EFA has joined the launch of Stop Killing the Internet, a new global movement for a better internet: open, private, free, accessible, democratic and shaped by communities. See here: Stop Killing the Internet
Stop Killing the Internet brings together organisations, communities, legal networks, political groups, unions, parties, creators, technologists, public figures and individuals from around the world. The movement exists to develop, communicate and coordinate a shared response to the spread of internet control measures such as bans, scanning, curfews, access restrictions, gaming restrictions, platform controls and device-level systems.
The campaign argues that online harm is real and deserves serious answers. But the internet should not be locked down through fear nor should it impinge upon our human and digital rights. A better internet means meaningful safety, platform accountability, safer design, enforcement, education, support, privacy, access and democratic scrutiny.
The launch
The campaign launches with 19 organisations, communities, networks, political groups, game developers and digital rights organisations across multiple countries and regions, including the UK, Europe, India, Australia and North America.
Together, they are building a global movement to keep the internet open, private, free, accessible, democratic and shaped by communities.
Our aims
Participating organisations are coming together to:
- build a broad global movement for a better, open internet;
- develop and communicate a shared public response to internet control measures;
- connect communities, creators, organisations, legal networks, political groups, unions, parties and individuals across borders;
- help people discover and support the organisations already fighting for human and digital rights, privacy, access and online freedom in their own countries;
- promote meaningful safety through platform accountability, safer design, enforcement, education, support, youth participation and democratic scrutiny;
- defend the open internet through non-violent political action and a universal human rights framework.
John Pane, Chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia, said:
“We are joining Stop Killing the Internet because the internet must remain open, private, free, democratic and shaped by communities. Online harm is real, but people should not be forced to choose between safety and their human or digital rights. We need better regulatory solutions that protect people without building systems of surveillance, personal data extraction, exclusion or control. At the end of the day we are citizens not suspects. The internet was originally based on that simple philosophy and promise.”
“We’re proud to be part of a movement of technology, human rights and privacy, child safety and digital rights experts that oppose further entrenching digital infrastructure that reduces essential online anonymity and makes the internet a place of normalised user surveillance and data extraction. We all want children and adults to be safe online, but recent age gating and identity verification regulations happening in Australia and around the world create new safety, cyber and privacy risks for young people and entire adult populations alike.”
“Instead of tackling the genuine root causes of platform incentives, addictive design, weak privacy laws and enforcement, abuse, and the design choices of big tech, governments are blindly rushing toward easily implementable laws that are essentially but logically flawed low hanging regulatory fruit which includes curfews, bans, identity checks, unnecessary collection of biometrics and device-level control. That is not a better internet – it is a digital cage, a panopticon.”
Image credit: Unsplash/Sasun Bughdaryan.