Internet Declaration Overview ‧
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But the internet doesn’t stay free by itself. It takes a commitment from individual citizens, businesses, and governments to protect the internet from censorship. That’s where the Declaration of Internet Freedom comes in.
The declaration is an international movement to defend internet freedom, available in 70 languages and supported by many of the biggest names on the internet. Signatories include Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The declaration is also supported by Access Now, Amnesty International, Fight for the Future, and many more digital rights defenders.
What’s the Declaration of Internet Freedom (or Internet Declaration) all about? Here’s our profile.
A reminder to governments: We’re watching you
They need to know that they're being watched, so that they can no longer try to conduct things behind closed doors, with special interests.So the Free Press drew up the Internet Declaration to show governments and lawmakers that we won’t accept a censored internet. “They need to know that they're being watched,” said Free Press campaign director Josh Levy, “so that they can no longer try to conduct things behind closed doors, with special interests.”
This short declaration isn’t carved in stone
Here’s the full text of the Internet Declaration:
We stand for a free and open Internet.You can sign the Declaration of Internet Freedom here.
We support transparent and participatory processes for making Internet policy and the establishment of five basic principles:
Expression: Don't censor the Internet.
Access: Promote universal access to fast and affordable networks.
Openness: Keep the Internet an open network where everyone is free to connect, communicate, write, read, watch, speak, listen, learn, create and innovate.
Innovation: Protect the freedom to innovate and create without permission. Don’t block new technologies and don’t punish innovators for their users' actions.
Privacy: Protect privacy and defend everyone’s ability to control how their data and devices are used.
The Declaration of Internet Freedom gains momentum
Internet users also answered the call to translate and spread the document around the world. In July 2012, the volunteer language community Global Voices ran a 24-hour marathon effort to translate the declaration into as many languages and dialects as humanly possible. By 2016, it had been translated into 70 different languages.
Notable signatories include Cheezburger, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Minecraft developer Mojang AB, Mozilla, Reddit, Techdirt, and the World Wide Web Foundation.
Sending a powerful message
Even still, the declaration sends a powerful message to people in power. It’s a statement of the expectations of global internet users, which tells governments and regulators: We refuse to accept anything less than a free, uncensored internet. And it’s a reminder that we’re ready to make a strong protest, just like we have before, if they try to take away our rights.
The declaration is also a way to nail your flag to the mast of internet freedom. Take a read at www.internetdeclaration.org and decide for yourself.