Britannia Radio

Subject: Governments meeting behind closed doors

Government officials from around the world are meeting this week in Geneva to discuss proposals that if adopted will impact the future of our open internet. Sign the petition now calling on them to keep their hands off the internet and to release their preparatory documents! C From Wednesday until Friday, government representatives from around the world will meet behind closed doors to discuss proposals that could impact the future of the open internet -- and we have a chance to influence the conversation. Already, thousands of people from over 100 countries around the world have called on the International Telecommunication Union to say "NO!" to greater government control over the internet and to release all their planning documents. We've heard that at this week's meeting in Geneva, several countries will call for greater transparency and accountability, but we have to push them. This may be our chance to let users worldwide in on closed-door discussions that could affect the future of the internet! We’ve got less than 24 hours left until the two-day meeting starts. Click here to sign the petition calling on the ITU to open up their discussions, which we’ll deliver to the ITU Council Working Group this week. Since this campaign for transparency began, one organization, WCITLeaks.org, has released documents to the public. These leaks showed that some of these proposals would give countries full control over "the information and communication infrastructure within their state” (proposed by China);license to inspect private email under the guise of searching for “malware” and “spam” (proposed by Russia); and even the ability to levy fees that would make it harder for us to access sites like Google and Facebook (proposed by Iran). But we shouldn't have to rely on leaks to find out what is being planned for the future of the internet. That's why we need the ITU Council Working Group to decide this week to release all past and future preparatory documents. The ITU has done much good around the world, but that is not cause for expanding their mandate. And while there is some debate over what's going on internally and the precise makeup of these proposals, the closed nature of this process is only muddying the waters. Time is running out. Click the link below to sign our urgent petition calling for the opening of these discussions, and we'll deliver it to the ITU’s Council Working Group before the meeting concludes on Friday. In solidarity, The Access Team

Access is an international NGO that promotes open access to the internet as a means to free, full and safe participation in society and the realization of human rights. To help protect the internet around the world, you can donate to Access. To reply, please email info@accessnow.org.