TechnicalTeam to provide secretarial and technical support to the Standing Committee.Initiatives taken around the world in various countries, the work of UNCITRAL,WIPO, OECD, WTO, International Chambers of Commerce, UNESCO and otherinternational bodies have been studied to draw conclusions relevant to India.These have resulted in a series of international state-of-the-art technical studieson Cyber Laws related to certain key areas (Digital Signature Law, IPR,Cryptography Technology & Policy Directions and Cyberlaws for Computer-related Crimes) carried-out during the period October 1997 to April 1998. Thesestudies are available at: http://www.doe.gov.in [6 to 9].

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Standing Committee on Cyber Laws

The Standing Committee on Cyber Laws has now drafted a bill to lay downthe legal framework for use of documents transmitted electronically in business.As a primary and important step to facilitate the admissibility of electronicdocument/record/data as evidence, existing laws which may be termed as corelaws have been recommended for certain amendments. The definition of anelectronic document is to be inserted as specific subclauses to the effect thesehave been formulated for incorporation in various statutes like The IndianEvidence Act, The General Clauses Act and the Indian Penal Code. Relatedamendments in Banker’s Book Evidence Act and Reserve Bank of India Acthave also been formulated to facilitate Electronic Fund Transfer.

In a nutshell, the draft Information Technology Bill, 1998 (draft) preparedby the Standing Committee on Cyber Laws is aimed at making provisions forthe security and use of electronic transactions and for matters connectedtherewith. These cover, inter alia, aspects related to Secure Electronic Recordsand Signatures, Electronic Contracts, Digital Signature and associatedCertification Authorities, Government use of Electronic Records & Signature,Computer Crime & Data Protection and various other related issues. The draftIT Bill, after incorporating certain suggestions made by the Standing Committee,will now be vetted by the Legislative Department among other authorities;necessary approval will then be given to introduce the Bill in the IndianParliament.

Summing up

To sum up, aspects related to protecting proprietary and security rights in cyber-space, within the framework of IT Action Plan to make India a global IT powerand one of the largest generators and exporters of software in the world, havebeen addressed. In this rapidly changing field, driven by fast technologydevelopment and associated commercial interests, an attempt has been madeto understand and develop insights into various initiatives and concern in theworld in the present phase of globalization. Work of the IPR Cell, Departmentof Electronics and that of high-level interministerial Standing Committee forthe formulation of Cyber Laws in India have been presented.

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References:

1. National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development.(Available at URL address: http://it-taskforce.nic.in).

2. National Seminar on WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties,organized by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India in collaboration with the National Law School of Indian University,Bangalore and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, New Delhi, February 1997.Particular papers/presentations made by (i) Dr R.V. Vaidyanathan Ayyar, Additional Secretary, MHRD and Leader of the Indian Delegation to WIPODiplomatic Conference and (ii) Dr N.S. Gopalakrishnan, National Law School of Indian University.

3. Digital Technology, Copyright Protection and WIPO Treaties Achievements and Future Agenda particularly w.r.t. Software, Dr A.K. Chakravarti, in the aboveseminar, New Delhi, February 1997.

4. Intellectual Property Rights in the Ensuing Global Digital Economy, A.S.A.Krishnan & A.K. Chakravarti, Electronics Information & Planning, August 1997.Reprinted in Journal of Intellectual Property Rights, National Institute of ScienceCommunication, Vol. 3, January 1998.

5. Electronic Copyright Management System, A.S.A. Krishnan & A.K. Chakravarti,Electronics – Information & Planning, August 1997.

6. Digital Signature Law – A survey of the International Scenario, R.K. Dubash,Gulshan Rai & A.K. Chakravarti, Electronics Information & Planning, November 1997. Available at http://www.doe.gov.in/~doe/cyber.htm

7. Cryptography Technology & Policy Directions in the context of NII, Gulshan Rai, R.K. Dubash & A.K. Chakravarti, Electronics Information & Planning,November 1997. Available at http://www.doe.gov.in/~doe/cyber.htm.

8. New Directions in Intellectual Property Rights, A.S. Krishnan & A.K. Chakravarti,Electronics Information & Planning, November 1997. Available athttp://www.doe.gov.in/~doe/cyber.htm.

9. Computer Related Crimes, Gulshan Rai, R.K. Dubash & A.K. Chakravarti,Electronics Information & Planning, June 1998. Available athttp://www.doe.gov.in/~doe/cyber.htm.

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THEME THÈME

TEMA

SOCIETIES AND GLOBALIZATION

LES SOCIÉTÉS FACE À LA MONDIALISATION

LAS SOCIEDADES Y LA MUNDIALIZACION

C

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MESA REDONDA

PROMOTING COGNITIVE EDUCATION

PROMOUVOIR LA FORMATION COGNITIVE

FOMENTO DE LAEDUCACION COGNOSCITIVA

5

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KRISTOF NYIRIDirector, Institute of Philosophy, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary

Global education and local communitiesCyberspace is a new kind of reality combining aspects of pre-literal, face-to-face communicationon the one hand, and literal/typographic communication on the other. Communication in atypographic culture is the communication of abstract (“platonic”) meanings among members of an abstract society, such as a modern nation (Benedict Anderson’s “imagined community”).Knowledge is less abstract in an interactive audiovisual environment than in a purely typo-graphical one; and the acquisition of this knowledge is less dependent on an extended process of education in some national – i.e. literary – language than was the acquisition of abstract,typographical knowledge in earlier ages. Successful navigation in cyberspace does, however,presuppose some specific training leading to appropriate combinations of technical skills andliterary skills, the latter necessarily encompassing both a rudimentary grasp of English and one’smother tongue (which may be a local dialect). To lay the theoretical and practical groundworkfor determining what in fact the combination of those skills should amount to requires bothresearch in the domain of the logic of images and sounds as merged with the logic of texts, andcommunity efforts at linking local culture to global communication.

Éducation mondiale et communautés localesLe cyberespace est une nouvelle sorte de réalité mariant des aspects de la communicationdirecte qui existaient avant l’écriture à ceux de la communication écrite et typographique. La communication dans une culture écrite est la communication de signifiants abstraits(« platoniques ») entre membres d’une société abstraite comme l’est une nation moderne (celle qui se construit dans « l’imaginaire national de Benedict Anderson »). Le savoir est moins abstrait dans un environnement audiovisuel interactif que dans un environnement où seul règne l’imprimé ; aussi l’acquisition de ce savoir dépend-il dans ce cas moins d’unlong processus d’éducation dans une langue nationale – par définition littéraire – qu’il nel’était autrefois lorsqu’il était abstrait et passait par l’écrit et la typographie. Bien savoir naviguer dans le cyberespace suppose cependant que l’on acquiert une certaine formationassociant dans des proportions convenables des savoirs techniques et des savoirs littéraires,portant nécessairement ces derniers à la fois sur des rudiments d’anglais et sur sa proprelangue maternelle (qui peut être un dialecte local). Avoir en mains les éléments théoriques et pratiques nécessaires pour savoir dans quelle proportion associer ces deux qualités de savoir nécessite à la fois des recherches dans le domaine de la logique des images et des sons et de leur fusion avec la logique des textes et des efforts de la collectivité en causepour relier la culture locale à la communication mondiale.

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Educación mundial y comunidades locales El ciberespacio es un nueva clase de realidad en la que se combinan aspectos de lacomunicación preliteral y presencial por un lado, y de la comunicación literal/tipográfica por el otro. En una cultura tipográfica la comunicación es la transmisión de significadosabstractos (“platónicos”) entre miembros de una sociedad abstracta, como una naciónmoderna (la ”comunidad imaginada” de Benedict Anderson). El conocimiento es menosabstracto en un entorno audiovisual interactivo que en otro exclusivamente tipográfico;además, la adquisición de ese conocimiento depende menos de un extenso proceso de educación en alguna lengua nacional – es decir, literal – que la adquisición de conocimientostipográficos abstractos en épocas anteriores. No obstante, la navegación en el ciberespaciopresupone algún tipo de formación específica que permita adquirir una combinaciónapropiada de competencias técnicas y de manejo del lenguaje; estas últimas deben abarcarnecesariamente tanto un inglés rudimentario como la propia lengua materna (que puede ser un dialecto local). Sentar las bases teóricas y prácticas para determinar en qué deberíaconsistir la combinación de esas aptitudes requiere investigaciones relativas a la lógica de las imágenes y los sonidos así como a la lógica de los textos, y esfuerzos comunitariospara vincular la cultura local con la comunicación mundial.

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Introduction

Let me begin with a summary of what I am going to say. Cyberspace is a newkind of reality, in some crucial respects less real, but in some respects more real,than the space of face-to-face encounters and of physical documents. Signs incyberspace may be quite unconnected to any real-life states of affairs, they maybe quite abstract, but often they are much less abstract than signs in a printedbook for example. As I will endeavour to show, communication in the world ofprint is, characteristically, the communication of abstract meanings amongmembers of an abstract society, such as a modern nation. The communication ofknowledge in an interactive audiovisual medium is less dependent on an extendedprocess of education in some national – i.e. literary – language than was thecommunication of abstract, typographical knowledge in earlier ages.

Successful navigation in cyberspace does however presuppose somespecific training leading to appropriate combinations of technical skills andliterary skills, the latter normally encompassing both a rudimentary grasp ofEnglish and one’s mother tongue. Working out how in fact such a combinationof skills can be taught and acquired, and exploring the ways, in which localcommunities can form a suitable learning environment, are the goals of anongoing research programme in Hungary; I conclude by sketching someessentials of this programme.

The ontology of cyberspace

In some crucial respects cyberspace is, obviously, less real than the space offace-to-face connections. One should recall here Gérard Raulet’s profound study“The New Utopia”, written in the 1980s, pointing to the spurious idea of“supplanting places by spaces”, and to the gap separating symbolic “interactivity”from actual social interaction [1]. One should also recall the essentially consistentfindings of an impressive array of empirical studies showing that telecommuni-cations, however dense and multidimensional the networks, do not have theeffectiveness, let alone the emotional impact, of face-to-face encounters. Untilthe late 1970s, such studies focused, understandably, on the effects of thetelephone. They found that although telephone contacts did of course make adifference when no other contacts were available [2], as compared with face-to-facecontacts, they had no great propensity to create new linkages. Telephone contacts

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are effective if they can rely on background information from earlier personalmeetings, and if they are regularly reinforced by such meetings [3].

The same pattern still holds for e-mail and teleconferencing. Analysingthe impact of telecommunications on urban and regional development, LionelNicol wrote in 1985:

“Telecommunications – and, for that matter, the telephone – havetraditionally been presented as having a decentralizing influence. Thebasic argument is that a fundamental effect of better communications is toreduce spatial impedance; that is, the frictional forces that geographicalspace imposes on the transfer of persons, commodities, and informa-tion ... Yet, despite its impressive advantages, there are no tangiblesigns that telecommunications may be displacing transportation ...Claims to the contrary simply ignore the synergic effects of improvedcommunications on the need for face-to-face contacts that, for institu-tional or cultural reasons, cannot be handled on-line” [4].

The effectiveness of video conferencing is low unless it is backed up byface-to-face conferences; e-mail correspondences peter out if they are notcomplemented by personal encounters, or at least enlivened by phone callsand/or video contacts.

Turning from electronic connections to electronic documents, it may besaid that texts and data stored in one’s computer or accessed through the Webare physically never present, except for the tiny segments present on the screen.Electronic texts are fluid, evanescent, even Web pages tend to change or indeedvanish, while books convey a feeling of solidity. When reading or browsingthrough a book, when studying the shelves of a library, or even when flippingcatalogue cards, one gains a sense of orientation, which the electronic mediumdoes much less to provide [5]. In the electronic medium “there is no sense of thetext as a mass of material ... wherein the reader’s ‘place’ can be located at somepoint in space, as there is with the printed book” [6].

Let us note, however, that the difference between the reality of oureveryday surroundings on the one hand and cyberspace on the other is but amatter of degree. Our surroundings are socially and culturally constructed [7].As Manuel Castells recently reminded us in The Information Age, “there is noseparation between ‘reality’ and symbolic representation. In all societieshumankind has existed in and acted through a symbolic environment” [8]. Andin some respects the flows in cyberspace have already become more real, inthe sense of more powerful, or more difficult to control, than the people theyconnect. Think of the global financial market. Or think of political campaignson the Internet, against which governments are helpless more often than not.And thinking about the Internet of course increasingly means thinking aboutthe convergent worlds of computer networking and the global multimedia – theemergence of a new, overwhelming reality. Castells has coined the term “realvirtuality” to express the state of affairs when, as he puts it, virtuality becomesour reality [9].

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Literacy and abstract meanings

Signs in cyberspace may be quite abstract; often however, as suggested above,they are much less abstract than signs in a hand-written or printed book. Itshould be remembered that alphabetic writing did not become widespread beforethe fifth century BC. One may also recall the thesis of Eric Havelock’s Prefaceto Plato, published in 1963 [10], according to which writing was, for Plato, notjust a new medium in which to express his philosophy, it was in fact writingitself, the experience of literacy, that formed the very source of Platonism.When Plato inquired about the nature of justice, or the beautiful, or goodness,he was not merely asking new questions; he was asking questions with regardto abstract terms that had simply not existed in the Greek language prior to therise of literacy. Here is a quote from Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro:

“My friend, you did not give me sufficient information before, whenI asked what holiness was, but you told me that this was holy whichyou are now doing, prosecuting your father for murder. – Euthyphro:Well, what I said was true, Socrates. – Socrates: Perhaps. But,Euthyphro, you say that many other things are holy, do you not? – Euthyphro: Why, so they are – Socrates: Now call to mind that thisis not what I asked you, to tell me one or two of the many holy acts,but to tell the essential aspect, by which all holy acts are holy ...” [11].

Prior to the rise of literacy Greeks became educated by listening toHomeric poems – listening to heroic stories recounted in the colourful mediumof “metre and harmony and rhythm” [12]. Homeric Greek was not a language inwhich abstract issues like the essence of holiness could be discussed. It is thesyntax of writing that creates abstract terms and the necessity to deal with them [13];audiovisual electronic communication alleviates that necessity. It therebyamounts to a liberation of thought from the straitjacket of one-dimensionallanguage.

National identities and abstract societies

Communities in pre-literal cultures, as well as so-called primary groups inmodern societies, can be designated as concrete in the sense that they are basedon, and held together by, actual personal relationships. With the rise of literacy,abstract societies emerge. The ties between members of an abstract society are,characteristically, not personal ones; instead, members share the same literateculture. The modern nation is an abstract society that has developed in closeconnection with the emergence of the printing press. In medieval Europe,elementary-level literacy was provided, where at all necessary, by local schools,in the local dialect; higher-level literacy, by the great universities like Bolognaand Paris, the language of instruction being of course Latin. From the sixteenthcentury on, Latin was gradually complemented by the new literary, “national”,languages emerging in close connection with the spread of printed books. These

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new languages in turn became instrumental in the creation of modern nation-states– in building up centralized bureaucracies, national markets, and, in particular,national job markets.

The university henceforth served as the apex of a national educationalpyramid, responsible for maintaining the cultural uniformity presupposed by ahorizontally mobile, literate, national labour force [14]. Every citizen of thenation-state speaks, and is literate in, the same uniform language: he (andgradually she) is a member of the same abstract culture [15]. Cultural uniformityis ensured by a unified school system: by a uniform system of primary education,based on the common culture of those educated in higher schools, and ultimatelyon the unified outlook in literature, history, law, and the sciences maintained bythe national university.

Global education sustained by local learning environments

In Hungary, a broad research programme to study the possibilities of educa-tion via the Internet has been launched. One focus of the programme is tertiaryeducation. It appears that for Hungary the virtual university model could be ahighly appropriate one. Hungary is a small country of less than 36,000 squaremiles. Even such a small country, however, can experience very uneven territorialdevelopment. From an educational perspective in particular, rural Hungary isseverely disadvantaged. For young Hungarians living in small villages the chanceof being able to enrol in a university is today 10 to 20 times less than for thoseliving in bigger towns. Hungary has a large diaspora both in the neighbouringcountries of Romania, Slovakia and the former Yugoslavia, as well as in theUnited States and worldwide. In envisaging a virtual university system forHungary, two issues merit particular attention.

First, the language of instruction. At the entry level this would have tobe Hungarian; at higher levels, it appears, it would be a kind of universal English,offering an abundant array of technical concepts, but employing few idioms.Specific questions to be considered here are: what age should the entry levelbe? Will it move downward? If yes, might not subnational dialects graduallysupplant literary Hungarian? Or should we aim, rather, at modernizing theHungarian literary language, enriching it with a vocabulary adequate for theinformation age, allowing thereby that the switch to English as the language ofhigher studies would become necessary at a more mature age only – and allowing,indeed, for innovative scientific milieus with Hungarian as at least a secondworking language?

The second issue is the pedagogy and psychology of virtual teaching/learning. Experience shows that virtual learning environments absolutely needto be supplemented by physical learning environments; appropriate combinationsof virtual and physical spaces have to be constructed. The virtual universitypresupposes a network of physical consultation centres – the locations of -face-to-face encounters among students, and between students and faculty. While

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such a network can, ideally, provide for the necessary face-to-face instructionrequired by each specific course or subject, our hypothesis is that it would notby itself fulfil the functions of a physical learning environment; it could not, byitself, teach the necessary learning skills, nor create a psychologically suitablelearning climate, nor indeed foster a process of adequate student socialization.As a possible solution, we envisage the forming of local learning environments.Virtual communication presupposes real foundations; members of the virtuallearning net need also to be members of actual learning communities; amongsuch communities could be, indeed already are, village communities.Communication centres in smaller settlements – supplemented, ideally, bycommunity networks – can indeed constitute physical environments that willprovide some technical skills and basic cognitive inputs which students then useto build up their virtual learning capacities. How exactly this process of cognitivetransference works, and how it can be enhanced, is a topic for experiment andresearch.

Images, sounds and text: Logic in a new key

Information encountered in an interactive audiovisual environment is lessabstract than that found in printed books. Not just texts, but images and soundsare there to convey knowledge, to explain, to make up an argument. The newenvironment requires radically new didactic approaches. It also requires basicstudies in the field of the logic of images and sounds as merged with the logicof texts. The Hungarian research programme includes such studies. In philosophythe problem has a not inconsiderable pre-history. Thus centuries ago FrancisBacon already remarked that “Emblem reduceth conceits intellectual to imagessensible, which strike the memory more”, and went on to write: “Aristotle saithwell, ‘Words are the images of cogitations, and letters are the images of words’.But yet it is not of necessity that cogitations be expressed by the medium ofwords. For whatsoever is capable of sufficient differences, and those perceptibleby the sense, is in nature competent to express cogitations” [16]. This is the issueRichard Lanham confronts today when he says that scholarly argument shoulduse images “to think through, conceptualize, problems rather than simply toillustrate solutions arrived at through other means” [17]. What Lanham has inmind are the perspectives opened up by the possibility of manipulating imageson the screen. But we should recall that already in the late age of print theprogramme of a better integration of text and images appeared as a conceivableaim, say, to the Austrian Otto Neurath in the 1920s and 1930s.

“Frequently it is very hard”, he wrote, “to say in words what is clearstraight away to the eye. It is unnecessary to say in words what we are able tomake clear by pictures” [18]. Neurath was working towards an “International Systemof Typographic Picture Education”, abbreviated as isotype, an interdependent andinterconnected system of images, to be used together with word languages, yethaving a visual logic of its own. Isotype would be two-dimensional [19], usingdistinctive conventions, shapes, colours and so on. Neurath stressed particularly

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that the creation of this picture language was meant to serve a broader aim, thatof establishing an international encyclopaedia of common, united knowledge– the “work of our time”, he said [20]. Recently Andreas Roser has published animportant study comparing Neurath’s and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s approaches tothe logic of images [21]. And outside the field of philosophy the problem of digitalimage recognition and classification is of course an issue towards which hugeresearch energies are directed.

To conclude. It appears that the conceptual and technical tools to promotehigh-quality education in global dimensions are rapidly becoming available. Inorder to make use of these tools, appropriate national strategies, supranationalcooperation, and local efforts are necessary. Studying in cyberspace relies onskills acquired in face-to-face encounters; global education relies on learningenvironments provided by local communities.

Notes:

01 My references here are based on the German edition: G. Raulet, “Die neue Utopie.Die soziologische und philosophische Bedeutung der neuen Kommunikations-technologien”, in: M. Frank, G. Raulet and W. van Reijen, eds., Die Frage nachdemSubjekt, Frankfurt/M.: 1988. Compare especially p. 285 (“die hier gemeinte‘neue Utopie’ [bedeutet] das Verschwinden des Örtlichen zugunsten desRäumlichen ... die Kategorie der Delokalisierung”) and p. 287 (“eine leichtfertigmit der sozialen Interaktion verwechselte ‘Interaktivität’”).

02. See e.g. Suzanne Keller, “The Telephone in New (and Old) Communities”, in: Ithiel de Sola Pool, ed., The Social Impact of the Telephone, Cambridge,Mass.: The MIT Press, 1977.

03. See esp. Bertil Thorngren, “Silent Actors: Communication Networks forDevelopment”, in: Ithiel de Sola Pool, ed., The Social Impact of the Telephone.

04. Lionel Nicol, “Communications Technology: Economic and Spatial Impacts”, in: Manuel Castells, ed., High Technology, Space, and Society, Beverly Hills, Ca.: Sage: 1985, p. 195. – As Mitchell L. Moss has put it: “Although many so-calledfuturists argue that the electronic cottage will replace the office building and thatteleconferencing will replace the in-person meeting, such speculation merelydemonstrates a poor understanding of urban functions … telecommunications hasnot reduced the value of the face-to-face transactions that occur in large urbancentres”. (Mitchell L. Moss, “Telecommunications and the Future of Cities”, Land Development Studies, 3 [1986], pp. 38f.) – A recent issue of The Economist,featuring an analysis of financial centres, emphasizes the need for physicalpresence, spatial proximity and personal meetings. The former boss of J. P. Morganis quoted as saying that financial centres “would not exist without lunch”. As TheEconomist adds: “Computers can distribute economic data and monetary-policydecisions to everyone at the same time, no matter where they are. Instead, it is thecentre with the biggest number of important banks and investors that will enjoyinformation advantages of the more informal sort” (The Economist 9 May 1998,pp. 8 and 21 of the “Financial Centres” survey).

05. This is brilliantly discussed by Oleg Grabar, “The Intellectual Implications ofElectronic Information”, Technology, Scholarship, and the Humanities: TheImplications of Electronic Information, conference held at Irvine, California,30 September-2 October 1992.

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06. Patrick W. Conner, “Hypertext in the Last Days of the Book”, Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, Vol. 74, No. 3 (Autumn 1992), p. 19.

07. As Doreen Massey has put it: “what gives a place its specificity is ... the fact that it is constructed out of a particular constellation of social relations, meetingand weaving together at a particular locus” (Massey, “A Global Sense of Place”,Marxism Today, June 1991, p. 28). Yet it is essential to point out, as Masseyherself did in her earlier work, that “physical features and variations”, too, are“important. Their impact, use and meaning will, of course, be socially constructed,but that construction is of something” (Doreen Massey, Spatial Divisions ofLabour: Social Structures and the Geography of Production, London: Macmillan,1984, repr. 1995, p. 52).

08. Manuel Castells, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Vol. I: The Rise of the Network Society, Oxford: Blackwell, 1996, p. 372.

09. Ibid.10. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.11. Transl. by Harold North Fowler, Plato with an English translation, Vol. I,

Loeb Library, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1914.12. Plato, The Republic 601b, Jowett transl.13. For a detailed argument see my “Wittgenstein as a Philosopher of Secondary

Orality”. Grazer Philosophische Studien 52 (1996/1997), pp. 45-57, also as an electronic document: <http://.”www.idg.hu/uniworld/nyiri/gps97/gps.htm.

14. See especially Ernest Gellner’s argument in his Nations and Nationalism, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983.

15. See in particular Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London: Verso, 1983, rev. ed. London:Verso, 1991.

16. Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974, pp. 130f.

17. Richard A. Lanham, “The Implications of Electronic Information for the Sociologyof Knowledge”, Technology, Scholarship, and the Humanities: The Implications of Electronic Information, conference held at Irvine, California, 30 September-2 October 1992.

18. Otto Neurath, International Picture Language (1936), Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, University of Reading, 1980, p. 26.

19. “The writing or talking language is only of ‘one expansion’ – the sounds comeone after the other in time, the word-signs come one after the other on paper, as for example the telegram signs on a long, narrow band of paper. The same istrue in books – one word over another in the line under it has no effect on thesense. But there are languages of ‘two expansions’”, ibid. p. 60.

20. Ibid., pp. 65 and 111.21. Andreas Roser, “Gibt es autonome Bilder? Bemerkungen zum grafischen Werk

Otto Neuraths und Ludwig Wittgensteins”, Grazer Philosophische Studien Vol. 52 (1996/97).

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VINCENT MOSCOProfessor of Communication, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University, Canada

Learning to be a citizen of cyberspaceThis paper addresses the need to focus on the content of education in cyberspace and,specifically, about teaching people to be citizens, not just consumers, in this new arena. It begins by reviewing three general conclusions from research on education in cyberspace.First, most of it takes place in the developed world; cyberspace is empty space for most of the world’s people. Second, in the West, the emphasis is on technical education, on teachingpeople how to use technology. Third, where attention is paid to content, most is directed toteaching people how to be consumers of products and services. Notwithstanding the value of technical and consumer skills, the paper calls for a stronger commitment to teaching peopleto be citizens of cyberspace. This includes the ethical value of treating cyberspace as a publicspace or “new commons”, to which all people have rights of access and participation,reasonable expectations of privacy and security, and, along with these rights, civicresponsibilities of participation and mutual respect for fellow cyber-citizens. The paperconcludes by identifying examples of programmes that promote this new form of citizenship.

Apprendre la citoyenneté dans le cyberespaceL’auteur traite de la nécessité de se préoccuper du contenu de l’éducation au cyberespace et plus précisément de la nécessité d’apprendre aux personnes concernées à se comporter en citoyens, et non en consommateurs, dans cette nouvelle sphère. Il commence par rappelertrois des grandes conclusions qui se dégagent des recherches sur l’éducation au cyberespace.Premièrement, pour l’essentiel, elle n’existe que dans le monde développé ; le cyberespace est un espace vide pour la majorité de la population mondiale. Deuxièmement, en Occident, on met surtout l’accent sur l’enseignement technique, sur l’initiation des intéressés au maniementde la technologie. Troisièmement, lorsqu’on se préoccupe du contenu, c’est surtout pourapprendre aux individus à être des consommateurs de produits et de services. Sans nier l’intérêtd’être de bons techniciens et de bons consommateurs, l’auteur souhaite qu’on s’emploiedavantage à faire des personnes de bons citoyens du cybermonde, à leur enseigner l’éthique ducyberespace, c’est-à-dire à le traiter comme un espace public, un nouvel « indivis mondial »auquel tous ont le droit d’accéder et de s’intégrer, où tous peuvent raisonnablement s’attendreà ce que leur vie privée et la sécurité des données soit respectée et où, aux côtés de ces droits, règne un sens civique de la participation et du respect mutuel entre cybercitoyens. En conclusion, l’auteur recense quelques programmes qui aident à répandre cette nouvelleforme de citoyenneté.

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Aprender a ser un ciudadano del ciberespacio En esta ponencia se aborda la necesidad de centrarse en el contenido de la educaciónrelacionada con el ciberespacio y, concretamente, de enseñar a los individuos a ser ciudadanosy no sólo consumidores en este nuevo escenario. Se comienza por analizar tres conclusionesgenerales de la investigación relativa a este tipo de educación. En primer lugar, ésta se lleva a cabo principalmente en el mundo desarrollado; el ciberespacio es un espacio vacío para la mayoría de los pueblos del mundo. En segundo lugar, en Occidente, se da preeminencia ala formación técnica y a la enseñanza del uso de la tecnología. En tercer lugar, cuando sepresta atención al contenido, se hace hincapié en enseñar a las personas a ser consumidorasde productos y servicios. No obstante el valor de las aptitudes técnicas y de consumo, serecomienda un compromiso más sólido para enseñar a los individuos a ser ciudadanos delciberespacio. Esta enseñanza incluye el valor ético de tratar el ciberespacio como un espaciopúblico o “nuevo ágora” respecto del cual todos los pueblos tienen derecho de acceso yparticipación y razonables expectativas de respeto de la vida privada y la seguridad al tiempoque deben asumir responsabilidades cívicas de participación y respeto mutuo para con losdemás “ciberciudadanos”. La ponencia concluye exponiendo ejemplos de programas quepromueven esta nueva forma de ciudadanía.

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Most researchers agree that the growth of a knowledge-based society willbring about fundamental changes in the production, distribution and exchangeof information and that almost every social and cultural institution will bechanged in some way, but none more than education (Negroponte, 1995;Oppenheimer, 1997; Stevenson, 1997; Upitis, 1997). This is because, more thanany other social structure, education is fundamentally about knowledge, infor-mation and communication. Although it certainly makes use of material toolsand sometimes results in the production of material goods, these are ancillaryto the fundamental process of education: people use knowledge to create moreknowledgable people.

It is therefore not surprising to find considerable support for transformingeducation, so that it is as fully independent as possible from geographic locationand physical space. If education does not require a specific spatial location ora building, then it can be delivered from anywhere to anywhere else. This will,some argue, transform the fundamental infrastructure of education at everylevel, starting particularly at the post-secondary level, and will fundamentallyerode local community, or even national control over education. The developmentof on-line courses, libraries and other information resources, and the marketingof distant or on-line education by businesses and schools eager to profit fromopportunities to expand their horizons, are the beginning of what some see asa revolution in learning (Veccia, 1998; Wilson, 1997).

In addition to overcoming geographical constraints on the delivery ofeducation, new technologies promise to expand the basic nature of education.In quantitative terms, computer communication is opening up vast new sourcesof information and learning by enabling on-line access that frees schools fromcomplete dependence on paper delivery. Associated with this is the ability tolink written with audio and visual material that can enrich the full range of thelearner’s senses. The technology also creates a qualitative expansion in the meansof education by making a process rooted in the one-way delivery of knowledgemore participatory and reciprocal. Education moves from an emphasis on trans-mitting information to the active creation of knowledge. Moreover, according tothis view, computer communication takes a system of learning based in narrowlinear, narrative forms, and opens it up to a wide range of non-linear, exploratoryprocesses that allow the learner to make full use of his or her own multiple cognitivemaps. As a result, students mutually constitute their learning environments, allof which grow in the learning process (OECD, 1997: p. 120; Veccia, 1998;Wilson, 1997).

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But researchers are increasingly acknowledging that the promise ofcomputer-mediated education is sadly falling far short of the reality. As onegenerally supportive OECD report concluded: “... the classroom revolutionforetold decades ago has failed to materialize. Overall, the school system hasnot kept pace with the rest of society in terms of IT use ...” (OECD, 1997:p. 134). Indeed, some argue that the promises themselves have been cloudingour ability to see the reality and especially to see that, in our rush to realizethe dreams of its leading advocates, we have neglected important values,particularly the values of citizenship, that have historically been at the basis oftraditional education.

There are several tendencies in computer-mediated education that raiseimportant questions about these conclusions. First, almost all of it takes placein the developed world or in those pockets of the less developed world that areurban and rich. This is largely because, in spite of much talk and some actionto provide vital network infrastructure, the vast majority of the world’s peoplesare without the means to learn in cyberspace.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only34 per cent of the world’s households have telephone service and most of thisis concentrated in the developed world. At the beginning of 1997, 62% of allmain telephone lines were installed in just 23 developed countries (Australia,Canada, the European Union, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland andthe United States). Africa, including South Africa, contains two phone lines per100 population while there are 65 and 35 lines per 100 in the United States andEurope respectively. Fully 97 per cent of all Internet hosts are found in developedcountries. Regarding the gap between the level of service provided in the richestand poorest countries, progress has been made, though there is still a considerableway to go before equality will be reached. For example, it is remarkable to notethat there are more Internet hosts in Estonia than in sub-Saharan Africa (excludingSouth Africa) (ITU, 1998; see also, Press, 1998). In 1993, the United States,Western Europe and Japan accounted for about 71 per cent of all computersshipped; in 1996 it was 73 per cent. In that time the developing world wentfrom 19 per cent to 14 per cent of all shipments (OECD, 1998, p. 21). Onemight argue that we are in the early stages of computer development and thatwe are likely to see the gap narrowed, as costs decline. Yet, the consistent failureto overcome substantial historic inequities in telephone penetration does notinspire optimism about expanding equity in cyberspace. Moreover, there are alsosignificant gaps within the developed world with the United States and the UnitedKingdom having about nine students per computer and Japan and Portugalaveraging about 50 students per computer (OECD, 1998, p. 118).

In addition to the concern about the quantitative gap in access, there isalso cause for reflection on the type of training that is taking place in cyberspaceand about the type of content that is most heavily emphasized. Specifically,although there are exceptions, much of the learning in cyberspace is technicaltraining that reflects the one-way, linear, and passive approaches that havecharacterized traditional education. According to one multi-million dollar U.S.

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study, schools use networks for teaching and learning in, what the researchersconcluded, were the most obvious and pedestrian ways (Kaye, et. al., 1996).Experts in instructional design worry that educators are seduced by the sheeramount of information available on the Internet and administrators, attractedby the potential to save on instructor costs, conclude that it is only necessaryto point students to the data and learning will follow. Instructional design expertM. David Merrill demurs:

“We need to wake up and recognize that information is not instruction.There is this belief that all you need for learning is information and collabora-tion: put enough people and enough information on the Web, and learning willhappen ... There isn’t enough guidance and structure there [on the Internet] forsomeone to learn a systematic body of knowledge” (Zemke, 1998; see alsoNoble, 1997). A Harvard professor of education agrees, noting that “the mostmindless use of computers is at the elementary level” (Bronner, 1997). Relatedly,there is significant concern that we are moving ahead with computer applica-tions in schools (spending on technology in schools in the United States isexpected to grow by $5.2 billion in 1998 as compared with $4.3 billion in 1997),without conducting serious research on their impacts.

The Dean of the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University in Canadaprovides a sobering summary of what we do know about the impact of informationand communication technology on education in comments on a multi-milliondollar study funded by three United States government departments: “Theoverarching conclusions were that school districts had not evaluated the impactof computer networks on student achievement with scant attention being paidto their effectiveness. The critical question remaining was stated as such:‘Do computer networks improve student education?’ – ironically the very questionthe study sought to answer. But what is startling – inconceivable, in fact – is thatthe researchers nevertheless recommended that government policies, supportedby the private sector, should be established to ensure stable and long-term fundingfor computer networks, so that school district networks might become more widelyaccessible to teachers, students, parents, school staff and computer members atlarge” (Upitis, 1997: 4; Kaye, et al., 1996; cf. Stevenson, 1997).

It is unfortunately easy for this form of logic to prevail, the logic of themarketplace has made the business of education and its cost-effective deliveryby technological means a very attractive option for firms like Microsoft, whichis now one of the major forces in what is increasingly called the educationindustry (Newman, 1997; Noble, 1997). As a result, there is a growing concernthat cyberspace is evolving into a largely commercial space, an electronic mallwhose main activity is electronic or e-commerce rather than public debate andeducation (Stoll, 1995; Sussman, 1997). By 1997, one-fourth of all Internetsites were fully commercial and many of the rest were partially commercialsites that used national or other domain names (OECD, 1998, p. 36). Althoughinformation retrieval and electronic mail helped the Internet to a remarkablebeginning, the fastest growing uses of the Net are now electronic commerceand advertising. Anyone contemplating the use of cyberspace for genuine

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education must confront an increasingly commercial environment whosegoal is to teach new generations of consumers how to shop electronically(The Information Society, 1997; Hansell, 1997).

Notwithstanding the value of technical and consumer skills, it is importantto make learning how to become a citizen of cyberspace an ethical imperativeof on-line education. Indeed, citizenship education is a necessary grounding forlearning how to use the Internet fully and the Internet itself can be an importanttool for developing effective citizenship. It is absolutely essential to invokecitizenship today, because citizenship elevates human activity beyond thecommonly accepted view that the best way, indeed, for some, the only way, todefine human activity is by its marketplace value – its worth as a consumingor labouring commodity.

The widely accepted view of citizenship is that elevation has alsobeen accompanied by extension. Here it is common to invoke the work ofT.H. Marshall (1964) who charted the progress of citizenship in modern Westernsociety starting with the legal sense of basic rights and protections, for example,habeas corpus, due process, the presumption of innocence and the right of trialby a jury of one’s peers. From here, citizenship was extended to encompasspolitical rights, particularly the right to vote and to public assembly. Finally,social citizenship stretches the notion to include the right to employment, housing,health care and other social welfare benefits.

Citizenship in the new electronic age means treating cyberspace as a publicspace or “new commons” to which all people have rights of access andparticipation, reasonable expectations of privacy and security, and, along withthese rights, civic responsibilities of active involvement in this new commonsand mutual respect for fellow cyber-citizens (Garnham, 1997). Genuine educationfor an information society starts by teaching these principles and uses the Netas one among the many means to implement them.

We are beginning to accumulate a body of exemplars, which provideimportant guidance for developing the practice of citizenship in cyberspace.One of the most significant is the establishment of community nets or freenets,which bring together people in a city, town or neighbourhood, providingessential information about public services, in addition to all of the materialnormally found on the Internet. Freenets provide two essential elements missingin most of the commercial networks.

First, because they make use of servers provided by educational, non-profit or other donor organizations, freenets offer low-cost access for users.This is particularly important for low-income people who, even in the mostdeveloped societies, have little chance of making use of the Net.

Secondly, they locate terminals in public places like post offices, libraries,schools and markets, enabling people to make use of the Net without havingto purchase a computer (Noack, 1998; see also Doheny-Farina, 1996). Withregard specifically to education, several countries have initiated programmesto provide hardware, develop content, establish public networks, provide teacher

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training, initiate research on educational innovation and promote distant andadult education (OECD, 1997: pp. 122-134). For example, the CanadianGovernment has established the Computers for Schools programme thatchannels surplus computer equipment and software from public and privatesector partners to needy schools. Its joint federal and provincial School-Netprogramme connects libraries and schools to the World Wide Web.

The Ministry of Human Resources Development conducts research andsupports demonstration projects across Canada on learning applications inschools and in employment training. The federal and provincial governmentshave also pioneered the delivery of distance education to the scattered populationsof the Canadian North (Canada, Industry Canada, 1995, 1997). Canada providesjust one among several other national examples of a commitment to the principlesof citizenship in cyberspace. Nevertheless, as with other nations, Canada’scommitment is under constant challenge, particularly from those interested inmaking cyberspace a private space, largely oriented towards commercial activity,and open only to those who can pay for access and security.

In conclusion, there is considerable potential in the educational uses ofcyberspace, but there are also many challenges and dangers. Computers canprovide the means to explore new forms of learning that break out of the traditionalhierarchies of educational bureaucracy and develop genuine alternatives to rigid,passive approaches to learning. But they can also reinforce those hierarchies ifthey are applied without a commitment to the principles of equality, participation,privacy, mutual respect and responsibility, that historically provided the foundationfor many of our systems of public education. New technologies can also enticeus into thinking that the technology alone will overcome problems of equity andexcessive commercialization. Experience suggests that this is not the case andcalls for a commitment to the principles of citizenship, including strong supportfrom the agencies of civil society and the public sphere, in order to makecyberspace a rich community in itself and an instrument to enrich our existingcommunities.

References:

Bronner, Ethan, “High-Tech Teaching is Losing Its Gloss”, The New York Times,30 November 1997, section 4, p. 4. Canada, Industry Canada, Connection,Community, Content: The Challenge of the Information Highway, Ottawa: Industry Canada, 1995.

Canada, Industry Canada, Industry Portfolio: Information Highway, Ottawa: Industry Canada, August 1997.

Doheny-Farina, Stephen. The Wired Neighborhood. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.

Garnham, Nicholas, “Amartya Sen’s ‘Capabilities’ Approach to the Evaluation ofWelfare: Its Application to Communications”, The Public: Journal of the EuropeanInstitute for Communication and Culture, Vol. IV, No. 4 (1997), pp. 25-34.

Hansell, Saul, “Money Starts to Show in Internet Shopping,” The New York Times,1 December 1997, p. D-1.

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The Information Society. “Special Issue: Theory and Practice of ElectronicCommerce”. Vol. 13, No. 1, January-March, 1997.

Kaye, J.C., Jacobs, D.B., Aschbacher, P. and Judd, B. Model Nets: A National Study of Computer Networking in K-12 Education. Los Alamos, CA: Los AlamosNational Laboratory, 1996.

Marshall, T.H. Class, Citizenship, and Social Development. Garden City, New York:Doubleday, 1964. Negroponte, Nicholas. Being Digital. NY: Vintage Books, 1995.

Newman, Nathan. “From Microsoft Word to Microsoft World”, A NetAction WhitePaper, San Francisco: NetAction (www:netaction.org), 1997.

Noack, David, “Try Taking a ‘Free’ Ride on the Internet”, Investor’s Business Daily,24 April 1998, p. A1 Noble, David. “Digital Diploma Mills”, Toronto: YorkUniversity, 1997

(http://www.journet.com/twu/deplomamills.html).OECD, Information Technology Outlook 1997, Paris: OECD, 1997.Oppenheimer, T. “The Computer Delusion”, Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 280, No. 1, 1997,

pp. 45-62.Press, Larry, “Tracking the Global Diffusion of the Internet”, Communications of

the ACM, Vol. 40, No. 11, 1998, at p. 11.Stevenson, D. (ed.). The Future of Information Technology in UK Schools.

London: McKinsey and Co., 1997.Stoll, Clifford (1995). Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information

Highway. New York: Doubleday.Sussman, Gerald. Communication Technology and Politics in the Information Age.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997.Turkel, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. NY: Simon

and Schuster, 1995.United Nations, International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunications

Development Report, 4th edition, Geneva: ITU, 1998.Upitis, Rena. “The Impact of the Communications Revolution on Education”,

paper presented at the Canada-United Kingdom Colloquium on TheCommunication Revolution, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom, 23-26 November 1997.

Veccia, Susan. “Will Schools Become Irrelevant”, Multimedia Schools, Vol. 5, No. 1, January/February, 1998, pp. 6, 8.

Wilson, Jack M. “Distance Learning for Continuous Education”, Educom Review,Vol. 32, No. 2, 1 March 1997, pp. 12-17.

Zemke, Ron. “Wake Up! (And Reclaim Instructional Design)”, Training, Vol. 35, No. 6, June 1998, pp. 36-38, 40, 42.

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VLADIMIR G. KINELEV(former Minister of Education of the Russian Federation)Director, UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, Russian Federation

Education in the ever-changing worldThe world never stands still. Its increasing changeability is turning into a constituent feature of global historical development. For the first time in the history of our civilizations generationsof products and ideas come and go faster than generations of people. In this changing worldhumankind is striving to forge a new basis for unity, to create a new image of science, toredefine the relation between the artificial and the natural, and to fundamentally restructurethe sphere of education. Global networks and computer systems open up infinite possibilitiesfor education. Those networks and systems will provide the basis for a new global infrastructure– Info-sphere, with its new way of thinking, new ethics, and a transformed culture of communi-cation, which reveals other dimensions of consciousness. Today, one of the most difficult tasks is to fully utilize the unique potential of cyberspace, which will help to bring about a new educational paradigm: “From a holistic world-view to a holistic personality via holisticknowledge”.

Éducation dans un monde en mutation Le monde est perpétuellement en mouvement. Sa mutation croissante devient un trait constitutif du cours de l’histoire mondiale. Pour la première fois dans l’histoire denotre civilisation, des générations de produits et d’idées naissent et disparaissent plus vite que les générations humaines. Dans cet univers en mutation, l’humanité s’efforce d’asseoirson unité sur de nouvelles bases, de créer une nouvelle image de la science, de redéfinir lelien entre l’artificiel et le naturel et de réaménager de fond en comble le monde de l’éducation.Les réseaux mondiaux et les systèmes informatiques ouvrent des perspectives infinies àl’éducation. Ces réseaux et systèmes seront la base d’une nouvelle infrastructure mondiale– l’infosphère, avec ses nouveaux modes de pensée, sa nouvelle éthique, une culture de lacommunication recomposée qui fait apparaître d’autres dimensions de la conscience.Aujourd’hui, l’une des tâches les plus difficiles et les plus prégnantes est celle d’utiliser pleinement l’exceptionnel potentiel du cyberespace qui nous aidera à mettre en œuvre sansfaillir une nouvelle formule d’éducation : « D’une vision holistique du monde à une personna-lité holistique à travers un savoir holistique. »

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La educación en un mundo siempre cambianteEl mundo nunca está inmóvil. Su creciente variabilidad se está convirtiendo en un rasgoconstituyente del desarrollo histórico mundial. Por primera vez en la historia de nuestracivilización, generaciones de productos e ideas van y vienen más rápido que las sucesivasgeneraciones de personas. En este mundo cambiante la humanidad lucha por forjar unanueva base para la unidad, renovar la imagen de la ciencia, redefinir la relación entre loartificial y lo natural y reestructurar fundamentalmente la esfera de la educación. Las redes y los sistemas informáticos mundiales abren posibilidades infinitas para laeducación. Servirán de base para una nueva infraestructura mundial – la infoesfera, con sunueva forma de pensamiento, su nueva ética y una cultura de comunicación transformada,que revela otras dimensiones de la conciencia. Hoy en día, una de las tareas más importantesy difíciles consiste en aprovechar plenamente las posibilidades excepcionales que ofrece elciberespacio, que ayudará a emplear de modo coherente un nuevo paradigma de la educación:“De una visión holística del mundo a una personalidad holística mediante conocimientosholísticos”

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The Second International Congress “Ethical, Legal and SocietalChallenges of Cyberspace” is held at the dawn of the third millennium and istherefore perhaps the last chance in this century for us to gather here today totry and take a look into the future in an attempt to define the key features ofhuman civilization in the coming twenty-first century. The advent of the newmillennium should not be perceived as just another divide in the calendar ofhistory. It is a major divide, which urges us to reflect on the past and on themeaning of life, to try and discern the contours of the future, and, most importantof all, to unite our efforts to create a better future for all those living on thisbeautiful and unique planet Earth.

When discussing the global issues of social development, includingeducation, that humanity will have to address in the twenty-first century, weshall first of all answer the question: What is the significance of our age as theprelude for the new era? What parts of its legacy will be carried over into thefuture and what will be left behind? I would hope to be right in suggesting thatone of the defining features of contemporary life, and increasingly of the future,is the accelerated pace of change. The world never stands still. Its swift change-ability has turned into a constituent feature of global historical development.Even in private life, change tends to oust continuity and stability. We haveentered a transitional period marked not just by the calendar watershed but bya historical divide beyond which there lies a lot of uncertainty.

The current pace and magnitude of change break the traditional frameworkof historical gradation. The essence of our era can no longer be captured in thesame way as previous ones such as “the era of steam”, “the era of electricity”,or “the era of great geographical discoveries”. For the first time in the historyof our civilization, generations of products and ideas come and go faster thangenerations of people. Moreover, changeability reveals itself through unparal-leled diversity, thus making it impossible to define our era through any singleevent or development in the life of society.

One of the most complex contemporary problems to be solved byhumanity is our place in the changing world. Today, human beings have becomeboth the main factor of development as well as one of its main risks. Forcenturies people had to adjust to nature and social changes, accumulating inthe process institutional, technological and intellectual potential. As a result,the magnitude of this potential has reached global proportions, and people havebeen taken hostage by the artificial nature they have created. Consequently, afundamental and equally destructive incongruity between human existence, the

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global scale of the super powers and the possibilities available to people hasbecome apparent.

The degree of success in solving this problem largely depends, and willincreasingly depend, on educational and cultural standards in society. At theend of the twentieth century there is an awareness of the profound intrinsicdependence of our civilization’s progress on the qualities and competenciesshaped by education. That applies to all aspects of life – economic, politicaland social. Democratic participation and responsible political decision-makingwill bear fruit provided the debate on genuine education has a satisfactoryoutcome.

The instrumental possibilities of modern thinking which have acquiredglobal proportions, contain both, unprecedented potential and new threats.Which of the two will prevail in reality largely, if not wholely, depends oneducation and educational institutions. Here lies the risk. But it is here thatthere is hope!

The historically unprecedented combination of changeability, a fast growingtechnosphere and new risks and contradictions in the development of humancivilization sets us the task of searching for a new world order. Many modernthinkers contend that humanity is undergoing a phase of cultural transition. Itis characterized by the following significant factors.

First, humanity is striving to forge a new basis for unity. This involvesnot only a single world market or a unified political order but also a growingspiritual unity within the vast diversity of peoples and cultures.

Second, a new image of science is taking shape. Science attempts to finda new basis for universality by overcoming the traditional alienation of thenatural sciences from the humanities.

Third, the relation between the artificial and the natural, that is betweenthe human civilization and nature, is being redefined. And, finally, a fundamentalrestructuring of education is taking place worldwide. Trying to meet therequirements of the cultural transitional period, the educational sphere absorbsand passes on to the younger generation the characteristic elements of thistransition, such as a new humanism, a new image of science, and a newunderstanding of the relationship between civilization and nature.

I believe, it is not an exaggeration to contend that the creation of aneducation system capable of preparing humanity for life in the changing worldis one of the most crucial and urgent tasks of modern society. Education is theonly way to overcome the global crisis of modern civilization, by creating thenecessary conditions for its survival today, and its sustainable development infuture. Hence the question: What will the twenty-first century education belike? What demands will be made on education to help people adjust to thenew, swiftly changing conditions of their life? What can be done today to meetthose demands adequately?

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It is my opinion that the key features of the evolving education systemshall be:

– Switching over from “teaching” to “education”;– Stronger bias towards fundamental knowledge and development of an

individual’s creative potential;– Utilization of new information technology in the selection, accumu-

lation, systematization and transfer of knowledge.

Switching over from “teaching” to “education”

To educate or to teach? Present-day educationalists often use these terms inter-changeably as if they were synonyms. In fact, “educating” is not identical withteaching, the difference lying in the quality of the result achieved. ‘Teaching’is geared towards transfer of particular and therefore limited knowledge andskills. This approach has a long-standing tradition. The contemporary versionof this type of school instruction can be defined as algorithmic-instructivemethod. The use of this method in conjunction with modern informationtechnology has not helped to liberate the talents and aptitudes of school studentsso far, which is indicative of the fact that teaching as a form of transferringand accumulating knowledge has natural limitations. In other words, traditionalteaching as a form of communicating knowledge is running out of potential. Itis high time we looked for new solutions.

In this context education, if broadly treated, may release new sources ofcomprehensive individual development and help the progress of science. Tothis end, the information block of science should be divided into a few inter-secting units. One of them is the traditional communication of knowledge aboutthe universe arranged in an orderly manner. We call this kind of knowledge“knowledge as description” for it contains information about individual objectsstudied, and as such either sidetracks or completely excludes the idea of holisticknowledge. But there exists another kind of knowledge, “knowledge as aninstrument” which incorporates cognition strategies and shapes thought whichadequately reflects the whole of the environment, and not just individual objectsof study. This type of knowledge cannot be confined to a single science frame-work. It is trans-scientific because it is based on a methodological groundworkand meets humanitarian ideals. “Knowledge as an instrument” opens up newopportunities to create a holistic picture of the world, which is the reflectionof “knowledge as description”. “Knowledge as an instrument” cannot be auto-matically assimilated. Nor can it be simply passed on by the teacher to passivestudents, for it is generated by the students themselves as a result of their innercreative activity. It is the product of the evolution and self-orderliness of thehuman intelligence. The teacher’s role is to awaken the students’ intellect andto show them models of holistic thinking.

Unlike traditional teaching, education aims at mastering “knowledge asan instrument” and forming a holistic picture of the world, thus shaping the

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versatile mind to respond adequately to the non-classical complexity of the world.It is this type of knowledge that will enable human beings to perceive them-selves as an integral part of the environment, responsible for the harmoniousrelationship between themselves and nature and to appreciate science as a toolto achieve harmony. The new educational paradigm can consequently be definedas a logically connected triad “from a holistic world to holistic knowledge, andvia it to a holistic personality”.

One of the major objectives in the development of education at its newstage is to overcome the historically formed alienation of the natural sciencesfrom the humanities. These two cultural components should enrich each otherin order to facilitate the search for a holistic culture at this new stage in thedevelopment of civilization.

Scientific knowledge, as a constituent element of culture, comprisesobjective data of the world, and human beings, who possess cognitive power,are collective explorers of its laws. Consequently, science can be identified withculture as it reflects and reproduces our potential to use our knowledge of theUniverse through education. On the other hand, it is necessary to point out thata cultural milieu is formed and reproduced by people who were not trained buteducated. A personality is born and develops as a result of this interaction.

The new socio-economic situation also makes it possible to find newsolutions to the eternal controversy over basic education and vocational training.The emphasis laid on training students in particular specialities reflects the levelof understanding of social security in the previous decades. The situation isdifferent today. Knowledge and professionalism as products of quality educationleading to success in life, tend to give way to the development of an individual’screative potential. Development based on the predominant use of an individual’sabilities to do physical work is being supplanted by that relying on the use ofthe individual’s cultural and intellectual potential, and education is thereforegaining pre-eminence.

Social security can be guaranteed only to a fully educated person capableof doing different jobs in order to meet the requirements of the latest techno-logies and the market. The specificity of new education systems should consistin their ability not only to transfer knowledge to students, but to enable themto keep abreast with the ideas and discoveries, and develop their creativitythrough self-education. That becomes particularly evident with the developmentof lifelong education which is becoming more important and universal.

Also it should be pointed out that the content of education needs inno-vation to provide an adequate perception of modern science development. Thecontent of present day education may be likened to “Ariadne’s clue” and maylead us out of the labyrinth of demands and pressures of everyday life.

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Stronger bias towards fundamental knowledge and development of an individual’s creative potential

In this context, both disciplinary and transdisciplinary courses of study acquireparamount importance. They contain most fundamental knowledge on the basisof which individuals can mould their general and professional culture, adjustpromptly to new occupations and professions, as well as to new specializations.In fact, knowledge contained in the new courses of study is, first, designed todevelop an encyclopaedically broad and holistic world outlook in individualsto allow them to gain a foothold in this world. Second, it helps bridge the gapbetween various disciplines.

Eventually education will become a social institute, providing peoplewith various educational opportunities. With this end in view, school anduniversity curricula should be diversified to enable everyone to make up theirown educational trajectory in accordance with their aptitudes, thus creating thebasis for implementing the principle of education for all.

So, at the turn of the century the task is to search for an adequatelystructured education system and institutions in order to secure the transitionfrom the principle of “Education for life” to the principle of “Educationthroughout life”.

Utilization of new information technology in the selection, accumulation, systematization and transfer of knowledge

State-of-the-art information technologies offer successful applications in educa-tion which release the creative potential of the student. It is the new informationtechnologies that will help us to build up an open education system. The openeducation system will bring about dramatic change in the technology of obtainingknowledge, owing to a more efficient organization of students’ cognitive activities.This change is brought about by the use of computers and their very importantdidactic characteristic of individualizing classroom work with programmed andadaptable curricula and without disrupting it in its entirety.

It is necessary to point out that the transition to cyberspace shifts thebasic educational reference points: from the linear to a matrix presentation ofinformation, from live mathematics to image-bearing, semiotic and linguisticmathematics, to mathematics of thinking and communication. As a means ofpreparing students for life, cyberspace is developing as another educationalmilieu. The basic works of Vygotsky, Piaget and Bruner gave rise to the terminteriorization of physical objects, which suggests our creating “psychic”equivalents of the latter as “conceptual” models to be further used to constructvariants of our own internal reality or virtual realities. Cyberspace prompts areverse process, which could be called exteriorization: models of the physicalworld build up in the human mind and are let out into cyberspace.

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Telecommunication technologies based on tele-networks and intellectualcomputer systems open up new opportunities for both teachers and students.Amalgamation of these networks and systems make up the basis of infosphere,the planet’s new infrastructure. The infosphere envelops the whole of civilizationand fills its every pore. It also shapes its own, rather exclusive world and acommunity of the initiated. The makers of the infosphere share a new way ofthinking, new ethical norms, and a transformed culture of understanding. Theprogress of the infosphere brings us face to face with the phenomenon of super-biological and, probably, super-psychological change in a human being.Computer and information technologies do not merely enhance the intellect, theyreveal new dimensions of the human mind. Live communication, inseparablefrom information technologies, binds these dimensions together to produce anorderly system of a new culture.

Computer technologies facilitate educational opportunities and assistindividuals to perfect their perceptions. Computer technologies have becomeinstrumental in the rapidly developing art of filming the world’s masterpieces,thus making them available to millions of people throughout the world.Colourful pictures of works of architecture, sculptures and paintings, groupedthematically and accompanied by cleverly made up texts and beautiful musichave a strong emotional effect on the student, develop his or her artistic tasteand at the same time enable them to learn more about culture, arts and thehistory of humankind. It goes without saying that all these advantages are tobe made use of in education of the future.

At the same time, we should proceed on the understanding that it isnecessary to develop in individuals a very special perception of their habitat,which comprises both objects of the physical world and the ideas of theseobjects in the human mind as well as the system of ideas in information space.This is the most interesting and mysterious interaction that is going on betweenpsychic space and cyberspace.

The present level of development of information and communicationtechnologies provides a realistic basis for creating a global system of distanceeducation. Regardless of the physical distance, new information technologiesensure the kind of direct communication between the teacher and the student,which has always been characteristic of full-time education as well as itsundeniable advantage. In future, the development of distance education willresult in the set-up of the so-called electronic distributive libraries and universitiesas a basis for a single educational space serving the world community and, inparticular, those of its members who are for this or that reason deprived of freeaccess to education. In this context UNESCO’s Learning Without Frontiersprogramme the main goal of which is to prepare people for living in the learningsocieties of the twenty-first century is of paramount importance.

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At the closing of the second millennium, the words said by Talleyrandalmost 200 years ago have not lost their significance:

“Education is a truly special State, the influence of which cannot bedefined by a single person, and even national authorities are unableto delimit its frontiers: the sphere of its influence is immense, it isinfinite …”.

Today this “truly special State” reveals to the world its high standards of“statesmanship”, which is capable of mediating rampant passions and intractablecontradictions not by the means of weapons but through the intellect.

When assessing the important role of UNESCO in the development ofinformation and communication technologies, Director-General of UNESCOMr Federico Mayor pointed out that:

“In all UNESCO’s fields of competence, the new information andcommunication technologies constitute a major opportunity and majorchallenge for international cooperation”.

They provide an opportunity for the increased exchange of knowledgeand know-how, for the promotion of creativity and intercultural dialogue, forenhanced civic participation, and for greater understanding among nations.The new technologies must not be allowed to increase the gap between theindustrialized and the developing countries.

In order to exploit effectively those opportunities, new fields such ascomputer psychology, computer didactics and computer ethics should be betterexplored and employed by educationists. Already at this stage developers ofnew and promising information and communication technologies are orientedtowards the practical application of the results focusing not only on theirtechnical possibilities, but also on broader cultural, educational and ethicalgoals.

The evolution of the information society will entail a dramatic changein production and business activities, as well as in a larger social context.Succeeding generations will face the challenge of adjusting to a new socialenvironment in which information and scientific knowledge will replace matterand energy as pivotal factors and will define both society’s strategic potentialand prospects for its development.

A new millennium is nearing. How will our civilization meet this newmillennium? In an attempt to answer this puzzling question I would suggestwe remain mindful of the paradox: the future of humankind is the reflectionof their children’s present. Awareness of this truth should motivate and guideus in our efforts to carry out the laborious but rewarding task of educating thenew generation, the future of our planet.

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DERRICK L. COGBURN, PH.D.Director, Centre for Information Society Development in Africa,Africa Regional Director, Global Information Structure Commission, South Africa

Gobalization and the state in the information age: thoughts on requirements for education and learning The information revolution, and the information age that it engenders, can be characterizedby the phenomenon of globalization. While the term globalization has become quite wide-spread, even in the popular media, there are confused and often conflicting definitions ofthe phenomenon. Thus, the concept has to be unpacked and explored to provide any analyticaluse in the context of understanding its impact on society and the economy. This paperexplores the contours of the globalization concept, including its alternative perspectives,and comments on its impact on society, the state, the economy, and focuses on actual examplesof the promise and challenge of the global information infrastructure and global informationsociety to meet the increasing knowledge, education and learning demands of the world’scitizens.

La mondialisation et l’État à l’ère de l’information : quelques réflexions sur les besoins en matière d’éducation et d’apprentissage.La révolution informatique et l’ère de l’information qu’elle ouvre se caractérisent par unphénomène de mondialisation. Or, si ce terme est aujourd’hui courant jusque dans les médiaspopulaires, les définitions du phénomène sont parfois confuses et souvent contradictoires. Il faut donc décortiquer et explorer ce concept pour en faire un instrument analytique opérationnel et comprendre son impact économique et social. La présente communicationtente de faire le tour du concept de mondialisation, y compris les différents scénarios surlesquels il débouche et réfléchit à son impact sur la société, l’État et l’économie, en s’arrêtantsur quelques exemples concrets de défis et promesses de l’infrastructure globale de l’informationet de la société mondiale de l’information, face aux besoins croissants de connaissances,d’éducation et de formation des citoyens du monde.

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La mundializacion y el estado en la era de la información: algunas ideas sobre las exigencias en materia de educatión y apprendizaje.El fenómeno de la mundialización es característico de la revolución de la información y de la nueva era que ésta ha traído consigo. Aunque el término “mundialización” ha sido objetode una difusión universal, incluso en los medios de comunicación de masas, sus definicionessiguen siendo confusas y con frecuencia contradictorias. Por ello, es menester desentrañar yexaminar este concepto para su utilización analítica, comprendiendo bien sus repercusionessociales y económicas. En este documento se examinan los aspectos del concepto de mundia-lización y sus perspectivas alternativas, se formulan comentarios sobre sus repercusiones enla sociedad, el Estado y la economía, y se proporcionan ejemplos reales de los elementosprometedores y problemáticos de la Infraestructura Mundial de la Información y la SociedadGlobal de la Información, en relación con la satisfacción de las crecientes demandas deconocimientos, educación y aprendizaje formuladas por los ciudadanos del mundo.

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Introduction

The information revolution, and the information age that it engenders, is beingdefined by an ongoing process of economic, social and political globalization.While the term globalization has become quite widespread, even in the popularmedia, there are confused and often conflicting definitions and conceptions ofthe phenomenon. In order for this concept to maintain any analytical usefulness,it must be unpacked, carefully defined and examined for its impact on society,the economy and the world system.

At its most organic and fundamental level, globalization is about themonumental structural changes occurring in the processes of production anddistribution in the global economy. These structural changes are brought aboutby the responses of many global enterprises that confront the tremendouspressures and fantastic opportunities presented by the increased applicationand integration of advanced information and communications technologies(ICTs) into their core business processes (e.g. R&D, manufacturing, testing,back-office operations, marketing, distribution). Through the application ofinformation and communications technologies, enterprises have the ability todiminish the impact of space, time and distance. Global companies can breakapart business functions that were previously thought to be best co-located(i.e. within the same geographic area), and spread them across the world ina globally disarticulated labour and production process.

This aspect of globalization requires the existence and development ofan advanced information and communications infrastructure, based on a networkof networks of telecommunications, broadcasting, computers, and contentproviders. This network of networks – a global information infrastructure (GII)– currently does not exist. Such a GII should be a robust, global, broadband,high-capacity network, most likely based on fibre optic cable networks. TheInternet and World Wide Web currently come closest to meeting these require-ments. However, as sociologist Manuel Castells argues, “the IntegratedBroadband Networks (IBN) envisioned in the 1990s could surpass substan-tially the revolutionary 1970s proposals for an Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDNS)”.

At a more conjunctural and secondary level, globalization is affecting allof the social, political and economic structures and processes that emerge fromthis global restructuring. One critical issue that emerges from all of these restruc-turing processes is the central role of knowledge, education and learning for the

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success of the global information society (GIS) and global information economy.Knowledge is becoming an increasingly important factor of production. Moreimportant, some analysts would argue, than land, labour or capital.

This paper explores the contours of the ongoing process of globalization,including its alternative and contending perspectives. It also comments on itsimpact on society, the State and the economy. Throughout this paper, there isan underlying focus on the impact of globalization on knowledge, educationand learning and the promises and challenges of the global information infra-structure – global information society (GII-GIS) to meet the increasing needsand demands of the world’s citizens.

The context of globalization and economic restructuring

The global political economy is experiencing massive changes and fundamentalinternal and external restructuring. It has gone from a dynamic system whichproduced, for some, a “golden age” of capitalism in the 1950s to a system thatis facing a global crisis. The current crisis is created by a fundamental changein the underlying structures of production and distribution within the globaleconomy.

Alain Lipietz argues that, as a result of this restructuring, a new develop-ment model is emerging. Since the 1950s, the dominant model for techno-economic development has been the Fordist-Taylorist development model.Fordism-Taylorism rested upon three major pillars. The first was the factorysystem and mass production. The second was the application of scientific manage-ment. And the third was the moving assembly line. These practices enabled theFordist-Taylorist development model to “more efficiently harness physical laborfrom huge masses of relatively unskilled shop-floor workers”. This model wasonly fully implemented in the advanced industrialized countries and this fact hastremendous implications for the developing countries within this current periodof global economic restructuring.

The global system of production and distribution is now progressing fromthis Fordist-Taylorist development model to one based upon what RichardKenney and Martin Florida call Innovation-Mediated Production. Innovation-Mediated Production challenges significantly the Fordist-Taylorist developmentmodel and is based upon a blurring of the distinctions between mental andphysical labour and an increase in the application of knowledge to the productionprocess itself. This change is so significant that it represents a fundamental shift,for much of the world, in the underlying technological and economic paradigmof industrial organization.

On the one hand, the highly industrialized countries of the world, asrepresented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), are adapting to this techno-economic paradigm shift through variousstrategies, and high levels of public and private sector cooperation. On the otherhand, the developing countries are facing a tremendous tidal wave of changes,

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opportunities and challenges in this new era of globalization and economicrestructuring, which is in many cases overwhelming capacity.

The knowledge-intensive nature of this development model – Innovation-Mediated production – requires firms to invest heavily in research and devel-opment (R&D), not as a luxury or solely to gain competitive advantage, but tosurvive. In some countries, this research system has been developed into anational system of innovation, which harnesses the resources of the public,private and academic sectors and non-governmental organizations. One areathat has garnered a huge share of R&D expenditure in the developed countrieshas been optoelectronics.

Optoelectronics is the fusion of photonics technologies (using photonsas the delivery mechanism) with microelectronics (using electrons as the deliverymechanisms) to attain greater efficiency in data processing and transmissionthan electronics alone can achieve. The application of optoelectronics hasproduced radical new developments in information and communicationstechnologies. This increased focus on optoelectronics is “drastically revolu-tionizing the communication system and [is] widely expected to form the nextgeneration of information-based technologies”. These new technologies havegiven us the Internet, World Wide Web, Integrated Systems Digital Networks(ISDN), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Electronic Data Interchange(EDI), and a host of other technologies that have fueled the InformationRevolution. In addition, the increased application of digitization techniquesblurs the distinctions between telecommunications, computers, broadcasting andother high-technology sectors. Analysts have developed a concept to describethe blurring of lines between “once separate industries into an integrated digitalmarketplace”. They call it convergence.

Since photonics, or optoelectronics, is the foundation of most of thesetechnologies, I sometimes call what we are experiencing the OptoelectronicsRevolution, as synonymous with the Information Revolution. The Opto-electronics Revolution, among many other components, facilitates what JeffreyHenderson calls the “Global Option”. By applying these new information andcommunications technologies, firms are now able to promote a globally disar-ticulated production and distribution process. This means that the variouscomponents of the production and distribution process – R&D, manufacturing,testing, information management, advertising and marketing - need not be in thesame geographic location. In fact, these various components can be, and oftenare, spread out on continents around the world. For example, R&D can takeplace on one continent, manufacturing on several different ones, testing onanother continent, and information management on still another. The advertis-ing and marketing of these products can take place on a global scale with nichemarketing tactics - even if the public relations firm is located in a small remotecountry. All of these activities are currently taking place, they are increasing,and they are proceeding at the speed of light. Henderson calls this the “WorldFactory” phenomenon.

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Global corporations, especially those competing in the converginghigh-technology industries, have increasingly expressed the tendency to utilizethe new Innovation-Mediated development model and to explore the GlobalOption. The incessant technological development of the new techno-economicparadigm, the convergence of telecommunications, computers, and broadcasting,along with the increased pressures for global deregulation, liberalization andmarket-access have radically altered the global political economy and haveundermined the existing international telecommunications regime.

International regime theory, as developed in the social sciences, attemptsto address the so-called “anarchy problematique”. This intellectual constructionaddresses the ways in which “sovereign and equal” nation-states, operating inan anarchic world system in which there is no juridical or de jure authorityover them attempt to address issues which are by their very nature transnational.Regime theory suggests that there are various mechanisms within the worldsystem that facilitate the development of specific norms, principles, and valuesrelating to the issue area and the mechanisms to enforce those norms, principlesand values. Telecommunications is one of the issue areas around which one ofthe oldest and most successful international regimes has emerged. TheInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU) has served as the centrepiece ofthis regime, with tremendous benefits flowing to national PTTs. Several social,economic, political and technological factors are converging to undermine thisregime.

Globalization and the information revolution create increasing difficultiesfor national states, as they attempt to make choices about how to respond andto allocate their scarce resources to confront this challenge. The situation isparticularly acute for African countries that are being bombarded with multiple“options” as to what actions and strategies are appropriate for their particularcountries. As discussed above, knowledge as a factor of production within thisnew information-intensive economy, is gaining in importance in the era ofglobalization. The education and learning paradigm around the world is underincreasing pressure to better meet the demands of this new knowledge andinformation-intensive global economy.

These fundamental components of globalization set the context for thisarticle. As these developments lurch forward, it is extremely important thatsocial scientists, national governments, non-governmental, regional and inter-national organizations, and the private sector, attempt to understand the impactof globalization on the global political economy and on local realities. Theexisting literature on globalization and the information revolution is to a largedegree theoretical and overly speculative. There is a need for a clear theory ofglobalization and the transformation occurring in the global economy which isbased on an empirical analysis of local realities, including the knowledge,education and learning requirements for the information age.

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Implications of globalization for knowledge, education and learning

Given the increasing economic globalization and restructuring in the worldpolitical and economic systems, and the requirements for knowledge and infor-mation within that system, educational needs (in terms of structure, function,curriculum and approach) at all levels, especially at the tertiary level, havechanged. The educational requirements for the workforce of the future areextremely important. However, the systems developed for informal learning,specifically for adult learners to engage in life-long learning, are important aswell.

There are significant contrasts between knowledge, education and learning.“Education is generally seen as a formal process of instruction, based on atheory of teaching, to impart formal knowledge (to one or more students)”.However, the process of learning can occur, with or without formal institutionaleducation. “Knowledge accumulation and the accumulation of skills for usingICTs will occur increasingly outside the traditional institutions of formaleducation. Learning in the workplace, and through collaborations that sometimesspan the global and at other times involve tightly knit local communities withsimilar interests, will become more commonplace”.

However, knowledge should not be limited to a select few. As the storeof knowledge expands throughout the world, all of the world’s people shouldhave as much access to it as possible. However, the “formal institutions ofeducation that exist today, and even many of those in the planning stages indeveloping countries, are becoming less relevant to the requirements of emergent‘knowledge societies’”. Mansell and Wehn argue that these countries mustactively reshape their education systems in ways that are “consistent with theirnational priorities”. However, these national priorities must now take intoconsideration the fundamental changes occurring in the underlying structuresof the global economy and new strategies for achieving competitive nationaladvantage.

The role of knowledge within the economy is leading to a whole rangeof new industries and new developments in biotechnology, new materialsscience, informatics, computer science, etc. Within this new framework forknowledge, education and learning, there are at least 10 components that shouldbe included and/or enhanced. Each of these components will be explored brieflybelow.

A focus on abstract concepts

Some of the challenges for knowledge, education and learning in this periodwill be ability for today’s learners to be more familiar and comfortable withabstract concepts and uncertain situations. Much of the academic environmenttoday presents students with ready-made problems and then asks them to solvethem. The reality of the rapid-fire global economy, based on information and

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knowledge is that problems are rarely that clearly defined. It requires thoseseeking valuable employment to seek out problems, gather the necessary infor-mation, and make decisions and choices based on complex uncertain realities.

Uses a holistic, as opposed to a discrete, approach

Much of the education and learning environment today is divided into veryrigid academic disciplines, focused on discrete units of research. However, theemerging information society and global economy requires a holistic under-standing of systems, including the world system and business eco-systems. Thusinter-disciplinary research approaches are seen as critical to achieving a morecomprehensive understanding of the complex reality currently facing the worldsystem.

Enhances the student’s ability to manipulate symbols

Symbols are highly abstract manifestations of some concrete form of reality.Highly productive employment in today’s economy will require the learner toconstantly manipulate symbols, such as political, legal and business terms andconcepts (such as intellectual property rights), and digital money (in financialsystems and accounting concepts). These “symbolic analysts”, as Robert Reichcalls them, are in high demand.

Enhances the student’s ability to acquire and utilize knowledge

In the past, academic practitioners often saw themselves as wise “sages on thestage” delivering data, information, knowledge and wisdom to the eagerly awaitingstudents, whose minds were empty vessels waiting to be filled. However, if thatreality were ever true, the world’s store of knowledge is increasing at such amonumental rate, that no single person can hope to adequately convey as compre-hensive an understanding of a subject as is possible, or as could be absorbed bymost students. The Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC), aninternational, independent, non-governmental private sector organization arguesthat:

The globalization of the economy and its concomitant demands onthe workforce requires a different education that enhances the abilityof learners to access, assess, adopt, and apply knowledge, to thinkindependently to exercise appropriate judgment and to collaborate withothers to make sense of new situations. The objective of education isno longer simply to convey a body of knowledge, but to teach howto learn, problem-solve and synthesize the old with the new.

There are a range of new technologies and new techniques engen-dered by the information revolution that allow for the production ofnew knowledge and the dissemination of data, information and knowl-edge. Some of these technologies include the Internet, World Wide

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Web, CD-ROM, and printed, audio, video and other electronic mediaforms. These new technologies allow academic practitioners to movefrom being “sages on the stage” into the role of the “guide on theside” and assist students in gaining the skills and abilities required toacquire and utilize knowledge contained in various forms around theworld.

Produces an increased quantity of scientifically and technically trained persons

As discussed above, the emerging economy is based on knowledge as a keyfactor of production, a factor perhaps more important than any of the othertraditional factors of production. The kinds of industries emerging in the ageof globalization – such as biotechnology, new materials science, human genetics,advanced computing, artificial intelligence, and human/computer interfaces –demand that employees remain highly trained in science and technology.Research and development is a critical component, and many countries aretrying to develop National Systems of Innovation (NSIs) that attempt to harnessthe combined resources of its academic institutions with the research enterpriseswithin the public and private sectors. In these countries, universities will haveto adapt quickly to the needs and provide a key component of such nationalsystems.

Blurs the distinction between mental and physical labour

As discussed above, the Fordist-Taylorist development model made strictseparations between mental and physical labour. However, the new innovation-mediated paradigm requires a much more holistic approach to business enter-prise and valorizes the intellectual contributions of all employees. In fact, mostobservers would find it very difficult to make concrete distinctions between manyinformation age-oriented manufacturing facilities and computer laboratories.

Encourages students to work in teams

Closely related to the last point is the need for employees in globalizedenterprises to be able to work closely in teams. Working in teams requiresstudents to develop skills in group dynamics, compromise, debate, persuasion,organization, leadership and management skills. Most academic institutions andprogrammes are set up to do the opposite, to force students to think only ofthemselves and their own personal development, with perhaps some very limitedgroup work.

Uses virtual teams around the world

Again, closely related to the previous point, is the need for enhanced virtualand networked activity. Not only should students learn to work in teams, but

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they should also learn to work in global networked virtual teams. These globalvirtual teams are being used increasingly in industry and internationalorganizations for R&D activities. Chris Dede argues that “Computer-supportedcollaborative learning (CSCL) enhances team performance through tools forcommunicating each person’s ideas, structuring group dialogue and decision-making, recording the rationales for choices, and facilitating collective activities”.

Is an agile and flexible system

As command and control systems disintegrate around the world, academic insti-tutions must become less rigid and more flexible in their attempt to meet thevaried needs of learners and the global economy. This includes variety in time,place, approach and curriculum offerings. As new issues and industries emergewithin the global economy, academic course offerings should be adapted toreflect these new knowledge, education and learning requirements.

Break the boundaries of space and time

Using advanced information and communications technologies, a new systemof knowledge, education and learning should apply a wide range of synchro-nous and asynchronous activities that help the teacher and student to break theboundaries of space and time. Synchronous activities can include real-timelectures (featuring audio, presentations, websites, and even video), quizzes andgroup discussions; all of which can occur with the instructor being at the samelocation or even a different location from the learners. Asynchronous activitiescan include archived lectures (in audio and video), and other archived coursematerial that can be accessed at nearly anytime, any place.

To meet the knowledge, education and learning challenges and opportu-nities of the information age, the GIIC argues:

It is not, however, sufficient any more to raise the efficiency of theexisting systems of education and improve the quality of their compo-nents. Even the best of them have served another set of demands foranother age. Graduates of these systems, to varying degrees, now findthemselves deficient in knowledge as well as cognitive skills that arenecessary for the increasingly sophisticated living environment and forthe ever-evolving labour market. More importantly, knowledge-basedbusinesses often complain that graduates lack the capacity to learn newskills and assimilate new knowledge.

To meet these challenges and to reap the benefits of the opportunitiespresented by globalization, active responses should occur within the public andprivate sectors at national, regional and international levels.

At a national level, these requirements for knowledge, education andlearning should be addressed with policy approaches that:

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– allow as many people as possible to engage in productive healthyforms of employment that enhances their quality of life; and

– meet the increasing demands of global enterprises operating withinthe global economy.

Developing countries are significantly behind in the information infra-structure required to generate and disseminate knowledge. One concept thatcould address these concerns is the emerging vehicle of Multimedia, Multi-purpose Community Information Centres (MPCICs or Telecentres). Currentresearch indicates that these centres could serve as effective vehicles forenhancing the knowledge, education and learning opportunities for communitiesin emerging economies.

Within the private sector, at national levels, there are efforts to strengthenthe partnership between the private and public sectors in the delivery of educa-tion and learning. Again, the GIIC argues that there are specific roles for theprivate sector within this framework, because the educational establishmentmay not be able to redefine itself sufficiently to meet the requirements of thenew information-intensive economy. The Commission sees three critical rolesfor the private sector in education. The first recommended role for the privatesector is the rethinking of education. The Commission argues that: “Since itssuccess depends to a large extent on the product of the educational system, theprivate sector should engage in the rethinking of education to meet the demandsof the age of globalization and information by providing, systematically, inputinto the analytical and decision-making processes in areas such as strategicshifts, curricula, restructuring, standards, and evaluation”.

Collaboration in training for the new economy is a second role recom-mended by the GIIC for the private sector in education. This recommendationsprings from an assumption that the training within private institutions has thefollowing advantages:

– employers can train workers quickly and place them into positions;– training costs are lower;– the technology in these enterprises is usually advanced;– quick responses to the needs of the marketplace.

Finally, the GIIC suggests that the provision of educational services is acritical role for the private sector in education. It argues that the public sectorwill be unable to continue bearing the major financial responsibility for thefinancing and provision of education. With the escalating demands and thediversification of avenues of dissemination of knowledge, governments will notbe able to be the sole providers of education. There will be more opportunitiesfor the private sector to provide educational services with a competitive edgebased on efficiency, flexibility, management style, and information technology.The obvious domain is at the secondary and tertiary levels as well as in thefields of skill development and upgrading and lifelong learning.

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The GIIC believes that it is in a unique position, “at the intersectionbetween technology and private businesses”, to make a positive contributionto promoting these concepts around the world. It suggests the followingresponses for the GIIC in collaboration with its members and internationalpartners:

– Create and support a forum to connect scientists, information technolo-gists, policy-makers and practitioners for the purpose of rethinkingeducation in the age of globalization and information.

– Support mechanisms for the exchange of ideas and experiences in theuse of educational technologies.

– Encourage exploration, experimentation to push the frontiers of thepotential of information technologies and communications for moreeffective learning.

– Engage in the design of pilot “learning communities” that expand thetime and space dimensions of education.

– Encourage, and engage in, collaborative schemes for the developmentof educational curriculum-related software that can be used world-wide to achieve economies of scale and expertise.

– Support the design of information infrastructure that is most appro-priate for education and that is cost-effective, feasible and sustainableon a large scale.

Whether or not the GIIC engages in these activities, it is clear that atglobal, regional and national levels, within both the public and private sectors,there is a need for concrete responses in knowledge, education and learning tothe challenges and opportunities presented by the age of globalization. The nextsection focuses on key examples at each of these levels.

Virtual graduate seminar: Example of knowledge and learning responses

In the coming academic term (January 1999), the Centre for Information SocietyDevelopment in Africa (CISDA) is participating in an experimental academiccourse. CISDA has developed a virtual graduate seminar on the subject of“Globalization and the Information Society: Information Systems andInternational Communications Policy”. Graduate students from three leadinguniversities are participating in this virtual graduate seminar, the University ofMichigan (Ann Arbor); American University (Washington, D.C.) and theUniversity of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg).

The virtual graduate seminar has six primary objectives. Participantsshould:

– Become familiar with and analyse the recent literature and debates onthe Information Age, globalization, State autonomy and the role ofinformation and communications technologies (ICTs) in development;

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– Develop an understanding of the structure of the world system andthe global economy, and the mechanisms – including internationalregimes – developed to “govern” the global economy within an anarchicworld system;

– Develop a basic understanding of the technologies underlyinginformation and communications systems, R&D approaches, andtechnology management;

– Develop a basic understanding of key issues currently being developed,debated, and negotiated in the development of the global informationinfrastructure (GII) and global information society (GIS);

– Develop an appreciation for the challenges and opportunities presentedby international interdisciplinary collaborative research by participatingin global virtual research teams with students from two other univer-sities;

– Develop research, analytic, writing, technology and presentation skillsthrough collaborative research, report writing and class presentations.

The virtual graduate seminar is based upon the assumptions discussedabove in section two of this paper, which is that the world system and globaleconomy are facing a fundamental restructuring and an ongoing process ofglobalization, leading to the development of a knowledge-based globalinformation society. Given these changes, the discussion in section three of thispaper argues that it is imperative for students interested in the converging inter-disciplinary fields of information systems, information and communicationstechnology and international communications policy, to have an opportunity toengage in cutting edge educational and learning opportunities, which preparethem for the new global realities. In response to this imperative, many univer-sities are moving to provide unique learning opportunities and are engaging theirstudents in global basic and applied research, and using new information andcommunications technologies as tools to provide this educational experience.

This seminar is designed to provide such a learning opportunity forgraduate students at the University of Michigan, American University, and theUniversity of the Witwatersrand, by immersing them in the relevant literaturein order to contribute to the development of a deeper theoretical understandingof the issues, while engaging them in practical and applied approaches andactivities.

The seminar seeks to break down the boundaries of time, space anddistance. It will employ information and communications technologies to createa networked, collaborative learning environment. The seminar will have a mixof synchronous and asynchronous activities (meaning, some activities will takeplace at the same time, same place; some at the same time, different place; andsome at a different time, different place). The seminar will provide continuousfeedback, high levels of interaction and an emphasis on student work and groupprojects.

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Each participant in the seminar will be assigned to one of five globalcollaborative research teams (six students) called global syndicates (based onthe syndicate approach used at the University of the Witwatersrand). Theseglobal syndicates will be asked to deal with research problems, projects, casestudy readings, role-playing, etc. This approach is highly relevant for trainingin university-based research, public policy research institutes (think tanks),industry and international organizations. This type of scholarly and scientificresearch involves a significant degree of self-education and discipline.

To support the education and learning needs of this course, a websiteand virtual study centre have been developed. Each student is expected to makeextensive use of this virtual study centre, which includes the followingcomponents:

Weekly lectures:

– Technology support: PlaceWare Conference CentreTM;– Real-time audio synchronized with enhanced PowerPoint slides;– Live web components and links including Java animations;– Real-time questioning and polling of students;– Web-based quizzes;– Real-time courseware;– Global syndicates (Virtual Research Teams);– Technology support: WebBoardTM;– Threaded introductory discussions;– Threaded syndicate discussions;– Attached documents, sound files, images, etc.;– Technology support: Xerox DocushareTM;– Sharing documents;– Course archive;– Technology support: Microsoft NetShowTM;– Archived lecture presentations (PowerPoint with synchronized audio);– Some pre-recorded video;– Web-based courseware and study-guides;– Web-based background reading;– Library of background material and Internet links (including Java

animations).

The presenter, who can be in any location in the world with connectivity,speaks into the microphone and engages with the audience using a variety oftools. Presentations include audio, live web, other applications (spreadsheets,java animations, etc.). Audience members can pose questions to the presenter,who can decide whether or not to answer the question off-line, or pose thequestion to the entire seminar. Our virtual research teams (Global Syndicates)will sit together in the virtual audience and ask each other questions during thelecture. The presenter can poll the audience with pre-developed questionnaires

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and can also gauge the “temperature” of the audience, in terms of their currentunderstanding of the lecture, and feelings about pace (e.g. too fast/slow).

Conclusion

Globalization is a very real phenomenon that is transforming the world economicsystem including nearly all aspects of production, distribution and other businessprocesses. With the emergence of a new development model, particularly in thehighly industrialized economies, knowledge and information take on increasingimportance. Thus, the era of globalization has tremendous implications forknowledge, education and learning.

This paper has argued that one implication of this transformation is thata new system of knowledge, education and learning will include manycomponents that do not exist in the current educational model. The new systemof knowledge, education and learning should include the following 10 keycomponents:

– A focus on abstract concepts;– Use a holistic, as opposed to a linear, approach;– Enhance the student’s ability to manipulate symbols;– Enhance the student’s ability to acquire and utilize knowledge;– Produce an increased quantity of scientifically and technically trained

persons;– Blur the distinction between mental and physical labour;– Encourage students to work in teams;– Use virtual teams around the world;– Be an agile and flexible system; and– Break the boundaries of space and time.

In addressing the challenges posed by globalization, tremendous levelsof cooperation are needed, between the public and private sectors, and betweenglobal, regional and national organizations. The Global InformationInfrastructure Commission is making some headway at forging such a frameworkfor global cooperation.

Other institutions like our Centre for Information Society Developmentin Africa and our academic partners in the Virtual Graduate Seminar are workingon concrete models for utilizing advanced information and communicationstechnologies to explore the boundaries of academic discourse. Further examplesof the application of ICTs to knowledge, education and learning responses toglobalization must be explored in concrete interdisciplinary, multi-institutionalresearch studies. Institutions like CISDA, GIIC and others may make asignificant difference in helping the world’s citizens reap the benefits of theglobal information infrastructure and global information society.

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MESA REDONDA

DEVELOPING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND

MULTICULTURALRESPONSIBILITIES

DÉVELOPPER LE SENS DES RESPONSABILITÉS

SOCIALES, ÉCONOMIQUES ET MULTICULTURELLES

DESARROLLO DE LAS RESPONSABILIDADES SOCIALES, ECONOMICAS

Y MULTICULTURALES

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ALEXANDER N. YAKOVLEVPresident, International Democracy Foundation, Russian Federation

Globalization and cultureThe author considers that humankind is not ready for the advent of a new information erawith its moral, economic and political transformations. All societies on earth are still living in an archaic world: States, borders, passports, visas, customs, etc. Globalization will notonly radically change the informational infrastructure of the “new society”, but also thehuman perception of the world, its past, present and future, in what becomes a commonwealthof nations. Despite all the obvious positive aspects of the homogenization and universalizationof cultural development, there is a real threat for human degradation in all national cultures.New ethical principles, a code of responsible ethics must be drawn up. General problems arisewith regard to human responsibility and a reasonable balance between individualism andcollectivism in the overall global space and conditions of freedom needs to be established.

Mondialisation et cultureL’auteur considère que l’humanité n’est pas prête pour l’avènement d’un nouvel âge del’information, ni pour les transformations morales, économiques et politiques qu’il suppose.Toutes les sociétés sur terre vivent encore dans un monde archaïque d’États, de frontières, de passeports, de visas, de barrières douanières. La mondialisation changera du tout au toutnon seulement l’infrastructure informative de la « nouvelle société » mais aussi la perceptionhumaine du monde, son passé, son présent et son avenir, pour en faire une communauté desnations. En dépit des aspects manifestement positifs de l’homogénéisation et de l’universalisationdu développement culturel, la menace de dégradation humaine dans toutes les cultures nationalesest réelle. De nouveaux principes éthiques, un code de responsabilité éthique doivent êtreélaborés. Des problèmes généraux de responsabilité humaine se posent, c’est pourquoi il fautétablir un équilibre raisonnable entre individualisme et collectivisme dans cet espace mondialisé,et fixer les limites de la liberté.

Mundialización y culturaEl autor estima que la humanidad no está preparada para el advenimiento de una nueva era de la información, que acarrerá transformaciones de orden moral, económico y político.Todas las sociedades del planeta viven aún en un mundo arcaico basado en estados, fronteras,pasaportes, visados, aduanas, etc. La mundialización no sólo va a modificar de raíz la infraes-tructura de la información de esta “nueva sociedad”, sino también la percepción que tiene elser humano del mundo y de su pasado, presente y futuro, al plasmarse la mancomunidad denaciones. Pese a todos los aspectos evidentemente positivos que conllevan la homogeneizacióny universalización del desarrollo cultural, hay un riesgo tangible de degradación del serhumano en todas las culturas nacionales. Han de elaborarse nuevos principios éticos y uncódigo de ética responsable. Al surgir problemas generales relativos a la responsabilidad del ser humano, habrá de llegarse en el conjunto del espacio mundializado a un equilibriorazonable entre individualismo y colectivismo, fundado en condiciones de libertad.

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Introduction

I am not an expert in cybernetics, and least of all in cyberspace and their socialfunction. I am a historian. Therefore I would like to share my reflections withyou regarding our informational future in its human dimension in the processof globalization. It is in this context that I deem it possible to put the theses ofmy statement within a somewhat different philosophical framework than isusually accepted. “If there is a future, I would like to know where it is.” Thisis what St Augustine asked. Indeed, where is it? The answer would seem evident:the future is within ourselves. But, in order to begin building life on new foun-dations, humanity cannot rid itself of its principal contradictions: intellectuallywe have reached breathtaking heights in terms of science and technology whereasour social behaviour has remained that of a barbarian replete with blood andlies. This contradiction holds us in an iron grip which blocks the developmentof our ethical functions. Suppression of the ethical functions leads to the blurringof the distinction between good and evil and to a strictly technocratic treatmentof the individual by the State and of nature by the individual.

Informational systems

Let me start with expressing my deep conviction that information lies at thebasis of life and that the development of human society is measured by stagesof informational epochs and not by economic-political strategies. Nature is akind of energy back-up for information and the human spirit is information – received, adapted, systematized and processed by the human brain. It is thegift of human beings which allows our brain to create culture – material andspiritual. An atom, a molecule, a nation, a society, a human being, a country,the Universe are by and large information systems. Matter only serves to fill themin and serves their development and self-improvement, change of information fromone form into another, etc.

Information is endless in its manifestations. What a great man leavesbehind is only information – be it paintings by Leonardo, music by Mozart andTchaikovsky, Don Quixote by Cervantes, Eugene Onegine by Pushkin or theDead Souls by Gogol. The fall of the Roman Empire was the end of an infor-mational system which passed its peak and began to decline. So, informationis primary, and matter and spirit are secondary. It is spirit, or better organizedinformation, which is more efficient when projected onto some or other specific

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matter. For example, atomic or hydrogen bombs could not explode if there wereno human brain, which is the ideal information synthesizer. However, humanityhas discovered the energy of enormous, world-creating power and as a resulthas become mortal because of raising a hand against the primary nature ofinformation. Humans are mortal – information is immortal. Our immortality isin the perpetuity of information, in its lasting image – culture.

Humans in the informational environment

Here I proceed from the following considerations:Humans were born in the first environment-nature. Then, having acquired

and processed information which was available: language, alphabet, crops andstockbreeding, science, arts, dwellings, etc. – they lived in two environments:first, nature proper and second, in artificial nature. From the informational pointof view, the second nature, that is the world created by human hand and brain,is ruled by letters, hieroglyphs, figures, musical notes, lines and colours. Earlyin the 1980s the total value of information processing – i.e. computers, radioand television sets, telephones, fax and Xerox machines, etc. surpassed the costof producing energy resources, which means that we stepped into a new, yetunknown epoch. One speaks now of internetization which might well signifythe end of the first stage of globalization of the world space, of internationallife. Let us conditionally call the coming informational epoch “an epoch of thesecond alphabet”. The second alphabet begins a new renaissance era. Culture,religion, music and science are converging through information and a way of lifehas set in. As a result of advances in science and technology, society is glidingfrom a managerial revolution towards an informational epoch and probably to anintellectual revolution.

Universal dissemination and mastering of the second alphabet make itpossible to process both huge information fields as well as tiny ones at personaland family levels. The second alphabet, or our transition into the third infor-mational environment so far is akin to ancient Egyptian scrolls, a primitive kindof writing. In due time, perhaps in the twenty-first century, the second alphabetwill bring forth its Shakespeares, Pushkins, Leonardos and Newtons.

What will happen to us?

So, in the coming century toward which we are directing our glances, we arenot going to live in the world of socialism, or capitalism, or convergence ofthe two systems. It will be a principally different choice, and it is being madeby our actions today. This can be a world of common sense and rationalism,a world of competence and responsibility and, what is more, a world of uncon-ditional sovereignty of the individual. Industrialization will fade away little bylittle. Already now the growth of super cities, the megalopolises is slowingdown. New principles of an informational civilization will not need cities to

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such an extent as in the past. The collectivity connected with industrializationwill certainly stay. But its scale and forms will be substantially changed.

Interstate borders will be wiped out, there will be no need for visas orcustoms. Militarization will be lost in the Lethe. Autonomization of the indi-vidual will probably bring forth new forms of collectivity and of individualism.It is expected that in the first quarter of the next century biotechnology will leadus into an era of optimization based on precise methods to determine and meetthe needs and wishes of both individuals and the world community as a whole.

Since special value will be given to arts, handicraft skills and services,with the help of new technologies, anyone will be able to engage in work whichwill bring the joy of creation and discovery. Technology of optimization willsecure stable, social rules. Science and culture will ensure our relative harmonywithin nature and society and, to a degree, intrinsic harmony. There will comea fuller understanding of the spiritual life, which will be determined more andmore by psychogenetics which, in turn, will open the door to yet another era.We shall approach an epoch of global change in which struggle for survivalwill disappear.

Wisdom and goodwill will replace ignorance and greed and will becomea real moving force in society; peace, life and happiness will acquire the highest,tangible value in the eyes of people. The new society’s religion will be humanism.Today these statements sound banal, usually attributed to political speculation.Tomorrow, they may start acquiring real rather than political content.

In my opinion, internetization will inevitably lead to a new, principallydifferent stage of material and spiritual advancement of civilization on a globalscale. I call it ecodevelopment. From the economic point of view ecodevelopmentis a process of the world economy making a gradual transition towards themaximum use of biotechnology in production without waste as there is today,thus achieving harmony between society and nature. From the social point ofview there will be an effort to merge knowledge and humanism, which willmake it possible to create a system of self-control and, eventually, eradicatefamine, poverty and destitution.

From the philosophical point of view, this is a departure from the barbarityin which we still live since we have not stopped taking human lives. From thepolitical point of view this is fraternity and cooperation among peoples andStates overcoming social, national and other strife. The ecodevelopmentprinciples should be laid down on the basis of an overall strategy of worlddevelopment - both short- and long-term. Otherwise all our disputes about ourfate, the beauty and joy of living, the lasting value of the arts will prove fruitlessand beyond the point. This is how I view the vector of civilized countries’development in the first half of the twenty-first century. But not all is as wellas it may seem. I must come back to my misgivings mentioned above.

• It may be tempting to forcefully draw the developing countries ontothe informational field of the developed countries. That is possible.

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But, honestly, I fear that such rapid transitions would lead to seriouspsychological dislocations. Moreover, a chauvinistic hysteria mayresult from the interference with the natural course of events leadinginevitably to conflicts, bloodshed and degradation.

• Even if I do not share the apocalyptic ideas at all, I am concernedabout the consequences of “internetization”. I ask myself: can it bethat the development of information nets in the twenty-first century,while putting a wealth of information at our disposal, will weaken usspiritually?

Individuals, comfortably ensconced in their armchairs at home, cansummon practically the whole world onto their screens – any event, great orsmall – at the call of a small, soulless button. I am afraid that the analytical,diagnostic and prognostic functions will be in the domain of machines even ifthey are biomachines. One would only hope that love, childbirth, disseminationof goodness and justice, conscience and enjoyment remain the privilege ofhuman beings. Apprehensions that a gradual universalization of life and of itsvalues, a kind of “unification” of a way of life will come about are not groundless.Not globalization, which is inevitable, but rather universalization and unification.To a degree, it stands to logic, but will it not mean the triumph of absoluteindividualism and a particular form of going backwards, a time of squeezingout everything human from a human being? There arises a legitimate, difficultquestion: what will happen to culture? Will it continue to have a mission asthe guardian of common human ideals and values, or will a strictly technicalcivilization gain the upper hand?

Will national cultures grow dim in the third informational environment?How will they develop in cyberspace in which time flies at an incredible speed?For time is but the speed of information transfer. The world is one and singleand multifaceted. And for that reason it is colourful in all its diversity. There hasnever been, and I hope that there will never be, a single culture for all who liveon the earth. There was and there will be a culture which is made up of thousandsof ethnic cultures. All people will gradually become patriots of the planet earth.Everybody will soon feel to a degree not so much Russian, French, Japanese,American or Nigerian, but rather an earthling because the biosphere is once andonly for all. So is the earth, and the ocean world and the atmosphere.

And the main question is: will the second alphabet of electronic meansof information become the common denominator of culture and, perhaps, of amonoculture? Historically the time during which humans have been conductingscientifically reliable monitoring is still too short. Nevertheless, we may expecta crisis which will change the cycle at any moment. Every major event maysignal the beginning of a counter phase. History shows that morally deficientforces and tendencies triumphed sooner or later in societies where the processof historical choice was put in the reverse, as it were. It would be naive topresume that those processes have ceased. That is why a world built on one ofthe latest dogmas is possible; and in that instance it would not matter much

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whether people say prayers to capitalism, socialism or democracy; live withmarket forces or without them; in a rule-of-law State or in a totalitarian one,as the world built on fanaticism regards a human being as a renewable resourceand by no means as the product of supreme creation and purpose.

Responsibility

And now I revert to the problem of information. The democratic futureof humankind depends, directly and indirectly, on prospects for its use.Democracy, a noisy, collectivity of a phenomenon, will begin to change.Historically speaking, time can only be compacted through democracy and notby force, but rather by an informational impact on our own kind tired of warsand violence. Thus, amassing information means acquiring greater freedom.But let us ask ourselves whether the problem of human responsibility is notbecoming especially topical, particularly in the field of mass media. I was, toa certain extent, involved with the struggle for glasnost in the Soviet Unionand Russia. Those were dazzling years of increasing freedom of speech. Alas,I cannot say the same about today for it becomes evident that media undereconomic pressure fairly often present an unseemly sight of intoleranceinfringing on elementary human rights that verges on irresponsibility. I admitit with some bitterness. At the same time democracy without freedom of pressis inevitably transformed into totalitarianism – and here, too, arises a questionof responsibility.

In this connection I would like to bring the following to your attention.So far there is no de jure world democratic constitution, but there is a de factoone in the form of human rights. I do not think that there is enough to allowthe establishment of global rule of law. But it must be set up and this may takeup the whole of the twenty-first century. I believe that there will come a timewhen the problem of the balance between freedom and responsibility must bedealt with in all seriousness. And, if a person dreams of ruling a State, thenthey must increase the level of their responsibilities accordingly.

The idea is not new. Thinkers, both of the olden times and of today,standing on the foundation of democracy have persistently tried to impress uponinjudicious societies if they ignore responsibility, they deform freedom and thatirresponsibility is inconsistent with freedom. Let us remember Mahatma Ghandiwho wrote that modern sins are politics without principles, commerce withoutmorality, wealth without work, education without character, science withoutconscience and worship without sacrifice.

I participated in the meetings of the Inter-action Council, an organizationof former heads of State in which the question of adopting a United NationsUniversal Declaration of Human Responsibilities was discussed. If we are toclaim the right to live, then we have a responsibility to cherish it and not todestroy one another; if we are to claim the right to personal freedom, we havea responsibility first of all to respect the freedom of others; if we are to claim

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the right to personal security, we have a responsibility to seek security for all;if we are to claim the right to take part in the political life of our country, wehave a responsibility to choose the best leaders; if we are to claim the right towork in just conditions, we have a responsibility to work to the full capacityof our forces and capabilities; if we are to claim the right to education, wehave a responsibility to study ourselves and, where appropriate, to share ourknowledge with others; if we are to claim the right to use the wealth of theearth, we have a responsibility to respect nature and to use it well.

This is the ethical foundation for creating a society of humanism inconditions of globalization. Without devotion to humanism, humankind will neverbe able to create a society in which there will be no place for lying politiciansand corrupt officials, for deceit and arrogance, for demagoguery and populism,for blood-letting and fights for power and property. Despite all the difficultiesof the transitional period towards the globalization of human life on earth, itis my belief that we are moving to the era of the triumph of common sense,to social and ecological responsibility, which will replace the unrestrainedegotism of today. Evolutionary change must become a way of life and thecapacity to make change possible – must be based on the moral criteria of theglobal system which is taking shape. To my mind, history has a certain integrityeven though there is no single concept of how to shape the world, but theprobability of humanity becoming free – and thus entering a humanisticcivilization, a new informational epoch – will become apparent in the course ofthe next century.

I personally think, I am even sure, that given the conditions of global-ization in life in the world community and of internetization, the adoption ofthe Declaration of Human Responsibilities becomes inevitable. The two greatdeclarations of human rights and of human responsibilities could form the basisof a world constitution.

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JACQUES BERLEURProfessor, Institute of Informatics,University Faculties of Notre-Dame de la Paix, Belgium

Ethics and means of regulating the InternetCertain means of regulating the Internet have already been introduced, sometimes after hardand bitter struggles. To begin with, there are technical methods, in the form of labelling orfiltering techniques, not forgetting, of course, regulation by means of technical standardsthemselves. It is useful to indicate the content to which these technical systems apply and to see what qualities certain software and associated rating techniques possess. The mostpopular systems filter “adult” material, violence, offensive language, gambling games, etc.Next come self-regulatory means, involving systems as diverse as codes of conduct, charters,general principles or guidelines, including rules of Netiquette. Here again, it is interesting to see the content that is subject to self-regulation. It can be found through analysis of theInternet service provider codes or guidelines, which now seem to be the rule in the context of electronic trading. Does the brevity of these codes permit a realistic approach to theproblems that they are designed to solve? Are they devised with all the parties concerned or do they merely serve to defend the profession? The third means of regulation is the law. It is here, without a doubt, that territorial limitations are most in evidence. Few regions of the world regulate these matters by mechanisms such as those proposed, for example,under the European Directives. The recommendations of organizations such as OECD do nothave such binding force. Lastly, the question of specifically ethical means of regulation mustbe raised, even if ethics is already present in other methods of regulation. Are there not alsosome ethical questions that should remain outside self-regulation? Study of the areas coveredby the various means of regulation may also reveal areas that are not covered, the importanceof which can and must be weighed from the ethical point of view. Obviously we are referringhere to such important questions as equal access, for example.

Éthique et modes de régulation de l’InternetCertains modes de régulation de l’Internet sont aujourd’hui mis en place, au prix de bataillesparfois âpres et dures. Il y a, d’abord, des modes techniques, qu’il s’agisse de techniques delabelisation ou de filtrage, sans oublier, évidemment, la régulation par les standards techniqueseux-mêmes. Il est intéressant de préciser les contenus auxquels s’appliquent ces dispositifstechniques et de voir quelles sont les qualités de certains software et techniques de ratingassociés. Les systèmes les plus en vogue filtrent le matériel « adulte », la violence, le langageoutrancier, les jeux de pari (gambling), etc. Viennent ensuite des modes d’autorégulation, au travers de systèmes aussi divers que les codes de conduite, les chartes, les principes ouorientations générales (guidelines), jusque et y compris des règles de Netiquette. Ici encore, il est important de voir que le contenu est autoréglementé. On le verra à travers l’analyse de codes de fournisseurs de service d’Internet ou d’orientations qui semblent aujourd’huis’imposer dans le cadre du commerce électronique. La brièveté des codes permet-elle d’aborderavec réalisme les problèmes qu’ils entendent régler ? Sont-ils élaborés avec toutes les partiesintéressées ou ne jouent-ils que comme défenseurs de la profession ? Troisième mode derégulation : les lois. C’est ici, sans doute, qu’apparaît le mieux la limite de la territorialité.Rares sont les régions du monde qui règlent certaines questions au travers de dispositifs tels que ceux proposés, par exemple, par les Directives européennes. Les recommandationsd’organismes tels que l’OCDE n’ont pas cette force stringente. Enfin, la question doit être

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posée des modalités proprement éthiques de régulation, même si l’éthique s’affirme déjà dans les autres modes. N’y a-t-il pas aussi des questions éthiques qui devraient échapper à l’autorégulation ? L’examen des domaines couverts par les différents modes de régulationpeut aussi révéler des domaines non couverts et dont l’importance peut et doit être appréciéesur le plan éthique. On songe ici, évidemment, à des questions aussi importantes que l’équitédans l’accès, par exemple.

La ética y los mecanismos de regulación de InternetAun cuando haya hecho falta librar batallas enconadas y difíciles, hoy en día se dispone deciertos mecanismos de regulación de Internet. En primer lugar, existen mecanismos de caráctertécnico, como las técnicas de etiquetación o filtración, sin olvidar, por supuesto, la regulaciónque propician los propios parámetros técnicos. Resulta interesante determinar los contenidos alos que se aplican dichos dispositivos técnicos e identificar el carácter de ciertos tipos desoporte lógico y técnicas de categorización afines. Los sistemas más usados filtran el material“de adultos”, la violencia, el lenguaje indebido, los juegos de apuestas (gambling), etc.Figuran a continuación los mecanismos de autorregulación que proceden de sistemas tandiversos como los códigos de conducta, los estatutos de usuarios y los principios u orientacionesgenerales (guidelines), comprendidas en este grupo las denominadas reglas de Netiqueta.También en el caso de esta categoría interesa detenerse en el contenido que se somete aautorregulación. Para ello se analizarán los códigos de los proveedores de servicios deInternet o las orientaciones que parecen prevalecer hoy en día en el marco del comercioelectrónico. ¿Sirve la brevedad de los códigos para abordar de forma realista las cuestionesque dichos códigos se proponen regular? ¿Participan en su elaboración todas las partesinteresadas o están orientados exclusivamente a la defensa de la profesión? El tercermecanismo de regulación son las leyes. No cabe duda de que en este apartado se aprecian con mayor nitidez los límites de la territorialidad. Son escasas las regiones del planeta dondese regulan ciertas cuestiones por medio de dispositivos como los que se proponen, porejemplo, en las Directivas europeas; las recomendaciones que formulan organismos como la OCDE carecen del mismo grado de rigor. Por último, debe plantearse la cuestión de losmecanismos de regulación de carácter propiamente ético, aun cuando la ética forme ya partede los otros mecanismos mencionados. ¿No existen igualmente cuestiones de orden ético quedeberían quedar al margen de la autorregulación? El examen de los ámbitos a los que seaplican los distintos mecanismos de regulación puede servir también para descubrir ámbitos a los que no se aplican, pero que en el plano ético tienen una importancia que puede y debeapreciarse. Sin duda forman parte de este último análisis cuestiones tan importantes como, por ejemplo, la igualdad de acceso.

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Introduction

It is now well recognized that the global network environment, and in particular,the Internet, defies traditional regulatory theories and governance practices. Themain reasons are linked to the disintegration of the concepts of territory andsectors. It has therefore been suggested that the regulation of the Internet beapproached from different points of view: technical, self-regulating and legal,for instance. This paper is a first exploration of those challenging issues, butdoes not pretend to be more than an attempt to assess what is really happeningin the different domains of technical mechanisms, self-regulation and the law.We are not looking at what could be done, but at what is done through thosedifferent instruments, trying to throw light on the ethical issues which arecovered by those instruments and those which are not. It is a kind of a firstinventory.

In this short paper, we tried to summarize the approach we presentedduring a recent “rolling workshop and roundtable” during the fifth InternationalFederation for Information Processing – IFIP-TC9 Human Choice and Computersinternational conference held in Geneva, in August 1997. This work is the fruitof an ongoing working programme within the Special Interest group (SIG9.2.2)“IFIP Framework for Ethics”. We shall analyse the ethical issues, as they appear:first when considering the technical means of labelling and filtering; second ina sample of self-regulation systems; and finally in two specific legal questions.

Ethical issues and questions of filtering software

Filtering/control software is a technical means, located on a PC or a server orat the level of an Internet service provider, to restrict the distribution of certainkinds of material over the Internet. In many cases, its goal is the protection ofchildren against sex, violence, hate speech, etc. (see Table 1).

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Table 1: Labelling categories and their frequency in a sample of 10 ratings

Labelling categories Frequency in the sample

sex 7/10

violence 7/10

age 5/10

intolerance/hate speech 5/10

gambling 4/10

drugs 3/10

languages 3/10

nudity 3/10

alcohol/tobacco 2/10

profanity 2/10

education content 2/10

gross depictions 1/10

satanic/cult 1/10

militant/extremist 1/10

quality 1/10

This kind of software is promoted or supported by industry, Free Speech activistsand some governments. Currently a lot of the available control software packagesfilter at the level of the entry point to an address on the basis only of their proprietary(and secret) list of URLs.

But this could evolve thanks to PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection).PICS is a set of technical standards which have been developed since summer 1995by the MIT’s World Wide Web Consortium. “The first and most important distinctionthat PICS introduced is a separation between labelling and filtering. A label describesthe content of something. A filter makes the content inaccessible to some audience.”In other words, thanks to PICS, “Consumers choose their selection software and theirlabel sources (called rating service) independently”. “More generally, there are sixroles that could be filled by different entities”, as explained in table 2.

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Outside Platforms for Internet Content Selection (PICS)

Where PICS are not used, it happens as a rule that several stages (particularlysetting criteria for assigning labels or for classifying, assigning and distributinglabels, and writing filtering software) are carried out by one firm or even by asingle commercial entity. The ethical issues are obvious here: users are linkedto the subjective value judgments of this firm! Even filtering criteria can bereduced by the firm to a nearly virtual role: the only choice available can be,for example, between filtered access or not filtered access.

Within PICS

Within PICS, as explained below, the six stages can be carried out by differententities. This can obviously improve the situation from an ethical point of view,but cannot solve every problem. We suggest here a set of questions to be raisedand which, of course, remain valid outside PICS.

Table 2: The six roles implied by filtering software (according to Resnick 1998)

1. Set labeling vocabulary and criteria for assigning labels

2. Assign labels (= rate or classify)

3. Distribute labels

4. Write filtering software

5. Set filtering criteria (= customize)

6. Install/run filtering software

Moreover, PICS standards facilitate self rating (enable content providers tovoluntarily label the content they create and distribute) and third party rating (enable multiple, independent labelling services to associate additional labels withcontent created and distributed by others. Services may devise their own labellingsystems, and the same content may receive different labels from different services.

PICS could become more and more important. Control software such as Cyber Patrol does not hesitate to become currently PICS compliant. PICS approach,which separates clearly the different roles involved in filtering, helps to analyse issues and allows solutions which are interesting from an ethical point of view.

Ethical issues with filtering software will be discussed here from the breakdown of Table 2. Let us first remark that to set labelling vocabulary and criteria forassigning labels is not value-neutral and that to assign labels and to set filteringcriteria imply moral judgments. Any ethical approach has thus to focus on these three roles.

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1. Set labelling vocabulary and criteria for assigning labels

To set labelling vocabulary and criteria for assigning labels is a crucial role.First it automatically influences the stages of the filtering process (assigninglabels and setting filtering criteria). But moreover, as pointed out by CPSR (1997),“in general, the use of a filtering product involves an implicit acceptance ofthe criteria used to generate the ratings involved”. Who is in charge of this? Isthe identity of the person or the body responsible for this role clearly given inthe documentation about the filtering software? Would it be justifiable for agovernment to do this? Are the rating vocabulary and criteria clearly definedso as to allow the user (parents, ...) to judge if they are consistent with his/herown values? Are they numerous and various enough to allow for a real choiceat the level of the rating and at the level of the customization?

2. Assign labels

Who is in charge of the very sensitive role of assigning labels? Is the identityof the person or the body responsible for this role clearly given in the docu-mentation about the filtering software? Which of the two approaches (self-ratingand third party rating) is the best? When a third party rating service is involved,the next questions are to be raised: Who is effectively represented by this thirdparty? Is this party representative, for example, of a values-oriented organizationor of a given population or culture? How are the ratings attributed? With self-rating, the questions are: How to oblige or, at least, to incite people to self rate?And on the basis of which principles? How to solve the problem of mislabeledpages, and particularly of deliberately mislabeled pages? As suggested by Cranor& Resnick, “The Internet community will need to cooperate in the creation ofeither vouching services, which vouch for authors who are honest in their self-labelling, or blacklisting services which keep track of authors whose labels arenot reliable”.

If people assign labels and if labelling is not compulsory all over theworld, it is obvious that many sites will stay unlabelled. The question then is:

What to do with unlabeled sites? If the software tolerates unrated sites,then global control will not be efficient but if it does not, then innocuous andvery interesting sites will be not accessible (see the discussion of Weinberg onthis subject). And thus in this case, “blocking software could end up blockingaccess to a significant amount of the individual, idiosyncratic speech that makesthe Internet a unique medium of mass communication. Filtering software, toutedas a speech protective technology, may instead contribute to the flattening ofspeech on the Internet”. Can the person or body in charge of the rating userating criteria in accordance with his/her own value judgments? Are the ratingsnumerous and various enough to cope with the diversity of cultures and ofopinions at the level of the customization?

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3. Set filtering criteria

Which kind of customization? In fact there is a dilemma: the more choice yougive to the final users the more difficult it is to set the criteria! A solution inthe future could be, as suggested by Cranor & Resnick, “to allow users todownload preconfigured settings from organizations they trust. Child advocacyorganizations as well as various religious, political and educational organizationsmight recommend configurations to parents. Parents could download thesesettings with a simple click of the mouse and have them installed into theirchild’s software”. Who is in charge of this role? Initially this role was playedby parents to control their children. But filtering software are also used bylibraries (in the United States), for instance to control adults, and by schoolsand firms. Is it ethically justified to give such a power of control to this kindof entity? “A government could try to impose filtering criteria in several ways,including government-operated proxy servers (a national intranet), mandatoryfiltering by service providers or public institutions, ...” Would it be ethicallyjustified? Can the person or body in charge of the customization find both crite-ria and a rating in accordance with his/her own value judgments?

Governance and self-regulation

Pierre Van Ommeslaghe defines self-regulation as “a legal technique accord-ing to which the legal rules or the rules of conduct are created by the personsto whom they are intended to be applied, either those persons do it by them-selves or they are represented to do it”, but he does explicitly exclude some“codes of conduct” which are enacted by international organizations, since thepersons to which the code will be applied are not participating in the process.In a way which is not very different, Pierre Trudel defined it as “the recourseto voluntary norms which are developed and accepted by those who participatein a determined (specific) activity”.

Our corpus – different styles

We have gathered some 15 documents – codes or rules – which may be relativelywell recognized as self-regulatory instruments of governance for the Internetto which we joined the 30 IFIP Codes that we analysed earlier. Our collectionshows the extreme diversity of the material, which comes under the label “self-regulation”. We tried to classify the documents according to the Van Ommeslaghe’sclassification, but were obliged to consider it as inapplicable. The present listis classified rather on themes or names.

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1. The “Ten Commandments” and the Netiquette rules

The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics, by the Computer Ethics Institute(CEI), Washington, D.C.; published in many places.

Suggestion of Netiquette - Core Rules of Netiquette, Virginia Shea. TheNet: User Guidelines and Netiquette, by Arlene H. Rinaldi. Charter and Guidelinesfor news.admin.net-abuse.announce, Source: Newsgroups: news.admin.net-abuse.announce, 11 April 1995. One planet, One Net: Principles for the Internet Era,Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR): still under discussion(not analysed).

2. Charters

Cyberspace and the American Dream: A Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age,1994, published by the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF).Online Magna Carta, Carta of Freedom for Information and Communication,“The Wartburg Carta”, 1997. The Intergovernmental Information TechnologyLeadership Consortium (Council for Excellence in Government) – Draft –Consortium Charter, 1997.

3. Codes of ethics and conduct

Codes (Standards/Guidelines) of Ethics (Practice/Conduct) of IFIP ComputerSocieties.

4. ISPs’, SPA’s Codes, “Virtual communities” rules and others

Codes of Internet Service Providers (ISPs’), Associations Internet ServiceProviders Association (ISPA-UK), Code of Practice, 1996. Internet ServiceProviders Association (ISPA-Belgium), Code of Conduct, 1998. CanadianAssociation of Internet Providers (CAIP), 1997. La Charte française del’Internet, Proposition de Charte de l’Internet, Règles et usages des acteurs del’Internet en France, 1997. La Charte de l’Internet proposée par la France àl’OCDE, Proposition française présentée à l’OCDE pour une Charte decoopération internationale sur Internet, 23 octobre 1996. (not analysed) ‘VirtualCommunities’ JANET Acceptable Use Policy, 1995. GeoCities MembersGuidelines, and particularly GeoCities Page Content Guidelines and MemberTerms of Service, 1998.

OthersThe United States Software Publishers Association (SPA) Guidelines for

Copyright Protection (previously called “ISP Code of Conduct”), 1997.International Chamber of Commerce, Guidelines for ethical advertising on theInternet, 1998. Most of them are short, maximum 2 A4 pages; but some areshorter than others; 10 commandments, 10 rules of Netiquette, 7 principles forthe Internet era. Symbolic figures! And sometimes one stresses that it must bea “portable” regulation: CPSR doesn’t hesitate to launch its idea “One planet,

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one Net” on a book marker! It seems that that shortness is a characteristic ofsuch kind of documents, except when they are “codes of practice”. But thisshortness has, at least, to be combined with the content density!

A tentative analysis

1. The “Ten Commandments” and the Netiquette rules

The first series of texts is a mix of prevention against what is called computercrime (for the Ten Commandments) and of kindness and fairness (for theNetiquette rules). Many of the rules governing Newsgroups, for instance the“Charter for news.admin.net-abuse.announce”, are worth mentioning since theymake explicit what is considered as “net-abuse”, and it is spelled out, at leastpartially, in terms similar to those used in computer crime laws.

The categories of computer crime which were adopted by the Councilof Europe in 1990 may fix our attention and cover the majority of the topicshere suggested. The Council of Europe recommended a Minimum List, whichincludes computer-related fraud, computer-related forgery, damage to computerdata or programs, computer sabotage, unauthorized access, unauthorizedinterception, unauthorized reproduction of a protected computer program,unauthorized reproduction of a topography, and an Optional List coveringalteration of computer data or programs, computer espionage, unauthorized useof a computer, and unauthorized use of a protected computer program.

2. The Charters

“Cyberspace and the American Dream: A Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age”is a manifesto of the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF), in the spirit ofthe third wave of the Tofflers. If we mention this “Carta”, it is only to noticethe hot issues as they are seen by certain zealous propagandists: property rightsnecessary for the market, infrastructure ownership, dynamic competition on theCyberspace marketplace and Schumpeter’s “creative destruction” with itswinners and losers, customized and actionable knowledge for the KnowledgeAge, hackers “vital for economic growth and trade leadership”, ...

The “Online Magna Carta, Carta of Freedom for Information andCommunication, The Wartburg Carta” (1997), is no more a “Charter” than theprevious one. It is a protest by Netizens when the United States CompuServeprovider blocked the access to 200 discussion fora under judiciary inquiry, inNovember 1995. It is a claim to the right to free speech and the freedom ofopinion, information and communication, the right to “a virtual home”.

The last “Charter” here mentioned is the “Intergovernmental InformationTechnology Leadership Consortium Charter” which again does not fit into thatcategory and is more a self-satisfied statement promoting its own quality in thedelivery of government services, in the economic growth, and in the citizenparticipation at all levels of the process of governance.

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3. Codes of ethics and conduct

Codes of ethics and/or conduct of many computer societies, such as in IFIP,are not specific to the Internet, but their content is frequently similar to suchself-regulation and so worth noticing.

The “fields of reference” which have been considered by at least onethird of the 30 codes of the IFIP national member societies which we haveexamined are as follows:

Respect for the interests or rights of the people involved, for the prestigeof the profession, for the interests or rights of the public, for the welfare, healthof the public, and for the quality of life; Conscientiousness and honesty,acceptance of responsibility and integrity, respect for requirements or contractsor agreements, conscientious work, professional development and training,competence, effectiveness and work quality; Confidentiality, privacy in generaland respect for property rights; Flow of information to involved parties, andinformation to the public; Respect for the code, for the law, and for IT andprofessional standards.

4. ISPs’, SPA’s Codes, “Virtual communities” rules and others

Our collection of self-regulatory documents still include four Codes of Internetservice providers associations, two “virtual communities” rules, one Softwarepublishers association Guidelines for Copyright protection, and one InternationalChamber of Commerce Guidelines for ethical advertising on the Internet.

Codes of ISPs’ AssociationsThe “French Proposal of an Internet Charter” must be included in the

category of ISPs’ codes, rather than in the category of charters! The “UnitedStates SPA’s Guidelines for Copyright protection”, although earlier called“ISP Code of conduct”, will be mentioned in our last category “Others”. TheFrench proposal – still a draft – is the most complete one, and also the longest:it is more than 12 pages long, while the others are generally about two pages.It also seems that in Europe, at least among the 10 Euro ISPA members, thereare only two which have a code at present. So, our collection contains, first,four codes of ISPs’ Association: two European (the United Kingdom andBelgium), one Canadian and the French draft.

Comparisons regarding the people and countries concerned does notreveal any great mysteries: simply the members of the association and the countrywhere it is located! Let us just mention the CAIP’s Code which stipulates that“it will cooperate with international organizations and law enforcementauthorities ...” Procedures for enforcement are not very strong, and thecommitment for reporting is weak. As far as the topics are concerned, at therisk of being considered partial, let us take the most recent code, from Belgium.Except for the French draft, it is the most complete and it includes most of theitems of the others. It includes general commercial clauses insisting on legalityand sincerity (services, products or advertising material), honesty (inform clients

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of this existing code), personal data protection, publicity and correct informationon prices. These commercial clauses are spelled out in similar terms in theUnited Kingdom and Canadian documents. There are also special clauses oncrime in the Belgian code: it pays special attention to fighting against “illegalor dubious material”, but has no capacity for controlling all sites; the code vowsto assist public authorities, have a special e-mail address for complaints, andan information hotline about every illegal or harmful transaction: sex,pornography, paedophilia, racism, xenophobia, genocide denial, provocation orencouragement to criminal acts, criminal association, gambling and lottery,drugs (“list is not closed”), ...

What the draft French Internet Charter seems to bring new in scope isthe creation of what is called an “Internet Council”, “an independent and uniquebody for self-regulation and mediation”. Its roles will include information andadvice to actors and users, processing complaints, and participation in interna-tional cooperation. The role is a bit larger than that of the ISPs associations.The Canadian association of Internet providers code resembles the others, butone specific clause is worth mentioning: “CAIP members are committed topublic education about Internet issues and technology (for example: how toassign liability for content and network abuse, and help all Canadians understandthe options available to all stakeholders)”.

“Virtual communities”JANET is the well known United Kingdom education and research

community network. We do not have here a real document of “self-regulation”,but an “acceptable use policy”, as it is generally called in the Anglo-Saxonworld. But it contains rules which are typical not only of such an academiccommunity, but of many others: privacy protection, no harmful material, nocomputer crime (unauthorized access, no defaming, no infringement ofcopyright, corrupting or destroying other users’ data, disrupting the work ofothers, other misuse of JANET or networked resources, such as the introductionof “viruses”, etc.), and also some rules of usual Netiquette such as: “Do notuse JANET for deliberate activities such as wasting staff effort or networkedresources, (...) in a way that denies service to others, ...

JANET acceptable use policy is a very temperate and sober communitycode, when compared to the GeoCities Guidelines. GeoCities could be classifiedamong the ISP, but it also resembles a big community – “more than 2 millionGeoCitizens” from all the world, located in some 40 “Neighborhoods” –common interest communities.

Regarding illegal or harmful material, the rules do not differ very muchfrom what has gone before. “Refrain from using free Personal Home Page orGeoCities Chat and Forum session for: material containing nudity or porno-graphic material; material grossly offensive to the online community, includingblatant expressions of bigotry, prejudice, racism, hatred, or profanity; materialthat exploits children under 18 years of age; restricted or password-only accesspages, or hidden pages or images (...).”

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There are other interesting clauses. “Refrain from: instructional infor-mation about illegal activities, physical harm or injury against any group orindividual, or any act of cruelty to animals; defaming any person or group forcommercial purposes (...); using page (or directory) as storage for remote loadingor as a door or signpost to another home page”.

The list includes a clause, which is nearly the copy of one from theUnited States SPA Guidelines for Copyright Protection, as we shall see: “refrainfrom using your home page for acts of copyright, trademark, patent, trade secretor other intellectual property infringement, including but not limited to offeringpirated computer programs or links to such programs, information used tocircumvent manufacturer-installed copy-protect devices, including serial orregistration numbers for software programs, or any type of cracker utilities (thisalso includes files which are solely intended for game emulation)”. Then it goeson with: “Refrain from: violating Internet standards for the purpose of promotingyour home page; hyperlinking to content not allowed in GeoCities; gatheringpersonally identifiable information for commercial or unlawful purposes;posting or disclosing any personally identifiable information belonging tochildren. [Kids: For your safety, do not put your real name, address, phonenumber, e-mail or other information like that on your webpage or give it tostrangers.]” This rather long list is completed by an explicit sentence: “GeoCitiesdoes not actively monitor the content of Personal Home Pages but will investigatecomplaints of violation of these guidelines”.

OthersWe have finally collected two specific Guidelines, because they are

“sectoral” and linked to the Internet.The first one, the Guidelines of the United States SPA are in a way

curious, because they have been developed by SPA for server operators whodo not seem “to participate in the activity”, to quote the definition of self-regu-lation by Pierre Trudel: the real actors on whom self-regulation is imposed hereare the subscribers. The question was very controversial: SPA suited small ISPs,but the case was dropped. Amusingly, when writing this paper, we found a“Hotnews” “Dutch ISPs Refuse to Squeal on Software Pirates”: “Dutch Internetservice providers World Access/Planet Internet, XS4All and Euronet have saidthey will not check their systems for advertisements by software pirates, eventhough the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an organization of softwaredistributors, holds the providers responsible for the majority of software piracyover the Internet in the Netherlands”. The subject is surely high and on theagenda of many organizations, together with the general problem of intellectualproperty right.

The Guidelines of ICC on Advertising and Marketing on the Internet aresurely worth mentioning, since here also we are in a very sensitive domain.The privacy protectors and the anti-spamming leagues will surely react to suchguidelines. Problems which are here treated are: legality, honesty, socialresponsibility, clear information to the users, use of personal data (with a right

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to opt-out), right to access his/her own data, no unsolicited commercial message(when indicated), special clauses for advertising to children, and respect forpotential audiences: pornography, violence, racism, sexism, ...

Self-regulation: first results

What could be considered in some way as a tedious analysis reveals repetitionsand a rather convergent final result. Some “issues”, if not “categories”, emerge:fairness and kindness: Netiquette, ISPs, ICC. Respect, honesty, competence,sincerity, right information: Codes, ISPs, ICC privacy (and deriving rights suchas right to know about his/her own data): nearly all computer crime: TenCommandments, Net-abuse administration, Virtual communities, Janet, ICCintellectual property right, copyright, trademark, patent, ...: GeoCities, PFFCarta, US SPA: Free speech, right to information and communication: Wartburg,French Charter: Illegal, dubious, harmful material: ISPs, GeoCities, ICC etc.

We must express disappointment about the other features of our analysis:people involved and concerned, places where self-regulation is applicable, rulesfor enforcement. It looks like the reign of vagueness. As to enforcement andprocedures, without doubt, we are in a relatively recent situation. The textswhich we have examined do not go back further than 1994-1995. Moreover,very often, organizations do not like to report complaints, which could reveala weakness in their security system, for instance. This means that it will bedifficult to evaluate the functioning of the procedures, when they exist. Wemust regret that some organizations explicitly state that they cannot committhemselves to controlling what they have on their servers.

If the topics and issues appear relatively clear, the main conclusion, interms of governance, is that further decisive progress has to be made. We couldalso add that the real problem with such codes is not that they exist, but that insome pages they try to cover areas for which the law needs many well-craftedarticles!

The Internet: the role of the law. Two new legal issues

The problem of the regulation of the Internet could be solved in different ways.The law is one of them. But, because of the particular nature of this newmedium, and especially the fact that it allows for the exercise of a number ofdifferent fundamental freedoms (like the freedom of expression, the freedomof information, etc.) important ethical choices have to be made in order toreconcile all the interests concerned.

To give a better idea of these ethical choices, we will analyse the systemof regulation chosen in two different areas: the protection of privacy and theprotection of copyright.

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The protection of privacy

Different choices have been made in the United States and in the EuropeanUnion. These choices could be explained from an economic point of view. Onthe one hand, the United States of America tends towards economic liberalism,which implies that the market should be left free to solve as many issues aspossible. On the other, the European Union which has chosen to regulate.

1. The choice made in the United States

In July 1997, the Clinton Administration published a paper entitled: Frameworkfor global electronic commerce” in which different principles were developed,of which three are relevant for our purpose. First of all the private sector shouldlead and consequently, the government will encourage industry self-regulationand private sector participation in the making of standards or collective agreements.Secondly, governments should avoid undue restrictions on electronic commerce.Thirdly, where government involvement is required, its aim should be to supporta predictable, minimalist, consistent and simple legal environment for commerce,which means that the governments plan to set up only decentralized or contractualmodels of law rather than a legal environment based on top-down regulation.

The federal administration was clearly in favour of self-regulation. Butin 1998, a poll taken by Business Week revealed that many citizens refused togo on-line because of privacy on-line concerns. The efforts of companies to setup adequate privacy protection seemed to be unconvincing. That is why in July1998, the Federal Trade Commission made the following declaration: “Unlessindustry can demonstrate that it has developed and implemented broad-basedand effective self-regulatory programs by the end of the year, additional govern-mental authority would be appropriate and necessary”.

One month later, the Federal Trade Commission charged the companyGeoCities, one of the most popular sites on the World Wide Web, of misrepre-senting the purposes for which it was collecting personal data from childrenand adults. A few days later, GeoCities shares fell more than 20 per cent. Andthat can be considered as a mirror of the growing awareness that Internet privacyprotection can have an enormous impact on a company’s bottom line.

2. The choice made in Europe

The legal policy in the European Union has clearly been regulatory. A generaldirective was issued in 1995 and set up different rights such as the right ofaccess or the right to object. The general directive mentions self-regulation,and one article is really interesting in that it helps to understand the place ofself-regulation (mostly the Codes of Conduct). The article provides that: TheMember States and the Commission shall encourage the drawing up of codesof conduct intended to contribute to the proper implementation of the nationalprovisions adopted by the Member States pursuant to this Directive, taking

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account of the specific features of the various sectors. The Commission seemedto consider the Code of Conduct as a supplement to the law, nothing more.

This article also creates the possibility for trade associations and otherbodies representing other categories of controllers to submit the code they havedrawn up to the opinion of the national authority. The Directive suggests thatthe Member States should make provision for this authority to ascertain whetherthe drafts submitted to it are in accordance with the national provisions adoptedpursuant to the Directive. But at this point of the debate we have only comparedthe choice made in the United States and in the European Union. It would beinteresting to compare the reality. The first feature of this confrontation is Article25 of the European Directive, which provides that: the Member States shallprovide that the transfer to a third country of personal data which are under-going processing or are intended for processing after transfer may take placeonly if, without prejudice to compliance with the national provisions adoptedpursuant to the other provisions of the directive, the third country in questionensures an adequate level of protection. The second paragraph of the Articlegives more details about the assessment of the level of protection saying thatparticular considerations shall be given to the nature of the data, the purposeand duration of the proposed processing operation or operations, the countryof origin and country final destination, the rules of law, both general and sectoral,in force in the third country in question and the professional rules and securitymeasures which are complied with in that country. At that time the level ofprotection in the United States was considered inadequate. But the problem isthat the Directive came into effect in October 1998.

Therefore, United States and European Union officials are meeting todiscuss ways of avoiding a potential obstacle to electronic commerce betweenthe two continents. The problem is how to solve this conflict, because bothparties will stick to their positions. A solution could perhaps be found inArticle 26.2 of the European Directive which creates an exception where thecontrollers adduce adequate safeguards with respect for the protection of privacy,specifying that such safeguards may in particular result from appropriatecontractual clauses. So the solution could be the creation of standard contractswhich would be used for transborder data flows to third parties.

In 1997, the Commission issued a second Directive on privacy,particularly focused on telecommunications. This Directive gives several rightsto the consumer with regards to the use of telecommunications for commercialpurposes. For example, Article 10 says that a subscriber must be provided, freeof charge, with the possibility to stop automatic call forwarding by a third partyto his or her terminal. These calling systems include fax transmission, so theDirective provides a solution to the problem of commercial harassment.

In conclusion, we can observe that the process used in the EuropeanUnion is exactly the opposite to the one adopted in the United States. In a firststep, the Clinton Administration gave priority to self-regulation. Recentlyhowever there have been various market abuses due to the lack of regulation.The administration will probably decide to introduce legislation. One thing

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remains surprising. It is the fact that the financial market has started to considerprotection of privacy as a criterion for evaluating a company dealing inelectronic commerce. It could therefore be considered that a change in meth-ods for regulating privacy in the United States would be the result of economicrather than ethical pressures.

In contrast, the European Union began with a directive whose purposewas, among others, to ensure a high level of protection to the right, recognizedin Article 8 and to reinforce its ethical value with a Directive. There is also apossibility to use self-regulation as a complement. It could be asked which ofthose two processes is more efficient. The answer could be neither becausethey both try to find a balance between over-regulation and a legal void.

Copyright protection, the competition between law and technology

In contrast to privacy, the field of copyright has been strongly regulated in theUnited States and the European Union. An ethical choice has been made infavour of real protection of the rightholders. But, there are now new questionswith the emergence of technical protection systems which are capable ofcontrolling access to protected works.

Furthermore, a proposal for a Directive on copyright and related rightsin the information society would require: “Member States to provide adequatelegal protection against any activities, including the manufacture or distributionof devices or the performance of services, which would enable or facilitate thecircumvention without authority of effective technological measures designedto protect copyrights and related rights”. This position of the Commission is astarting point for various considerations. First of all, the danger is that such anElectronic Copyright Management System (ECMS) could also block access toworks, which are no longer protected by copyright. According to some thismight result in an infringement of the public domain, which should be freelyaccessible to the general public.

Furthermore, the technology seems to offer a better protection than thecopyright itself, and one might ask whether that technology will not lead to theend of traditional copyright in the virtual world. This remark may seem excessivebut it is nevertheless certain that the very spirit of copyright protection ischanging. Such protection used to be a posteriori in that it was invoked afterthe infringement. Now, to prevent the ECMS violating the public’s right toinformation, it is necessary to decide a priori which works are protected andwhich are not.

It is interesting to note that the emergence of the new information tech-nologies could be regulated by three different instruments: first of all the law,which has the advantage of being effective and can also be enforced by a courtorder if necessary. But, the law also has weaknesses. Because of its generalcharacter, it is not helpful when practical details have to be worked out. Thesecond method is self-regulation. This is generally chosen in sectors where

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connections between the actors are very strong, as for example, in the financialworld. Self-regulation is effective when it is to the commercial advantage ofthe actors to comply with it. If this is not the case, it is hard to imagine thatsuch regulation could in any way be enforced.

A third and new way to regulate is with technology which can integratethe requirements of the law and enforce them in technological ways. The dangerresides in the following question: Who is entitled to write the standardsgoverning the machine? Whoever decides on the rules to be implemented bythe machine give their own interpretation of the law and could in some casesbypass completely the philosophy of the rule. If, as some believe the answerto the machine is the machine, the user must remain the master and must notbecome a slave.

Conclusion

In brief, two main conclusions are obvious and could be considered provi-sionally to be acceptable and thus allow a focus on newer issues. First, thereis general agreement on the ethical issues as covered either by technical means,or by self-regulation, and partially at least by the law. These are: Privacy (andderivative rights such as the right to know about his/her own data); computercrime; intellectual property rights, copyright, trademark, patent; free speech,right to information and communication; fight against hate speech, racism, andagainst sectarianism; pornographic, illegal, dubious or harmful material; etc.

Second, the ways in which those issues are solved, or at least approached,also require ethical choices. Who is setting the labelling vocabulary and thecriteria for assigning labels, who is rating the websites? Who is establishingthe filtering criteria ? The questions raised about the technical means revealthat there are social and ethical choices. As we have seen there are also ethicaland social choices in the ways privacy may, for instance, be protected. Or itmay be that a technical choice deregulates the legal means, which is also in itsown way an ethical and social choice!

Ethics have a place in the governance of the Internet, and must play arole. Therefore, as suggested during the recent IFIP-TC9 international conferenceon Human Choice and computers, we must “care about the net” instead of fearingit, play a role in a more face-to-face way (E. Lévinas); in other words we mustdevote ourselves to “netmaking” more than to “networking” and we have tocreate an ethical community. Others suggested the need to develop cross-culturalvalues in the service of great causes such as reducing violence and promotingpeace. Or, to develop principles of governance which include socialresponsibility. Social dialogue, cultural dialogue, social responsibility are notjust words: they must be a meaningful part of our action to create humannetworks in the age of globalization.

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KWEKU APPIAHChairman, Ghana Group for the Promotion of Information Society

Developing participation in the global information societyAccess to information and communication technologies (ICT) is crucial to the developmentprocess. It is now both technically and economically feasible to bring ICT services to theentire world and increasingly, people around the world, including those in developingcountries, are demanding access to the emerging global information network. The paper looks at issues related to the design of strategies to develop greater access as well as servicesfor all, including the marginalized, to the Global Information Infrastructure. A case is madefor a strategy which, while recognizing the diversity that exists between and within countries,will promote the development of active, dynamic and competitive membership of the GlobalInformation Society for all.

Développer la participation dans la société de l’information mondialePouvoir accéder aux technologies modernes de l’information et de la communication estcapital pour le développement. Il est aujourd’hui à la fois techniquement et économiquementpossible d’offrir des services, faisant appel à ces technologies, au monde entier et de partout,y compris des pays en développement, s’élève une demande accrue d’accès au réseau mondial d’information qui se met en place. L’auteur examine les problèmes que pose laconception de stratégies visant à développer l’accès de tous, y compris des personnesmarginalisées, à l’infrastructure mondiale de l’information et aux services qu’elle procure. Il préconise l’adoption d’une stratégie qui, tout en tenant compte de la diversité qui existe au sein des pays et entre eux, favorisera l’adhésion dynamique et concurrentielle de tous à la société mondiale de l’information.

El fomento de la participatión en la sociedad mundial de la informacion El acceso a las modernas tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones es uncomponente básico del proceso de desarrollo. Ahora que desde un punto de vista técnico y económico resulta factible prestar servicios en todo el mundo mediante las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones, los pueblos de todo el mundo, comprendidos los de los países en desarrollo, piden acceso a la incipiente red mundial de información. En esta ponencia se examinan cuestiones relacionadas con la concepción de estrategias para que toda la población, comprendidos los grupos marginados, tenga acceso a laInfraestructura Mundial de la Información y a todos los servicios. Se defiende una estrategiaque, sin dejar de tener presente la diversidad que existe entre distintos países y dentro de los propios países, sirva para fomentar la participación activa, dinámica y competitiva de todos en la Sociedad Mundial de la Información.

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Introduction

Regardless of a nation’s level of economic development, political, economicand social structure, language and culture, they are all seeking to develop andimprove the quality of life of their citizens. At present, the industrializedcountries have an overwhelming lead in development over most developingnations. However, modern information and communication technologies offera significant window of opportunity for developing countries to accelerate theirdevelopment in all spheres of economic and social activity and to narrow thegap between countries.

The world stands today on the threshold of a Global Information Society.This position has been arrived at through the truly remarkable advances thathave been made in recent years in the development of ICT as well as theconstruction and development of national and global information infrastructures.Through these developments it is now both technically and economicallyfeasible to bring modern information and communications technologies to anypart of the world. Equally important, people around the world, including thosein developing countries, are increasingly demanding access to the emergingglobal information network. Hence, communities in Mexico, for example, haveinstalled personal computers and built microwave towers to communicate withthe rest of the world, allowing school children to interact with other studentsall over the world and keeping farmers apprised of both local and world cropprices. India has also launched a programme to link its biggest cities with anationwide network that will facilitate the dissemination of governmentinformation and provide an infrastructure for commercial applications.

The present Global Information Infrastructure (GII) has evolved from aresearch and development programme in networking that was initiated andfunded by the United States government in the 1960s. This programme, whichsought to establish a decentralized telecommunications system in which anassortment of variously located computers could communicate with each othereven when one or more parts of the system had been seriously damaged, wasprimarily designed to satisfy the military requirements of the United States.From these origins, the Internet has since developed into a global network ofcomputer networks with many different types of users.

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Realizing the full potential of the Global InformationInfrastructure (GII)

As described by the Vice President of the United States of America at the firstWorld Telecommunication Development Conference held in Buenos Aries,Argentina in 1994, a major goal of the Global Information Society is to:

“Build a global community in which the people of neighboringcountries view each other not as potential enemies, but as potentialpartners, as members of the same family in the vast, increasingly inter-connected human family. The Internet today is a fast-growing, globalnetwork that enables people from all over the world to provide andaccess a variety of content, communicate with one another, purchasegoods and services, and even coordinate complex, far-flung worldwideactivities at relatively low cost. The Net is estimated to be growingat a rate of 10-15 per cent per month, with numbers rising from about56 million Internet users worldwide in 1995 to about 200 millionpeople in 1999. Also, its American origin notwithstanding, more than50 per cent of current Net users at present are outside the UnitedStates and that percentage is rising; by 2000, less than 20 per cent ofall Internet users are projected to be in the United States”.

At present, citizens and residents of industrialized countries enjoy goodaccess to the Internet. For example, Finland and Iceland – first and secondamong countries with the most Internet hosts per capita – had 62 and 42 Internethosts per 1,000 population, respectively, in 1997. At the other end of the scale,the information revolution has hardly arrived in Africa – the world’s least developedregion – where fewer than 15 countries had full Internet access in 1996. As aresult of this situation, most developing countries have yet to assume a seriousrole in discussions on setting goals and standards for the GII. This should notdeter them from seeking ways to ensure that their concerns and interests areincluded in the design, delivery, regulation and content of the world’sinformation expansion. Clearly, a partnership between rich and poor countriesis necessary in such an endeavour.

The potential benefits of the Internet for developing countries are wellknown: namely that it presents exciting new opportunities to reinvigorate andaccelerate the rate of economic and social development. However, the changesengendered by the Internet have been generally to the exclusion of the verypoor people in developing countries that the Internet can particularly benefit.At present, the proliferation of the technology is restricted by the lack ofappropriate infrastructure and the expense of computing technology. Hence, thedilemma for the average farmer in a developing country, say, would be to choosebetween spending about $3,000 on the technology and approximately $20–50per month on subscription fees or investing that money on farming tools,fertilizers or irrigation systems to produce a good harvest and an adequateincome. Unfortunately, in nearly all cases in most developing countries, the

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question simply does not arise because the farmer lacks the necessary financialresources or access to them to enable him (or her) to use the Internet. Underthese conditions, the race to effectively deploy the technology to increaseproductivity and promote social change and development may be over beforeit starts.

While it cannot be denied that top-level decision-makers in somedeveloping countries are not always convinced that investing in ICT should beaccorded topmost priority, there is now at least a political will in manydeveloping countries to support and encourage these processes. Much of this newspirit has been encouraged by industrialized donor countries and organizationssuch as the United States, Denmark, UNDP and the World Bank which haveprovided much financial and technical support to developing countries tostrengthen and develop their national information infrastructure technologies.As a result, new legal frameworks and standards are being set up to promotethe development and interconnection of national information infrastructures. InGhana, for example, the basic policy instruments to encourage private investmentand entrepreneurial activities to expand and enhance information technologyhave been put in place and the country has three licensed Internet ServiceProviders as well as five network services that provide mainly e-mail services.

Major challenges that confront developing countries in embracingmodern ICT include the formulation and implementation of effective and prac-tical strategies to enhance the capabilities of their populations to make the bestpossible use of information technology. Clearly, any country that wants to takefull advantage of the opportunities provided by ICT will have to prepare itspopulation to use the technology effectively. An obvious strategy to achievethis objective is to establish computer literacy courses. This may not besufficient, however. Consequently, it will be necessary to ensure that thesecourses are complemented by teaching people – from primary school pupils,secondary school and university students as well as adult learners – the skillsneeded to find information, critically evaluate it and also how to use it creativelyto solve their problems.

A related objective is to ensure the effective application of informationtechnologies to reduce, rather than widen and deepen social inequities or worseninequality across the technological divide. Mechanisms to achieve this objectiveinclude, for example, public telecentres that have been promoted by the ITUas well as information service centres which are promoted by a coalition ofprivate and public sector interests in the United States. These centres providepeople with access to development-oriented applications and content as wellas ICT-based facilities with associated training. Further, these centres can serveas the community libraries of the future and major instruments to achieve thegoal of wide public access to the Internet.

Regardless of the sophistication of the technology or services beingoffered, a simple strategy to achieve these objectives could include the provisionof assurances to potential users that they can allow the GII entry into theirhomes, workplaces and lives to access and share information safely and without

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forfeiting any of their rights. Governments, businesses and public-interest groupsworking together on information policy and content issues, must address theseconcerns. Equally as important, governments and the private sector mustcontinuously seek to demonstrate in imaginative and practical ways the potentialbenefits of the GII to citizens, especially the more disadvantaged in society,for example, through tele-medicine or access to information on market pricesfor their crops. After all, it is only when people are exposed to, and see, tangibleresults of applications that they can begin to appreciate how the ICTs can beused to improve their lives. This appreciation is the key to stimulating demandfor the services and content of the GII, which in turn will provide the impetusto remove institutional and regulatory barriers to its full utilization.

It should be noted that most young people, regardless of whether theylive in rich or poor countries, will feel strongly motivated to learn and use ICT,from portable phones to the Internet. As a consequence, all governments shouldplace emphasis on educational programmes as a lever to increase the competenceof the population at large.

Ethics and the development of the GIS

Decentralization is an important characteristic of the Internet’s culture andtechnology. Another important feature is that many Internet users view themselvesas part of an “Internet community” that has its own culture, ethics and rules.We are all aware of “netiquette” as well as the existence of Internet jargon thathas been developed by Internet users. As this community grows, many challengesconcerning access and use as well as issues such as regulation, ethics andcontent on the Internet will confront policy-makers. There is a general consensusaround the world that development of the GII and realization of the goals ofa Global Information Society will require concerted action and cooperation todevelop a global information policy framework that will ensure, among otherthings, that:

– the privacy of individuals and organizations using the GII is protected;– the security and reliability of the networks the information passes over

are ensured;– the intellectual property rights of those who create the information,

education and entertainment content are protected; and– that the content of information (particularly that of an intolerant, racist

or pornographic nature) circulating on the Internet and access to it,especially by children, is regulated.

Deliberations and action on all these issues must involve all countriesrepresented by their governments, private sectors, labour, academia and thegeneral public. Wide consultation involving all the major stakeholders shouldfoster the formulation of a constructive regulatory framework that will be

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attractive to all and safeguard the interests of individual countries or groups ofcountries. In these deliberations, the stakeholders must seek to avoid or ironout potential discrepancies. For example, an impending EU law that aims tosafeguard the privacy rights of European citizens by setting common rules forthe export and use of many kinds of personal data has an unintended conse-quence: a possibility of trade conflict with the United States. More generally,if exercised, the data protection directive could play havoc with global tradeflows by cutting off companies’ international communications networks.

Another concern involves the potential of ICTs to have a negative effecton the social behaviour of users. For example, the range of services that canbe accessed on the Internet is so comprehensive that it can, as stated byUNESCO, “unduly privilege the ‘human-machine’ relationship” to the detriment,on the one hand, of social intercourse and, on the other, the development ofself-reliance. At present, however, many of the risks associated with some ofthese phenomena are poorly understood and more detailed study and researchis needed to enable policy-makers to adequately consider the necessary actions,if any, that will be required to address the problems.

There is also considerable concern in many quarters about the mainte-nance of linguistic and cultural diversity. Given its origins in the United Statesas well as the dominance of the English language as a medium of internationalcommunication, 90 per cent of the databases on the Internet at present are inEnglish. Consequently, non-English speakers do not have effective access tothe content available on the Internet. However, there are few technicalconstraints on the development of databases in other languages that can servethe interests of a variety of local communities. Nonetheless, technology-inducedglobalization is seen by many as a threat to local customs, values and beliefs.This is therefore an area in which further research is required.

Conclusion

Promotion of the growth and development of the Global InformationInfrastructure and its use presents several challenges to all countries, perhapsmost especially for developing countries. Developing countries will, in particular,have to develop cheap, simple and robust technologies for coping withincreasing numbers of users and traffic. In pursuit of this objective, researchand development is required on the development of means for promoting equalaccess to cyberspace. In addition, and as part of the overall strategy to achievethis objective, research will have to be conducted to identify and developinnovations to promote the use of the ICTs by different population sub-groupsas well as to study its effects on society and development. An important topicthat must also be researched is how ethical principles related to globalisationcan be implemented.

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References:

Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA). The Internet and some InternationalRegulatory Issues relating to Content: A Pilot Comparative Study. Paris: UNESCO,September 1997 (CII-97/WS/8). Financial Times. Monday, 10 July 1998.

Al Gore, and Ronald H. Brown. The Global Information Infrastructure: Agenda forCooperation, Washington, D.C.: United States Government, 1995. The New YorkTimes. Monday, 20 January 1997. Hans d’Orvil.

Technology Revolution Study: Communication and Knowledge-based Technologies forSustainable Human Development.

Report to the assistant administrator and Director, Bureau for Policy and ProgrammeSupport (BPPS). New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 30 April 1996 UNESCO, UNESCO and an Information Society for All; A PositionPaper, Paris: UNESCO, May 1996 (CII-96/WS/4).

UNESCO, Information and Communication Technologies in Development: A UNESCO Perspective. Paris: UNESCO, December 1996 (CII-96/WS/6).

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CEES HAMELINKProfessor of International Communication, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Cyberspace as the public domain: The role of civil societyThe paper addresses the need to mobilize the forces of civil society for the protection of the endangered public domain. It proposes future forms of cyberspace governance that are guided by public interests, and discusses the global movement for a People’sCommunication Charter.

Le cyberespace comme domaine public : le rôle de la société civileL’auteur traite de la nécessité de mobiliser les forces de la société civile au service de la protection du domaine public en péril. Il propose pour l’avenir des formes d’administration du cyberespace qui aillent dans le sens de l’intérêt public et donne son avis sur le mouvement mondial pour une Charte populaire de la communication.

El ciberespacio como dominio público: la función de la sociedad civilEsta ponencia se centra en la necesidad de movilizar las fuerzas de la sociedad civil para proteger un dominio público amenazado. Se proponen nuevas formas de gestionar el ciberespacio, regidas por el interés público, y se analiza el movimiento global encaminado a confeccionar una Carta Popular de la Comunicaci fue

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Introduction

“The development of the GII ... must be a democratic effort ... In a sense, theGII will be a metaphor for democracy itself ... I see a new Athenian Age ofdemocracy forged in the fora the GII will create ... The Global InformationInfrastructure ... will circle the globe with information superhighways on whichall people can travel. These highways – or, more accurately, networks of distributedintelligence – will allow us to share information, to connect, and to communicateas a global community”. United States Vice-President Al Gore

Highway Utopias

Development has never seemed so easy to achieve. There is an abundance ofutopian scenarios available that promise sustainable development, once digitalhighways have been constructed. In such perspectives, the deployment of newinformation and communication technologies (ICTs) ushers in a “newcivilization”, an “information revolution”, or a “knowledge society”. This lineof thought emphasizes historical discontinuity as a major consequence of tech-nological developments. New social values will evolve, new social relations willdevelop, the “zero sum society” comes to a definite end, once the ICTs havegiven worldwide access for all to information. The current highway utopiasforecast radical changes in economics, politics and culture. In the economy theICTs will create more productivity and improved chances for employment. Theywill upgrade the quality of work in many occupations. They will also offermyriad opportunities for small-scale, independent and decentralized forms ofproduction. In the domain of politics, the decentralized and increased access tounprecedented volumes of information will improve the process ofdemocratization. All people will be empowered to participate in public decision-making. In the cultural domain, new and creative lifestyles will emerge as wellas vastly extended opportunities for different cultures to meet and understandeach other. New virtual communities that easily cross across all the traditionalborderlines of age, gender, race and religion will be created.

The essential vehicle to make these dreams come true will be the projectof a “Global Information Infrastructure” (GII). The GII was launched by theUnited States Vice President Al Gore in a 1994 speech at the conference of theInternational Telecommunication Union in Buenos Aires. The proposal hasreceived a good deal of international, political and corporate support. The meeting

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of the G-7 in Brussels in February 1995 decided to move ahead with the imple-mentation of this global infrastructure. The G-7 Final Declaration stated thatthe global information society is expected to enrich people worldwide by providingto developing countries and countries in transition the chance “to leapfrog stagesof technology”. Several countries such as Canada, Japan, Singapore and theEuropean Union are intent on the rapid installation of national informationinfrastructures in the near future. The developing world has also shown consid-erable interest. The African region provides a good illustration. The interest inICTs was very prominent during the First African Regional Symposium onTelematics for Development (1995) and also at the twenty-first session of theConference of African Ministers responsible for Economic, Social andDevelopment Planning (1995). Moreover, in 1995 the Workshop on the Roleand Impact of Information and Communication Technologies in Development(held at Cairo, Egypt) recommended that “without proper national informationand communication policies, strategies and implementation plans, countries willnot be able to partake fully in the global information society”.

Although most African countries are not known as hot spots for ICTdevelopment, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conferenceof Ministers adopted on 2 May 1995 Resolution 795 (XXX), “Building Africa’sInformation Highway”. African ministers for economic and social developmentrequested in the resolution that the ECA sets up a high-level working group oninformation and communication technologies in Africa made up of Africantechnical experts with a view to preparing a plan of action in this field. Aftermeetings in Cairo, Addis Ababa and Dakar, the High-Level Working Groupproduced Africa’s Information Society Initiative: An Action Framework to BuildAfrica’s Information and Communications Infrastructure. In early May 1996, theplan was approved for implementation by the Conference of Ministers meetingat Addis Ababa.

The Conference on Information Society and Development (ISAD) inSouth Africa, in May 1996, was the venue for the launching of the AfricanInformation Society initiative. By 2010 this initiative foresees for Africa aninformation society in which: “Every man and woman, schoolchild, village,government office, and business can access information through computers andtelecommunications; information and decision support systems are used tosupport decision-making in all the major sectors of each nation’s economy;access is available throughout the region to international, regional and national‘information highways’; A vibrant private sector exhibits strong leadership ingrowing information-based economies; African information resources areaccessible globally reflecting content on tourism, trade, education, culture,energy, health, transport, and natural-resource management; and informationand knowledge empower all sectors of society”.

Increasingly today big info-communications business is taking a growinginterest. Companies such as Time/Warner are making massive investments tosecure a profitable place on the Information Superhighway. The GlobalInformation Infrastructure project has a large number of computopian prophets

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such as European Commissioner Martin Bangemann, the CEOs of companiessuch as AT&T, IBM, Microsoft and American Express, media tycoon RupertMurdoch, authors such as Alvin Toffler and United States Vice PresidentAl Gore. The latter stated in his Buenos Aires address that the GlobalInformation Infrastructure is the essential prerequisite to sustainabledevelopment. It will provide solutions to environmental problems, improveeducation and health care, create a global marketplace and forge a new Athenianage of democracy.

It is obviously true that ICTs can perform tasks that are indeed essentialto democratic and sustainable social development. They can provide low-cost,high-speed, worldwide interactive communications among large numbers ofpeople, unprecedented access to information sources, alternative channels forinformation provision that counter the commercial news channels, and they cansupport networking, lobbying and mobilizing.

The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995), for exam-ple, showed the benefits that women’s groups could get out of the use of ICTs.The general experience of the women’s groups involved in the Beijing electronicnetworking (despite all the real limitations) was that the low-cost and high-speed communications had improved organizational efficiency and facilitatedaccess to up-to-date information. NGOs in the South indicated that the networkshad allowed them to influence the conference agenda, to mobilize lobbies, andto counter commercial press coverage. The participants generally felt the tech-nology had strong empowerment potential.

There are however serious obstacles to the full realization of the empower-ment potential of ICTs.

Economic factors

The introduction and use of ICTs does not take place in a social vacuum. Thisprocess cannot be separated from the emerging global communication order.The reality of this order is a global info-communications market that in 1997yielded over $1.5 trillion in revenues and that continues to feature a processof mergers and acquisitions which will most likely lead to the control of theworld’s information and cultural supply by some four to six multimedia mega-conglomerates around the turn of the century.

Today’s forerunner of the projected Global Information Infrastructure,the Internet has begun to attract the attention of the major forces in this globalmarket place. The Internet – at present a public meeting place where more than30 million PC users in some 150 countries exchange information, search data-bases, play games and chat – and that has been guided by the rule of sharinginformation for free, has now been discovered as a major vehicle for commercialadvertising. This raises the question of whether the Internet will remain anopen, free, competitive, egalitarian public space. This is highly unlikely, sincethe Net is not developing outside the current global economic order. The Netis moving fast toward developing into the new global advertising medium.

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There is a great battle going on with the future control of the world’s largestnetwork at stake. Moneymaking on the Net will require to turn it into anadvertising medium. In order for companies to recoup their enormous investments,advertising and sales will be essential. The competition to attract advertisingdollars is already on its way. As a result, a communicative structure that so farhas been public, non-commercial, non-regulated, non-censored, anarchistic andvery pluralistic may soon turn into a global electronic shopping mall.

It is difficult to understand how the current transformation of the Netfrom a public forum into a commercial vehicle (much the way this happenedin many countries with television) can contribute to the realization of theempowerment potential of ICTs. In any case, if the Global InformationInfrastructure project is predominantly driven by the search for profit, there islittle probability that current inequalities in access and use of ICTs will beredressed.

Political obstacles

An important political obstacle to the creation of open, public networks is thecurrent trend towards deregulatory policies around the world. Their bottom lineis that the introduction and use of ICTs should be predominantly if not totallya matter of market forces. The G-7 and the EU governments have made itrepeatedly understood that the GII will have to be constructed primarily throughprivate investments. Global and regional policy-making addresses primarily theremoval of all obstacles that might stand in the way of the unhindered operationof the major ICT-investors on markets around the world. The policies of WTOand IMF are instrumental in supporting the global commercial media system.They are not particularly helpful to the democratization of the world’s informationand communication sector. A landmark in deregulatory policies is the WTOtelecommunications agreement of early 1997. The agreement requires signatorycountries (68 countries that represent 98% of the $600 billion telecom trade) toopen up their markets to foreign competition.

According to various governments this will strongly facilitate the devel-opment of the global Superhighway, but most likely as an infrastructure fortransnational business, not necessarily as platform for public debate on socialdevelopment. The agreement has seriously compromised the chances for universalnetwork access as national policies may be considered anti-competitive ifgovernments intervene in the market to guarantee universal service. Accordingto industry spokespersons the agreement will speed up the search for globalalliances.

Info-telecom disparity

There seems general agreement in the scientific literature and in public policystatements that the gap in access to ICTs between the developed and developingcountries is widening and that this hinders the integration of all countries into

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the Global Information Society. The seriousness of the gap is clearly demon-strated by the figures of the world distribution of telephony. There are onebillion telephones in the world and approximately 5.7 billion people. Todaysome 15 per cent of the world population enjoy some 71 per cent of the world’smain telephone lines. Low income countries (where 55 per cent of the worldpopulation lives) have less than 5 per cent of the world share of telephonelines. High-income countries have 50 telephone lines per 100 inhabitants. Manylow-income countries have less than one telephone line per 100; this rangesfrom Cambodia with 0.06 to China with 0.98 in 1992 (according to figuresprovided by the ITU/BDT Telecommunication Indicator Database). More than50 per cent of the world’s people have never even used a telephone! Less than6 per cent of Internet computers are in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the MiddleEast and Latin America. Less than 4 per cent of Internet users are found inthe Third World. In India there is one telephone line and 0,2 PC for 100 people,this compares to 49 lines and 15 PCs in Japan, and 63 lines and 21 PCs per100 people in the United States.

The reality of the widening gap in ICT capacity raises the serious concernthat the poorer countries may not be able to overcome the financial and technicalobstacles that hamper their access to the new technologies.

An obvious question regarding the financial obstacles is whether the inter-national community is ready to provide the massive investments needed forthe renovation, upgrading and expansion of networks in developing countries.By way of illustration of the scope of funds involved: it would take someUS $12 billion to get 50 per cent of the Philippine population on the Internet.To increase teledensity from 0.46 lines per 100 inhabitants to 1 per 100 insub-Saharan Africa would require an investment of US $8 billion. A partic-ular funding problem also arises if the current Internet has to be transformedinto a global interactive electronic highway. This demands a radical expansionof current bandwidth to transport all these signals. To provide broadbandcapacity to all United States citizens would require investments of severalhundred billion dollars.

In response to the challenge of the info-telecom gap, many public andprivate donor institutions have proposed plans for the elimination of the disparity.The concern about the gap has inspired the World Bank for example, to establishin early 1995 the Information for Development Program with the brief to assistdeveloping countries with their integration into the global information economy.In 1995 the ITU established WorldTel – an ambitious project to generate privateinvestments to bridge the telecom gap in the world by developing basic infra-structures. WorldTel aims at some 40 million telephone connections in developingcountries in the next 10 years. It hopes for an investment fund of a minimumof $1 billion. AT&T plans for its Africa One project to have a fully operationaloptical fibre cable around the whole continent of Africa by 1999 to provideconnections for all the major coastal cities. Also Siemens and Alcatel havedesigns (Afrilink and Atlantis-2 respectively) to provide telecom connections,especially to West Africa. Both the International Satellite Organization (IntelSat)

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and the Regional African Satellite Organisation are actively promoting theexpansion of e-mail services for the continent.

Apart from the problem that all these plans do not match the funds thatare really required, they also raise the critical issue of the appropriateness ofthe technologies transferred and the capacity of the recipient countries to masterthem. The present discussion on the gap provides no convincing argument thatthe technology owners will change their attitudes and policies towards the inter-national transfer of technology. Throughout the past decades the prevailinginternational policies on transfer of technology have erected formidable obstaclesto the reduction of North-South technology gaps. Today, there is no indicationthat the current restrictive business practices, the constraints on the ownershipof knowledge, and the rules on intellectual property rights that are adverse todeveloping country interests are radically changing. There are at present norealistic prospects that the relations between ICT-rich and ICT-poor countrieswill change in the near future. The key actors in international ICT policy-makinghave expressed a clear preference for leaving the construction of the GlobalInformation Society to “the forces of the free market”, and it seems that underthe institutional arrangements of a corporate-capitalist market economy, thedevelopment of an equitable information society remains a very unlikely propo-sition. At any rate, the question of whether there can be any serious reductionof the disparity within the realities of the international economic order must beasked. It may well be an illusion to think that ICT-poor countries could catchup or keep pace with the advancements in the North where the rate of techno-logical development is very high and is supported by considerable resources.This is not to say that poor countries should not try to upgrade their ICTs. Theyshould however not do this in the unrealistic expectation that those who areahead will wait for them. As a result, the situation may improve for the poorercountries, but the disparity will not go away.

What should be done?

The most immediate political challenge today is that the use of ICTs forsustainable development will not be determined by technology but by politics.The realization of their potential requires rethinking the wisdom of currentderegulatory policies, a rethinking of the role of public funding and a massiveeffort in training and education for the mastery of ICTs. This political agendais unlikely to be seriously treated if ICT policies are left to market forces alone.If market-driven arrangements are – for some time to come – the standardenvironment in which ICTs will be deployed, then the only force that couldmake a real difference are the people, who buy on the market and who havethe (often unused and rarely recognized) power to say “no”. The realization ofthe empowerment potential of ICTs should therefore primarily be the concernof civil society organizations. They need to mobilize and lobby for and withthe ordinary men and women whose lives will be affected by the digital futuresthat are being designed. Today there is only a very modest beginning of a global

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civil activism in the info-communications sector, through such organizations asthe worldwide community radio association, AMARC, the Cultural EnvironmentMovement and the People’s Communication Charter. It is urgent that thesemovements begin to extend their reach by attracting the support of large publicinterest organizations (labour unions, educational institutions, religious bodies)and intergovernmental organizations such as UNESCO and ITU.

Since our cultural environment is as essential to our common future asthe natural ecology, it is time for peoples’ movements to focus on the organi-zation and quality of the production and distribution of information and othercultural expressions. Mobilizing the users community and stimulating criticalreflection on the quality of the cultural environment is a tall order. However,it can be done and it is actually being done. There is an increasing number ofindividuals and groups around the world that are beginning to express concernabout the quality of media performance. A start has also been made with thecreation of a broad international movement of alert and demanding media users.The movement is based upon what has been called the People’s CommunicationCharter.

The People’s Communication Charter is an initiative of the Third WorldNetwork (Penang, Malaysia), the Centre for Communication & Human Rights(Amsterdam, Netherlands), the Cultural Environment Movement (UnitedStates), and the AMARC-World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters(Peru/Canada). In the early 1990s the academics and activists associated withthe Third World Network in Penang (TWN) and its affiliated ConsumersAssociation of Penang (CAP) initiated a debate on the feasibility of a worldpeople’s movement in the field of communication and culture. The TWN andCAP had already by then an impressive record in the development of peoples’movements in such areas as international trade and the tropical rain forest. Theyhad proved capable of bringing the concerns of grass roots people in ThirdWorld countries to the diplomatic negotiations of the Uruguay GATT multilateraltrade round and the UNCED in Rio de Janeiro. An obvious problem turned outto be that information consumers are not normally organized in representativeassociations. They are a diverse community, geographically dispersed and ideo-logically fragmented. In order to create a constituency for concerns about thequality of the cultural environment, the People’s Communication Charter wasinitiated as a first step.

This Charter provides a common framework for all those who share thebelief that people should be active and critical participants in their social realityand capable of governing themselves. The People’s Communication Charter maybe a first step in the development of a permanent movement concerned with thequality of our cultural environment. One of the ideas that has been launched forits implementation is to set up an International Tribunal that would receivecomplaints by signatories of the Charter and invite the parties involved to submitevidence on the basis of which the Tribunal could come to a judgement.

The Charter is not an end in itself. It provides the basis for a permanentcritical reflection on those worldwide trends that determine the quality of our

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lives in the third millennium. It is therefore important to see the Charter asan open document that can be updated, amended, improved, and expanded.Indeed since the Charter was presented on the World Wide Web(http://www.waag.org/pcc), new ideas and suggestions for change have beenmade and discussed. A very important moment in the PCC history was theFounding Convention of the Cultural Environment Movement (Saint Louis,March 1996) when the first public ratification of the text took place. In June 1997,the governing body of the World Association for Christian Communicationendorsed the Charter. This was the conclusion of much discussion of the Charterby WACC members in its eight regions. The WACC Central Committee alsoproposed some important amendments to the text. Next year the Charter willbe on the agenda of the General Assembly of AMARC and of the ParisConvention of the Cultural Environment Movement in April. What is mostimportant at present, however, is to solicit more support from individuals andinstitutions worldwide for the ideas that the Charter embodies. In August 1996,for example, the Charter was displayed at the famous Dokumenta exhibition atKassel, Germany. The text was discussed and signed by many visitors. Suchevents and the progress in gaining support for the PCC are presented on theCharter’s Website.

Beyond the text itself and its endorsement, the most critical element forthe Charter’s future is obviously its implementation. In an open, democratic,people’s movement this cannot be organized by some central governing body.Implementation is very much the concern of local and national groups, eithernewly formed or already established for other (or similar) purposes. The achieve-ment of the people’s right to communicate cannot be a homogeneous project.It will take different forms in different sociocultural and political contexts. Inone country it may be the institution of an Ombudsman office for the qualityof the cultural environment. In another a national prize may be awarded forthe television programme people find most in accordance with the Charter’sprinciples. In some cases a civil society campaign to rescue public broadcastingmay be necessary. Elsewhere the focus may be on the protection of childrenor the defence of the media interests of people with a handicap. This is reallythe business of ordinary people. It is also the ultimate test case for the meaningof the Charter. It makes sense only if people themselves begin to be concernedabout its implementation.

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DANIEL PIMIENTAHead, Foundation Networks and Development (FUNREDES), Dominican Republic

Is there space on the Internet for languages and culturesother than American?These are the results of an ongoing research project about the place of French, Spanish and other Latin languages on the Internet, supported by the Latin Union and the Agence dela Francophonie. The methodology is to use the Internet search engines, counting occurrencesof a carefully selected sampling of words. The results show a progressive increase in thepresence of non-English languages. As for culture, the “Internet citations index” of famouspeople representative of the presence of different areas of culture is measured. The resultshows the existence of a “global fame factor” which is not necessarily biased towards theUnited States, especially when culture and business are not too blurred. The author encouragesevery culture and language to create its own information resources within the Internet and warns that what is at risk today is the very cultural foundation of the Internet, based on universal values of sharing and solidarity, than any specific language or culture.

Y a-t-il sur l’Internet un espace pour d’autres langues et d’autres cultures que celles des États-Unis ?Cette communication est le résultat d'une recherche effectuée sur le français, l’espagnol etd’autres langues latines sur l’Internet, menée avec le soutien de l’Union latine et de l’Agencede la francophonie. La méthodologie retenue consiste à utiliser les moteurs de recherche surl’Internet en comptant les occurrences d’un échantillon de mots choisis avec le plus grandsoin. Les résultats montrent une augmentation progressive des langues autres que l'anglais.En ce qui concerne la culture, un indice des citations sur l’Internet des personnages célèbres,représentatif de la présence d'environnements culturels différents, est calculé. Il en ressortl’existence d’un « facteur de renommée mondial » qui n’est pas nécessairement favorable aux États-Unis, surtout lorsqu’on ne mélange pas trop culture et commerce. L’auteur encouragetoutes les cultures et toutes les langues à créer leurs propres ressources d’information sur l'Internet et juge qu’aujourd'hui ce qui est menacé pourrait être bien plutôt le fondementculturel de l’Internet, édifié sur les valeurs universelles du partage et de la solidarité, quetelle langue ou culture en particulier.

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¿Queda sitio en Internet para otras lenguas y culturas que no sean las de los Estados Unidos?Esta ponencia se basa en una investigación en curso, financiada por la Unión Latina y laAgence de la Francophonie, en torno al lugar que ocupan en Internet el francés, el español y otras lenguas procedentes del latín. La metodología consiste en hacer uso de motores debúsqueda de Internet y contar las veces que aparece una muestra cuidadosamente seleccio-nada de palabras. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que va aumentando paulatinamente lapresencia de idiomas distintos del inglés. Con respecto a la cultura, se mide la presencia enel “Indice de citas de Internet” de personajes famosos que representan distintos segmentosculturales. Se desprende de los resultados que existe un “factor de fama de ámbito mundial”que no se decanta forzosamente hacia los Estados Unidos, sobre todo cuando no se mezclanen exceso la cultura y los negocios. El autor insta a todas las lenguas y culturas a que creensus propios medios de información en Internet y advierte que, más que cualquier idioma o cultura determinados, es más probable que lo que corra peligro actualmente sean losfundamentos culturales de Internet cimentados en los valores universales del reparto y lasolidaridad.

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Introduction

La francophonie, l’hispanité et les autres communautés relevant des langueslatines (italien, portugais et roumain) recouvrent un nombre important depersonnes puisqu’elles ont, ensemble, une valeur supérieure à celle de l’anglais(785 vs. 630 millions).

Tableau 1 : Chiffres comptabilisant les populations des pays où la langue est officielleou d’enseignement qui peuvent réellement communiquer dans cettelangue et les populations de langue maternelle habitant un pays où lalangue n’est ni officielle ni d’enseignement.

Population Rapport(millions) (%)

Anglais 630 10,50

Espagnol 375 6,25

Portugais 190 3,17

Français 130 2,17

Italien 60 1

Roumain 30 0,5

Population mondiale 6 000 100

(Source : Daniel Prado, Union latine)

Quelle va être la place des langues et cultures « non américaines » dansle nouveau scénario que dessine rapidement les Nouvelles Technologies del’Information et Communication (NTIC) ? Quelle sera la situation des langueslatines tels le français, l’espagnol ou le portugais qui ont réussi à être diffuséesen dehors de leurs espaces géographiques originels ? Quel sera le cas des culturesassociées aux langues latines qui ont, jusqu’à aujourd’hui, maintenu une influencehistorique remarquable dans les arts, les lettres et la science, pour ne citer quequelques secteurs de l’activité humaine ? Restera-t-il un espace ? Ou bien lapartie est-elle déjà jouée et pouvons-nous seulement établir un diagnostic dedéfaite ? Finalement, que se passera-t-il dans une décennie ou deux, quand les

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changements de la globalisation économique auront affecté tous les secteurs del’activité humaine dans tous les coins de la planète ?

Le secteur des NTIC est à la fois un des éléments majeurs de la transfor-mation de nos sociétés et un microcosme où les effets de la globalisation sontles premiers perceptibles et analysables. Un premier élément de réponse est deconstater la présence de ces langues et cultures au sein de l’Internet, dans lespages web ou dans l’espace des groupes de discussion.

Le contexte historique

Les acteurs du développement des NTIC ont vu en quelques années leur domained’activité sortir du cercle des initiés et devenir à la fois un sujet médiatique etun terrain d’expansion des médias. Durant la même période (1995-1998) lemédia Internet s’est transformé rapidement en outil privilégié de la globalisationéconomique et a réduit l’importance numérique et le poids politique de ceuxqui avait créé cette dernière utopie du siècle. Cette confrontation de culturestrès différentes ne va pas sans provoquer d’épineuses questions d’éthique etelle sous-tend une vision de l’avenir de la planète oscillant entre l’explosion etle métissage des cultures nationales et une monoculture normative sur le modèlenord-américain.

A lire la presse, à observer ou écouter les autres médias, il semble quel’histoire de l’Internet soit exclusivement nord-américaine, puisque la technologieest née dans le Département de la Défense des États-Unis et qu’elle s’estdéveloppée dans ce pays.

Il s’agit d’une vision partiale de l’histoire de l’Internet, et le fait qu’ellesoit reprise par la grande majorité des médias dans tous les pays ne la transformepas pour autant en vérité absolue. En effet, s’il est vrai que « Internet » est lenom d’un protocole de communication (TCP-IP) qui a été conçu aux États-Unis(pendant que d’autres protocoles étaient conçus en France ou en Angleterre),« l’Internet » représente l’ensemble des réseaux interconnectés indépendammentde leur protocole et son histoire est planétaire. Il y a là l’occasion d’une confu-sion facile (et courante) entre le réseau, constitué de services et d’utilisateurs,et le protocole d’un réseau, ensemble de règles établies pour automatiser lesservices. L’histoire des réseaux s’est écrite par le biais de la coopération denon techniciens qui ont apporté des éléments culturels bien plus déterminantsque la nature de tel ou tel protocole. La culture émergente des réseaux de larecherche a été le produit des actions d’hommes et de femmes de tous lescontinents, du nord comme du sud, de langues et de cultures diverses respec-tueuses de celles-ci.

Du protocole TCP-IP, il faut noter la limitation historique d’un courrierélectronique sans accents, qui a représenté un problème sérieux pour l’usagede langues avec des signes diacritiques et qui a finalement été résolu avec lacapacité d’envoyer des fichiers multimédias. Il faut également noter la capacitéd’adaptation rapide de l’architecture TCP-IP aux besoins ; résultat beaucoup

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plus des procédures démocratiques et transparentes de la Société Internet qued’une propriété du protocole. Cette propriété remarquable de l’Internet noussemble clairement appartenir au champ « sociologique » (et donc international)et non pas au champ technologique (nord-américain de naissance).

Il est bon de savoir que les médias traditionnels ont une tendance marquéeà préférer les « histoires officielles » qui favorisent et simplifient une des visionsdes réalités. En général, l’angle de projection choisi n’est pas neutre ; dans le casdes réseaux télématiques, la vision favorisée a été celle des technologues audétriment des sociologues; mais aussi celle d’une vision centrée sur les États-Unisau détriment d’une vision pluraliste et décentralisée, qui est pourtant l’essencede la culture des réseaux.

Quoi qu’il en soit, l’un des éléments clefs de l’histoire de l’Internet aété la naissance, en Europe, du protocole qui soutient le www lequel a permisd’offrir une structure standard d’accès aux informations de l’Internet et unmoyen relativement simple pour organiser et offrir en accès mondial lesinformations. Ironie très significative : la bataille fait rage entre deux entreprisesaméricaines (Microsoft et Netscape) pour le marché des logiciels capables devisualiser les informations de l’Internet pendant que l’inventeur a discrètementfondé un organisme sans but lucratif pour défendre l’intégrité du standard contreles assauts des constructeurs de logiciels qui sont prêts à anticiper son évolutionde manière à prendre un avantage stratégique.

Globalisation et NTIC

Le fait que les NTIC sont un instrument privilégié pour accompagner la globa-lisation économique est évident : il suffit d’en faire usage pour comprendre leurpouvoir (pouvoir pédagogique des multimédias, pouvoir de communication,pouvoir d’information, pouvoir de modifier les frontières du temps et de l’espace,pouvoir d’échapper aux intermédiaires dans la transaction commerciale, etc.).L’impact social de ces technologies peut être énorme (probablement positif pourla démocratisation de l’éducation et sans doute plus délicat pour l’emploi).Cette évidence ne doit pas faire perdre de vue une autre évidence, même si lespropositions peuvent parfois entrer en contradiction; les NTIC sont un outilexceptionnel pour renforcer le pouvoir de la société civile et ouvrir des espacesnouveaux de conquêtes démocratiques, par la transparence qui s’impose peu àpeu aux pouvoirs élus et par les possibilités de participation du citoyen à laconduite des affaires.

Nous sommes entrés dans une révolution comparable à celle de l’inventionde l’imprimerie: le monde ne va plus être tout à fait le même. Se lamenter (deseffets nocifs), exprimer la nostalgie (par exemple de la plume et du papier),rejeter (l’écran comme outil d’expression) sont des attitudes normales des êtreshumains face à des changements très rapides qui affectent leur environnement.Cependant, penser que la force de l’intelligence critique sera suffisante pourfreiner ou combattre, de l’extérieur, ce mouvement en marche est une illusion

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et une mauvaise stratégie. Les pages futures de l’histoire (devrions-nous direles écrans ?) ne sont pas encore écrites (devrions-nous dire médiatisées ?) :la partie vient seulement de commencer et il y l’espace pour que les forcess’expriment, dans l’action.

L’Internet et les NTIC en général représentent un champ ouvert de risqueset de possibilités, en particulier pour les partisans du pluralisme culturel etlinguistique. Ce n’est pas un champ propice aux contemplatifs : c’est un champd’action. Et le futur proche de notre monde, quant aux aspects qui nouspréoccupent pourrait se décider dans le sein de ce monde virtuel avant des’imposer au reste du monde: c’est pour cela que toutes les forces doivents’emparer de ce champ d’action et défendre leurs positions. Une descriptiontrès schématisée suit des deux extrêmes du champ des possibilités; les posi-tions sont volontairement poussées à l’extrême pour bien montrer les risques etles possibilités.

Les risques :

• La centralisation et la non-interactivité• Vers une globalisation au singulier et passive• Une menace pour les langues et les cultures

Une lecture des tendances sur le marché de l’information démontre clairementle risque de la centralisation du pouvoir dans un nombre réduit d’acteurs: fusionet concentration des grandes entreprises des médias, des télécommunicationset de l’informatique sont la règles dans la lutte intense pour les marchés globaux.Le contrôle de la production de l’information est un défi, dans le marché dessites web et des multimédias interactifs ; la taille des investissements à consentirpourrait être un facteur déterminant, hors de portée des groupes de la sociétécivile. Dans cette perspective, la vision consumériste s’impose avec les règlesde plus en plus inflexibles de l’économie libérale triomphante, et transformentl’être humain en consommateur passif des produits banalisés par les grandsmonopoles globaux. La seule interactivité est macro : les consommateurs sontsondés avec fréquence pour connaître la réaction du groupe au produit et ainsiretravailler les campagnes de marketing qui s’adresse à l’imaginaire collectif.A l’échelle individuelle, il est seulement attendu du consommateur ... qu’il payesa facture et tous les efforts sont faits pour la rendre administrativement légèreet pour apporter plus de sécurité aux modes de paiement électroniques.

Dans ce scénario, l’espace des langues et cultures minoritaires sera deplus en plus réduit et le diagnostic à long terme est critique. Le français,l’espagnol, le portugais (comme l’arabe ou le chinois) qui ont des marchés plusétendus pourront mieux résister que d’autres langues qui ne représentent pasune masse critique de consommateurs (comme le danois ou le hongrois parexemple). De toute façon, le risque est grand, étant donné la logique desmarchés, que les langues minoritaires soient contraintes dans des formats dictéspar d’autres langues et d’autres cultures.

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Les industries du cinéma et de la télévision nous donnent une idée de cequi pourrait arriver dans les industries de l’information. L’exception culturelleest-elle l’ultime défense face à la règle des marchés où la nature des produitsimporte peu ? La culture et le marché : un mariage peu heureux, une épousesous la dominance de son macho !

Les possibilités :

• La décentralisation et l’interactivité• Vers une globalisation plurielle et participative• Un espace créatif pour les langues et cultures

Pourquoi les NTIC ne seraient-elles pas, comme l’ont été, globalement, la téléet la radio, une autre technologie à consommer ? En quoi les NTIC offrent-ellesdes propriétés susceptibles de donner du pouvoir aux communautés d’utili-sateurs ? Pourquoi le manquement aux promesses initiales des technologiesaudiovisuelles ne serait-il pas, une nouvelle fois, ce qui nous attend au tournantdu siècle avec les NTIC ? A la différence des médias existant (presse ettélévision), les NTIC offrent de réelles possibilités de décentralisation et inter-activité, réelles sur le plan technologiques mais surtout, et c’est là la différencefondamentale avec les autres médias, sur le plan économique. Les progrès enterme de ratio prix/service de la technologie informatique continuent. Cettetechnologie est chaque jour plus à la portée des citoyens en ce qui concernel’accès, mais plus important encore, la production d’information est à leurportée. Cela représente un élément majeur qui pourrait changer les schémashabituels de la relation information-pouvoir.

D’autres espaces vont s’ouvrir, avec la traduction automatique associéeaux réseaux pour des communautés virtuelles actives au delà des frontièreslinguistiques et culturelles. Nous entrons dans une ère chaotique où l’action depetits groupes est susceptible d’avoir autant ou plus d’impact que celle desgroupes puissants traditionnels. L’utilisateur moderne des technologies de l’infor-mation est trop bien informé pour accepter d’être traité en consommateur passif;il veut être à la fois spectateur ET acteur, consommateur ET producteur.

Le terme chaos ne doit pas être pris ici dans son sens de désordre destructifmais plutôt de désordre créatif et de situation où des actions minuscules peuventavoir des impacts gigantesques. Dans cette perspective, nous assisterions à uneexplosion de possibilités créatives où la puissance des moyens n’est plus unatout essentiel, d’autant plus qu’elle est souvent accompagnée par une inertieadministrative et un manque de souplesse qui représentent un handicap aumoment où l’espace des possibilités se modifie à grande vitesse. Les groupespuissants sont doués pour créer les patrons de consommation et amener lemarché vers leur produit. Les micro-acteurs économiques auront en revancheune plus grande rapidité pour s’emparer des nouvelles niches qui vont apparaîtreet disparaître à très grande vitesse. Dans ce magma d’opportunités en ébullitiontout est possible y compris la victoire des David contre les Goliath del’économie.

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Plaidoyer pour la participation et l’action

Chacun décidera selon ses paramètres et son optimisme si les défis sont plusgrands que les possibilités. Mais que l’on opte pour le pessimisme ou pourl’optimisme la seule voie possible est celle de l’action. Les mots-clefs de cenouveau paradigme sont participation et action (la tentation est grande defabriquer un néologisme en contractant les deux mots: participaction !). En fait,l’important est de se transformer de spectateur en acteur et de participer audestin de notre futur culturel et linguistique avec les moyens que la technologiemet à notre portée. Si nous n’entrons pas dans le jeu d’autres décideront denotre futur.

État des lieux et tendances

En mars 1995, l’ONG Funredes, en réaction à des déclarations intempestivescontre l’Internet, émises lors du sommet de la francophonie de Cotonou, décidaitd’apporter une contribution à la mesure de la présence respective des langueset des cultures dans l’Internet. L’accusation portée était que la présence de lalangue anglaise dépassait les 95 % dans l’espace web. En l’absence de chiffresérieux, Funredes décidait de construire une première approximation en utilisantla puissance des outils de recherche de la Toile, comme AltaVista (de la corporationDigital). Funredes, pour la partie langue, établissait un échantillon de quelquesdizaines de mots en anglais, français et espagnol et mesurait le nombred’apparition de chacune des formes linguistiques dans l’espace web. Le travailétait fait rapidement, sans prétention de rigueur, seulement pour établir un ordrede grandeur approximatif. De la même manière, Funredes proposait, pour établirsi l’Internet favorisait la culture nord-américaine, de mesurer pour plusieurscatégories préétablies, le nombre de citations de personnages représentatifs descultures américaines ou francophones. Le travail qui a été publié en anglaisdans la revue Matrix News est accessible sur l’Internet en français, espagnolou anglais à : http://funredes.org/LC.

Les résultats de la première étude furent les suivants :• Sur le plan linguistique, il est possible d'estimer grossièrement que

entre 60 % et 80 % des ressources « Internet » sur le web sont enanglais, et entre 3 % et 4 % en français. Le français a une présenceplus de deux fois supérieure à celle de l’espagnol.

• Sur le plan culturel, là où culture et marché sont le plus indépendantsil n’apparaît pas qu’il y ait de préférence culturelle marquée surl’Internet. En revanche là où culture et marché sont totalement inter-dépendants et où la langue intervient (comme dans la chanson et lecinéma), la célébrité des produits nord-américains est d’un ordre degrandeur supérieure à celle des latins.

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L’étude fut répétée, avec la même méthodologie simplifiée, en 1996 eten 1997 et montrait une progression du français et de l’espagnol par rapport àl’anglais et également une progression de l’espagnol par rapport au français.En 1998, l’Agence de la Francophonie (ACCT) et l’Union Latine apportaientleur soutien à cette recherche. Cela permit d’établir une méthodologie rigoureusepour la mesure des langues, en partant d’une sélection de mots contrôlés pardes linguistes pour établir les comparaisons. L’étude s’étendit à l’ensemble deslangues latines et les premiers résultats intermédiaires, qui furent présentés parl’ACCT à l’occasion de la réunion INET 98 à Genève, sont consultables à:http://funredes.org/langues.

Synthèse des résultats

Position des langues latines dans l’espace WWW par rapport à l’anglais :

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%

Espagnol –––––––––––––Français ––––––––Italien –––––––––Portugais ––––Roumain ––Position des langues latines dans l’espace USENET par rapport à l’anglais :

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%

Espagnol –––––––––––––Français ––––––Italien –––––––––––––––Portugais ––––––––––––––––––Roumain –––

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Tableau 2 : Résultats absolus et pondérés (approximatifs)

WWW WWW USENET USENETabsolu pondéré absolu pondéré

Anglais 75,00 % 7,14 75,00 % 7,14

Italien 1,77 % 1,77 2,18 % 2,18

Français 2,84 % 1,31 0,83 % 0,38

Espagnol 2,59 % 0,41 1,93 % 0,31

Portugais 0,87 % 0,27 0,97 % 0,31

Roumain 0,16 % 0,32 0,11 % 0,22

La pondération consiste à diviser le pourcentage de présence de la languedans l’Internet par le pourcentage de personnes parlant cette langue au niveauplanétaire. Un chiffre supérieur à 1 est une bonne performance. Il faut doncnoter l’excellente performance de l’italien, la performance honorable du françaisdans l’espace www mais en revanche très faible dans l’espace Usenet.

En ce qui concerne la partie culturelle de l’étude, pas de surprise, pasde différences majeures avec les premières mesures en 1995. Cela nous permetde reprendre ici nos conclusions de 1995 :

L’espace relatif de l’anglais va en diminuant dans la mesure que les autrescultures et langues s’investissent dans la production de leur patrimoined’information sur l’Internet. Le multi-linguisme semble être la voie adéquate ...et dans ce cadre l’anglais conservera évidement un avantage de deuxième languevéhiculaire.

En ce qui concerne les cultures, l’Internet est le reflet de leur valeursglobales et nous conservons et enrichissons notre conclusion de l’étude initiale.

Quelles sont les tendances ? Pour ceux qui travaillent au sein des réseaux depuis longtemps, le doute

n'existe pas sur une nette tendance à la représentation équitable des langues etdes cultures. Pour nous, le vrai débat est ailleurs. L'Internet va-t-il devenir lemarché virtuel du temple ? Ou bien restera-t-il encore le temple des chercheursou le dieu information est partagé en toute liberté ? Le vrai débat culturel estcelui de savoir si la culture du mercantilisme va en finir avec la néo-cultureplanétaire que les réseaux de la recherche avaient su créer et qui est caractériséepar :

– le respect des cultures et des personnes– le pluralisme et l'ouverture– la transparence et la solidarité– la libre circulation de l'information.

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Quelle stratégie adopter ?L’identité culturelle de chaque groupe doit-elle être protégée de l’invasion

de l’influence étrangère qui provient de l’Internet ?Cela ne peut être qu’une réponse à très court terme. Les identités

culturelles méritent d’être globalement exposées sur l’Internet pour obtenir uneinfluence mutuelle et un métissage. La seule politique qui peut donner unechance à la masse variée des acteurs de poids léger face au nombre limité depoids lourds est de donner le pouvoir aux utilisateurs. Si les utilisateurss’approprient la technologie ils deviennent des acteurs du nouveau paradigmeet sont en situation de projeter leurs valeurs individuelles, de groupes etcollectives.

Les excès de la globalisation économique peuvent représenter une menaceévidente pour les identités culturelles. Les différences marginales de capacitéde vente globale entre les régions montrent la structure des forces et les mouve-ments de la domination culturelle à l’instar des hautes et basses pressionsmontrant l’axe et la force des déplacements d’air sur une carte météorologique.Dans les temps plus anciens, les influences culturelles résultaient de l’occupation(pacifique ou pas) des terres, des schémas de migrations et du commercefrontalier; chaque situation permettant une forme d’échanges culturels mutuels,même déséquilibrés, entre dominateur et dominé. Maintenant les économies ducommerce global jouent un rôle essentiel dans l’émergence d’une nouvelleculture globale où l’être humain est réduit à son aspect de consommateur debiens et de services. Le marketing moderne ne permet plus l’échange culturelet impose des modèles globaux de consommation issus des cultures dominantessur le plan de l’économie globale.

Certains veulent percevoir cette standardisation des comportements deconsommation comme le terme d’une évolution positive où la normalisationdes comportements permettra de transformer une histoire de luttes et de guerresvers une nouvelle dimension moins violente: celle de la compétition industrielle.

D’autres se référent au théorème de Ashby sur la variété requise par unsystème complexe pour pouvoir se maintenir et nous avertissent qu’une réductionradicale de la variété des comportements et paramètres culturels pourrait, aucontraire, représenter la menace absolue pour le futur de l’humanité, particuliè-rement au moment où les changements sont rapides et la capacité d’adaptationest fondamentale. De plus, la compétition économique globale est propre àcreuser l’écart entre les possédants (richesse mais aussi travail !) et les autres,créant les conditions pour les formes traditionnelles de conflits violents.

Les réseaux en général et l’Internet en particulier qui ont précédé et quiaccompagnent le changement de paradigme, en maintenant encore aujourd’huiune croissance exponentielle pour devenir un phénomène de masse, représententun modèle à observer pour tirer des enseignements sur cette situation et enmême temps annoncent les évolutions à prévoir dans le monde non virtuel.

Pendant la première phase des réseaux (entre les années 1970 et le débutdes années 1990), quand les réseaux étaient un domaine réservé aux chercheurs

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et acteurs du développement, la « globalisation » y était perçue comme lamerveilleuse émergence d’une nouvelle culture fondée sur la solidarité, lerespect mutuel, le pluralisme et la participation pro-active. Certains utopistes yvoyaient un potentiel unique pour résoudre les graves problèmes de l’humanitéet en particulier pour réduire les écarts entre le Nord et le Sud. Grâce auxmodèles de comportement des communautés virtuelles, une éthique véritablede l’échange global était apparue et portait l’espoir d’un monde meilleur. Cette« culture émergente » était caractérisée par une haute sensibilité et un grandrespect pour les autres cultures (quoique la prédominance de la langue anglaisecontredisait souvent cette profession de foi).

Après l’étape de transition, quand le monde des affaires commença àcomprendre le potentiel des réseaux pour son efficacité, et sa capacité de s’ouvrirau marché, une nouvelle vision de l’Internet s’imposait rapidement commevecteur et amplificateur de la globalisation économique, avec les effetsimplicites vers l’encouragement à partager une seule langue, celle des affaires,et une seule culture, celle sous-jacente au monde des affaires.

Aujourd’hui l’Internet est un terrain où règne l’ambivalence et où desforces souvent antagonistes s’exercent. Quel est la résultante de ces forces ?Quelle est la tendance ? Est-ce que la première vision utopiste de l’Internet valaisser la place vide à une vision totalement dictée par l’économie globale demarché ? Est-ce que les « spammers » et autres vendeurs compulsifs vont détruiredéfinitivement la « netiquette » ? Est-ce que la Compagnie Microsoft va, seule,dicter sa loi et imposer ses produits comme le standard ? Devrons-nous arriverau point où la standardisation des modèles de consommation nous ramène auchoix unique ?

La menace est réelle, très proche de nos écrans. Cependant, des possibilitéssont aussi présentes pour un futur distinct où les forces systémiques et chaotiquesnous conduiraient vers un monde de diversité et pluralisme maximum où la seuleprévision possible est que rien n’est prévisible et tout est donc possible !

D’un côté, un nombre de plus en plus réduit d’agents hyper-puissants etorganisés nous entraîne vers une culture universelle monolithique où la seulelogique est celle d’acheter et de vendre et où cette logique est imprégnée parune des cultures les plus jeunes de notre histoire. De l’autre, une mosaïqueplurielle d’agents minuscules où des forces pas très organisées peuvent au seind’un chaos créatif reconstruire notre réalité. Quelle stratégie adopter dans cecontexte pour défendre la pluralité des langues et des cultures ? Se protégern’est pas la bonne solution. Les effets de la protection ne peuvent être quetransitoires car il est difficile d’arrêter l’information et que de toute façon levecteur de l’agression est présent partout, et surtout dans la logique même dusystème! Si vous acceptez les règles du jeu économique vous avez perdu lapossibilité de vous protéger. Si vous ne les acceptez pas vous êtes économi-quement ... et donc finalement culturellement éliminé.

La seule réponse possible est de sensibiliser, encourager, aider, promou-voir les forces vives à participer pleinement dans les enjeux de l’information

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dans l’Internet. Concrètement, cela veut dire avoir plus d’utilisateurs qui ontvraiment compris les enjeux économiques, culturels, linguistiques et sociauxde l’Internet et ne confondent pas les réseaux avec une nouvelle télévision oùla fausse illusion d’interactivité procurée par le « zapping » est remplacée parla fausse interactivité du « surfing ». Des utilisateurs conscients et responsablesqui sont aussi des agents de productions de leur propre langue et culture.

Conclusions

N’avons-nous pas pris par erreur la Tour de Babel comme le symbole de ladivision et d’une construction erronée de nos sociétés ? N’avons-nous pas malinterprété le biblique ? Pour pouvoir construire un futur pour l’humanité il fautpermettre la plus grande diversité dans nos langues et cultures, comme danstoutes les autres composantes des activités humaines. Les technologies pourrontnous aider par l’aide automatique à la traduction ; l’intelligence devrait êtremotivée par les différences culturelles qui représentent la richesse de l’humanité.Cette diversité et nos différences de langues et de cultures doivent se refléterdans le monde virtuel. Chacun peut et doit rajouter son étage à la Tour virtuellede Babel. Mais vite !

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CLOSING ADDRESS

DISCOURS DE CLÔTURE

DISCURSO DE CLAUSURA

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Mr Chairman, Mr Representative of the Director-General of UNESCO, His Excellency, M. Pastorelli,

Allow me first of all to thank you for inviting me here to UNESCO’sSecond International Conference on Info-Ethics – where the ethical, legal andsocietal challenges of cyberspace have been discussed by specialists, appropriatelyenough, from all around the world.

Before I move on to deliberate on some of these questions I really mustmention the wonderful welcome we have all been given in this beautiful country– and I would like to thank our hosts not only for their great hospitality, butequally for the productive friendliness and peace and quiet that this intimatesociety creates. Conferences on vital issues, I feel, should be held wheneverpossible in small communities, where the world is somehow so much moreconcentrated and manageable. And it is certainly a thought-provoking idea tolink major steps in the direction of progress with the places where they aretaken, as we heard in the vote of thanks to our hosts the day before yesterday.In this way, we could describe the pitch or direction of all notions of info-ethicsafter the second conference here as bearing “the Monte Carlo stamp”.International agreements are often associated with the places they are signed,and we name schools of thought after the places that ferment them – so whynot associate visionary dimensions, insights and angles with their physicalorigins too? Certainly, we all hope that Monte Carlo will be a springboard forprogress on urgent issues relating to the ethics of information technology.

It has been truly inspiring to be here and listen to all the experiencesand viewpoints that have been expressed from so many different parts of theworld, to look at the information society and examine it from your individualangles. The information society is arguably the most remarkable advance madein the dissemination of information since Gutenberg introduced printing. Thegreat possibility opened up by printing was mass production of the writtenword. From that time on, language and literature ceased to be instinctive humanresponses to the passing age and could be preserved for ever – possibly nowheremore remarkably than in my country, where the early printed translation of theBible into Icelandic established the ancient Viking tongue in a form which haswithstood the onslaughts of the centuries even today. People marvel now thatIceland has preserved its ancient language, but not everyone realizes that thisis not just something quaint and charming, but actually the result of keeping

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up with the leading technological developments of the day, which is whatprinting really was. Progress is therefore compatible with preserving the past,and even contributes to it.

Printing also meant a step forward for democracy, by enabling the wordto be spread about anything at all; it demanded literacy, and encouraged literacyas well. In today’s information society we talk about computer literacy, and awhole new wave of democratic advances follows in the wake of this modernskill. Everyone who has access to the Internet – not only the necessary computerliteracy, of course, but also the money – has access to everything in the ever-expanding universe that we call cyberspace: the words and images that go tomake up every nation and culture, past, present and future. The difference fromprinting is that this information is instantly available globally. And the fact thateveryone has not only passive access to the Internet for reading but also activeaccess for communicating and writing poses a definitely greater risk of misuseand “disinformation”. The Internet demands responsibility as much as it offersfreedom, just like freedom of speech, in fact.

In the past few days you have been addressing themes of paramountimportance, and please allow me to express my admiration and appreciation ofyour wisdom in these fields, since such wisdom is the basis for action. It takescourage to contemplate the state of affairs and describe it at internationalconferences, and possibly even more courage to have to wait for the truth ofthe nature of the problem to dawn on others, who then finally will be preparedto do something about it. As a citizen of a small nation, which has concernsabout its precious language, I was particularly moved to hear the priority givenhere to multilingualism. In this context I cannot resist repeating the classicwords of Iceland’s Nobel Prize winning author Halldór Laxness: “When westop caring for our independence and are swept into some superpower’s oceanof nationhood, when the last old woman who can recite an Icelandic verse isdead, then the world has become poorer. And the superpower who might haveswallowed us would not be any the richer for it”.

Countless thoughts arise as to what can be done at this global meetingof UNESCO and how this great international institution can help the globalvillage yet again. UNESCO enjoys worldwide respect and is an influential forcetowards doing positive things, never negative ones. Everywhere in the worldpeople long to hear from somebody who has positive influence – and I amdeliberately personifying UNESCO as “somebody” rather than “something”.UNESCO is there to bring people information: teaching, learning, the veryscience of the world. Scarcely any other international institution has as positivea mission as UNESCO, with its aim to distribute knowledge in all fields,regardless of nationhood, since knowledge is the most welcome friend to allpeople wherever they are living on the globe. When this conference issues itsstatement, it will do so in the belief that it will reach a wide audience and thatpeople will find the various principles that UNESCO sets itself to be thought-provoking - principles which of course were developed in the first place topoint out blatant injustice or to improve matters in so many areas.

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It is perfectly clear that UNESCO is always guided by the principle ofhuman rights. But what is the best way for UNESCO to serve as a role modelin all the countries, which belong to it? One point of entry could possibly bethrough discourse ethics or consensus ethics. Discourse ethics reach conclu-sions on correct ethical action through open intellectual discussion, in whicheveryone discusses an issue from the same starting-point. What everyoneinvolved in that discussion can agree upon is deemed to be a point to buildfrom. Imagine that UNESCO could launch such a process, thereby openingdialogue on the various principles produced by this conference on the topic ofinfo-ethics. UNESCO is widely seen as a magical combination of very goodpeople who live in different parts of the world and are working for “le meilleurdes mondes”. The list of its visions is impressive. A single example might bethe Participation Principle, that “Every citizen (in the world) should have theright to meaningful participation in the Information Society”. The informationsociety is here put on an equal footing with society as it is more commonlydefined, and the right to information is recognized not just as a social goal, butalso as something in which everyone can participate, irrespective of gender,ethnic background or financial standing. The information society, according tothis principle, has become an integral part of society as we know it today, withall the rights and obligations that this entails.

UNESCO is, in a sense, at a crossroads now. Not only because of thisconference – there will be more, and a very important one, on the sciencesnext summer – but more because the tide has turned in our favour now thatthe world, or the Western world at least, is entering a new millennium. At suchmilestones, we look back on what we have achieved, and forward as well: tomake a new start. And we can never start without vision, the promise that wewill explore new ways of thinking and prepare the future for the good peoplewho will be running the world then, just as we are trying to make things morecomfortable for people in the world and in cyberspace today. We really do havea new vision of innovations and access to them, based on the premise thataccess to information is by its very nature a human right, ought to be regardedas such and rank alongside the concept of human liberty itself.

UNESCO is an organization for people in 186 countries, in effect a publicdomain in its own right. This caring body which wants to preserve culturalheritage and languages does not, however, everywhere have a prominent profile,although people who do know about it know nothing but good about it. PerhapsUNESCO is to some extent on the defensive for the fact is that learning andculture cost money. And this is precisely the contradiction underlying allUNESCO’s work, as in so many other international programmes: it conflictswith financial interests, and as a rule those who seek profit take priority too.

But who guides these priorities when there is no global governance andeverything depends on international agreements? As with human rightsquestions, all we can rely on at international level is giving guidance, statingprinciples, appealing to reason and reasonable values – and taking action topromote them.

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I would like to take up one of the issues that have been discussed hereand consider how it might be channelled in a more positive direction as partof UNESCO’s vision for the new age. The cause I have chosen is likely tohave widespread appeal and is certainly linked to global interests.

Copyright and licensing is mainly used by the private sector in cyber-space, which treats as private property the information channels that are actuallythe business of everyone on Earth, and uses them to make money. And moneyis not just the end product but also the starting-point, which means that themajor proportion of humanity living in poverty has no means of coming intocontact with information technology. These are indeed the very people whoselives could change infinitely for the better if they had certain basic skills andinformation. The same applies, in fact, to women in their quest to establishequal opportunities. The general access to cyberspace information needs to berethought from the very start and information transferred more into the publicdomain, so that all people, and not only those who can afford it or have profes-sional or social access to it, can acquire for themselves the greatest of all humansurvival tools, namely knowledge which can now be spread as never beforethrough the marvel of information technology. Among other things, thisinvolves, presenting society, and not just male-dominated society, to women aswell, making the world heritage available to the world; and so much else thatconcerns and could benefit the whole global community.

We badly need global governance that is not driven by commercialinterest, but addresses values other than economic ones, which after all aredefended by the World Trade Organization and OECD. The problem withglobalization is that its common denominator is economic and financial, whilethe cultures and values that make our lives rich in a different sense tend to beignored. A redefinition of our priorities has long become overdue. We have noglobal democracy. Separate nations have representation for the people, butnations do not combine to represent their combined people. National democracyoffers no guarantee for the global good.

How can we prepare our world for the future? We can point out the lackof coherence resulting from the lack of governance. We can also inject humandignity into cyberspace. As it is now, nobody is supposed to take responsibility.My vision for UNESCO is to urge Member States to deal with transnationaland metanational cyberspace issues. Incidentally, the global nature of cyber-space could make this a testing-ground for the first global programme drivenby ethics and values. From there it would be much easier to launch other globalprogrammes to redress such pressing issues as human rights violations, poverty,gender inequality and ethnic discrimination.

Individual States have monopoly commissions, anti-trust laws and othersafeguards against the powerful seizing absolute power, but cyberspace is ruledby the law of the jungle. The problem of access, ownership and copyright isparticularly tricky. We have to prepare our children for information, but thesoftware for acquiring this information is costly. Freeware, on the other hand,is just that – free.

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LINUX (intellectuals’ contribution to public good) has proved that it ispossible to approach information technology creatively with a new set of values,earn respect for it, and what is more, survive. If all UNESCO countries adoptedfreeware, UNESCO could create a very good public domain fully competitivewith any rival. Software could develop within the “copy-left” (as we havestarted to call it these days) in the public domain.

The fact is that if we do not have a public domain we risk having aprivate monopoly. While commercial competition creates winners, in theunlegislated global cyberspace they can win against the public at large as wellas their rivals. It is not the concept of copyright as such, which is at fault, butrather the application of copyright and licensing for the sole purpose, it wouldappear, of gaining control and money and maintaining that rule by intimidation.Information is by nature in the public domain, but the thought that a giantcorporation allegedly designs its software specifically to exclude existingdesigners, in order to establish sole control over the way that this informationis distributed, is horrendous. There has been so much talk about standards forthe Internet – first technical standards, which is what all the monopoly andunfair business practice allegations ultimately hinge on – and later moralstandards for the transmission of material, similar to film censor board ratings.But what a body like UNESCO could perhaps do is to campaign for a differenttype of standard, based on a minimum standard of universal access to information,which would create a genuine free flow and prevent the right to know thingsfrom becoming a monopoly product that is sold only to those of us who payenough for it.

The reality of the matter is that the public sector is always rather lateoff the mark, so the common good is delivered late as well. “It is the tragedyof the common good that nobody is responsible for the good.” The mainmechanism for material and technical progress is through the free market,because it encourages new things. But if enough of us work together we cando as well as companies in the private sector by granting scientists the facilitiesto create freeware and give the public (in the full sense of the word) new accessto the great heritage of all people on Earth, and all the knowledge that couldserve to improve the world. In economic terms the public domain is veryefficient, since it does not squander resources trying to kill off imagined enemies.Just think how many disadvantaged people could have been learning on theInternet today, if the biggest corporation in the world had spent on them themoney it has put into trying to achieve absolute domination.

Pipe dreams? Perhaps this vision appears utopian, but we should notforget where the Internet originated – as a free-form system of links to exchangeinformation between universities. The market mania about it is only a coupleof years old. And the utopian idea of a free information system? Well, is thereany essential difference between that and state education or public libraries?Quite simply we need to consider the possibility of setting up an informationwelfare state, or incorporating information into the welfare state philosophy.

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Thomas Jefferson created The Public Library, which has broughtinvaluable benefits and pleasure to nations all over the world, in work, studyand leisure. Our aim should be to create the most open public library ever,embracing the whole world through cyberspace. This is my vision for UNESCOfor the coming millennium.

Mr Chairman,In the old Norse mythology which is preserved in Icelandic poems and

stories we have a magical figure, the god Ó∂inn (Wodan), who had only oneeye, having given the other away as the price for acquiring wisdom. He wasthe father of the Universe, and not only wise but clever too, even cunning. Onhis shoulders sat two ravens – Thought and Memory – which were birds ofbattle but also symbolic of the quest for wisdom. From his throne on the topof the world Ó∂inn had what we would call today a “global view”. He senthis ravens around the world every day and when they came back to him theywhispered to him tidings from all around: in this way he had constant knowledge,conveyed by vision and by the word, of everything that was happening at anytime. Ó∂inn and his ravens were moving in cyberspace a millennium beforeour era. His wise advice was much treasured ... and it was free for everyonewho wanted to learn.

VIGDÍS FINNBOGADÓTTIR

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345

LIST OF SPEAKERS

LISTE DES INTERVENANTS

LISTA DE LOS ORADORES

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OPENING..

Chairperson: Mr Peter P. CANISIUSChairperson, Governing BoardUNESCO Institute for InformationTechnology in Education (IITE) in Moscow Former PresidentGerman Commission for UNESCO

GERMANYtel. : 49 221 892136fax : 49 228 60 49730e-mail: LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

**********

Mr Henrikas YUSHKIAVITSHUSRepresentative of Director-General of UNESCOAssistant Director-General Sector for Communication, Information and Informatics (CII)

7, Place de Fontenoy75700 ParisFRANCE

Mr Jean PASTORELLIRepresentative of State MinisterMONACO

THEME A.PUBLIC DOMAIN

AND MULTILINGUALISM IN CYBERSPACE

Round table 1.DEVELOPING INFORMATION

IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

Moderator:Ms Martha STONEPresidentInternational Federation for Information and Documentation (FID)Global Information Alliance (GIA)

P.O. Box 954 Station BOttawa, KIP 5R1CANADAtel. : 1 613 235 2252fax : 1 819 457 2359e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

**********

Mr Richard STALLMAN Founder of GNU (bais for the free software GNU/Linux operating system)

88 School StreetCambridge, MA 02139UNITED STATES OF AMERICAtel. : 1 617 253 8830fax : 1 617 253 5060e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

Ilmo. Sr. D. Thomas DE LA QUADRA-SALCEDOPresident Spanish Association of Telecommunicationsand Information Technologies Rights (ADETI)Catedrático de DerechoUniversidad Carlos III de Madrid

Calle Madrid 12628903 Getafe - MadridSPAINtel. : 34 91 350 4228fax : 34 91 624 9877e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]




Mr Roger Valer AYIMAMBENWEDirector-General National ArchivesNational Library and DocumentationNational Co-ordinator of the InternetDevelopment

GABONtel. : 241 73 25 43 or 241 730239 (st.)

or 241 730213 (h)fax : 241 73 28 71e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

Mr Anwar ABU EISHEHMaître assistant en droit civilAl-Quds UniversityLaw Faculty

P.O. Box 635Hebron, West BankPALESTINEtel. : 972 50 419 952 or 972 2 222132 (h)fax : 972 (2) 222 0457or 972 (2) 222 4811e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

Round table 2.PROMOTING AND USING

MULTILINGUALISM

Moderator:Mr Daniel PRADODirectorDirection terminologie et industries de la langue (DTIL)Union Latine

131 rue du Bac75007 ParisFRANCEtel. :(33) 1 45 49 60 60fax :(33) 1 45 44 45 97e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected] http://www.unilat.org http://www.unilat.org

**********

Mr Toru NISHIGAKIProfessorInstitute of Social ScienceUniversity of Tokyo

7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-kuTokyo, 113-0033JAPANtel. : (81) 3 3812 2111 Ext. 4987fax : (81) 3 3328 5746e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

Mr Sveinn EINARSSON ChairmanIcelandic National Commission for UNESCOMinistry of Education and Culture

Menntamalaraduneytid150 ReykjavikICELANDtel. : (354) 1 560 9577fax : (354) 1 562 3068e-mail: [email protected]

Mr M. Adeeb GHONAIMYProfessor of Computer SystemsFaculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University

18-9B St., MaadiCairo 11431ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPTtel. : (202) 285 5582fax : (202) 285 0617e-mail: [email protected]

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http://www.unilat.org

http://www.unilat.org

mailto:

Mr Taik-Sup AUH PresidentKorean Cyber Communication SocietyDeanGraduate School of Journalism and Mass CommunicationKorea University

SeoulREPUBLIC OF KOREAtel. : (82) 2 3290 1275fax. : (82) 2 921 9434e-mail: [email protected]

Mr Volodymyr GRYTSENKO (and Mr Anatoly ANISIMOV)DirectorInternational Research and Training Center for Information Technologies and Systems

40 pst. GlushkovaKiev-22UKRAINEtel. : (380) 44 266 2208fax. : (380) 44 266 1517e-mail: LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

THEME B.PRIVACY,

CONFIDENTIALITY, SECURITY

IN CYBERSPACE

Round table 3.PROTECTING PRIVACY

AND CONFIDENTIALITYRIGHTS

Moderator:Mr Ben A. PETRAZZINIStrategic Planning UnitInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Place des NationsCH 1211 Geneva 20SWITZERLANDtel. : (41) 22 730 6692 fax : (41) 22 730 6453 e-mail: [email protected]://www.itu.int/

**********

Mr Rainer KUHLEN Chair for Information Science DepartmentUniversity of Konstanz

P.O. Box 556078434 KonstanzGERMANYtel. : (49) 7531 882 879fax : (49) 7531 882 048e-mail: [email protected]

Mr Marc ROTENBERG Director Electronic Privacy Information Center(E.P.I.C.)

666 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 301Washington, DC 20003UNITED STATES OF AMERICAtel. : (1) 202 544 9240fax : (1) 202 547 5482e-mail: [email protected]://www.epic.org

Mr Simon DAVIESVisiting FellowComputer Security Research CentreLondon School of Economics

Houghton StreetLondon WC2A 2AEUNITED KINGDOMtel. : (44) 95 846 6552fax : (44) 171 955 7385e-mail: [email protected]@privint.demon.co.uk

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http://www.itu.int/

http://www.epic.org

Mr Rohan SAMARAJIVADirector-General of Telecommunications Telecommunications Regulatory Commissionof Sri Lanka

276 Elvitigala MavathaColombo 8SRI LANKAtel. : (94) 1 689336fax : (94) 1 689341e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]://communication.sbs.ohio-state.edu/sjc/faculties/samarajiva.html

Mr Kazem MOTAMED NEJADProfessor of Communication SciencesAllameh Tabatabai University

Teheran 15444IRANtel. : (98) 21 222 3006fax : (98) 21 222 7075e-mail:

Round table 4.PROTECTING PROPRIETARY

AND SECURITY RIGHTS

Moderator:Mr Klaus BRUNNSTEINInternational Federation for InformationProcessing (IFIP)Professor, Director of Virus Test CentreUniversity of Hamburg

D-22527 HamburgGERMANYtel. : (49) 40 54 94 24 06fax : (49) 40 547 15226e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTEmailto:[email protected] [email protected]

**********

Ms Nancy JOHNSecond Vice-PresidentInternational Federation of LibraryAssociations and Institutions (IFLA)

P.O.Box 95312The HagueTHE NETHERLANDStel : (1) 312 996 2716fax : e-mail: LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

Mr Yousef NUSSEIRPresidentNational Information Centre

P.O. Box 259 JubaihaAmman 11941JORDANtel. : (962) 6 533 7184fax : (962) 6 533 7168e-mail: [email protected]

Mr A.K. CHAKRAVARTIAdviserInformation TechnologiesDepartment of ElectronicsGovernment of IndiaElectronics Niketan

6, CGO ComplexLodi RoadNew Delhi-110 003INDIAtel. : 00 91 11 436 3074fax : 00 91 11 436 3074e-mail: [email protected]

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http://communication.sbs.ohio-state



Mr Peter RANDLEManaging DirectorGlobal ICT Consultancy Ltd.ChairmanCEPIS/IP Task ForceCouncil of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS)

P.O.Box 2958Weymouth DT4 9FUUNITED KINGDOMtel. : 0044 171 919 4416fax : 0044 171 919 4416e-mail: [email protected]://www.bcs.org.uk/ipc/chair.htm

THEME C.SOCIETIES

AND GLOBALIZATION

Round table 5.PROMOTING COGNITIVE

EDUCATION

Moderator:Mrs Androulla KAMINARAEuropean CommissionInformation Society Project OfficeDirectorate Generals III & XIIIProject Co-ordinator of the European Survey of Information Society

25 HanssenslaanTervuren 3080BELGIUMtel. : (32) 2 296 8575fax : (32) 2 299 4170e-mail:LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

**********

Mr Kristof NYIRIProfessor of PhilosophyUniversity of Budapest (ELTE)DirectorInstitute of PhilosophyHungarian Academy of Sciences

H-2023 DunabogdànyP.O. Box 8HUNGARYtel. : (36) 1 3120 243

: (36) 26 390 468 (h)fax : (36) 26 390 468 (h)e-mail: nyirià@elaender.huLIENHYPERTEXTE http://www.uniworld.hu/nyiri/ http://www.uniworld.hu/nyiri/

Mr Vincent MOSCOProfessor of CommunicationSchool of Journalism and CommunicationCarleton University

Ottawa, OntariaCANADA, K1S 5B6tel. : (1) 613 250 2600 Ext. 7404fax : (1) 613 520 6690e-mail: [email protected]://www.carleton.ca/~vmosco/vm.html

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http://www.bcs.org.uk/ipc/chair.htm

mailto:

http://www.uniworld.hu/nyiri/

http://www.uniworld.hu/nyiri/

http://www.carleton.ca/~vmosco/vm.html

Mr Vladimir G. KINELEV(former Minister of Education of the Russian Federation)DirectorUNESCO Institute for InformationTechnologies in Education

8, Kedrova St., block 3Moscow 117292RUSSIAN FEDERATIONtel. : (7) 095 125 5993 or (7) 095 125 6030

(port. 728 1560)fax : (7) 095 125 5263e-mail: [email protected]

Mr Derrick L. COGBURNDirectorCentre for Information Society Developmentin AfricaAfrica Regional DirectorGlobal Information Infrastructure CommissionCSIR

P.O. Box 395Pretoria 0001SOUTH AFRICAtel. : (27) 12 841 2921 or cell.( 2)7 82 451 5822fax : (27) 12 841 3365e-mail: [email protected]

or [email protected]

Round table 6.DEVELOPING SOCIAL,

ECONOMIC AND MULTICULTURAL

RESPONSIBILITIES

Moderator: Mr Aidan WHITEGeneral SecretaryInternational Federation of Journalists

Rue Royal, 2661210 BrusselsBELGIUMtel. : (32) 2 223 2265fax : (32) 2 219 2976e-mail: [email protected]://www.ifj.org

**********

Mr Alexander N. YAKOVLEVAcademicianPresidentInternational Democracy Foundation

15 (bld.3), Malaya Gruzinskaya St.Moscow 123 242RUSSIAN FEDERATIONtel. : (7) 095 252 6921 or 206 2494

(7) 095 251 1524 (home)fax : (7) 095 252 5122 or 206 3515e-mail: [email protected]

Mr Jacques BERLEURProfessorInstitut d’InformatiqueFacultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix

Rue Grandgagnage, 21B-5000 NAMURBELGIUMtel. : (32) 81 72 4976 (Secr.: -4964)fax : (32) 81 72 4967e-mail: [email protected]://www.info.fundp.ac.be/~jbl/

Mr Cees J. HAMELINKProfessor

Burg. Hogguerstraat 1231064 CL AmsterdamTHE NETHERLANDStel. : (31) 20 448 0460fax : (31) 20 448 0461e-mail: [email protected]

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http://www.ifj.org

http://www.info.fundp.ac.be/~jbl/

Mr Daniel PIMIENTAHead Fundacion Redes y Desarrollo (FUNREDES)

P.O. Box 2972Santo DomingoDOMINICAN REPUBLICtel. : (1) 809 682 7060fax : (1) 809 689 3388e-mail: [email protected]://funredes.org

Mr Kweku APPIAHChairmanGhana Group for the Promotion of the Global Information Society

P.O. Box MBIOCantonmentsAccraGHANAtel. : (233) 21 502 907 or 508 424 (home)fax : (233) 21 773 055 e-mail: [email protected]

AUDIOVISUAL PRESENTATION..

Mr Louis CHAMMINGSChercheurInstitut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA)

4 Avenue de l’Europe94366 Bry-sur- Marne CEDEXFRANCEtel. : 33 1 49 83 2026fax : 33 1 49 83 25 90e-mail: LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

CLOSURE..

Mrs Vigdís FINNBOGADÓTTIRChairpersonWorld Commission on the Ethics of ScientificKnowledge and Technology

Office of the Prime Minister, Nordic Section,Hverisgata No. 6150 ReykjavikICELANDe.mail :LIENHYPERTEXTE mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

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http://funredes.org



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