Media News - Wednesday, December 14, 2011

O.E.C.D. calls on members to defend Internet freedoms

As a rising tide of digital dissent raises alarms in many capitals around the world, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday called on member countries to “promote and protect the global free flow of information” online. The O.E.C.D. , a group of 34 developed countries, urged policy makers to support investment in digital networks and to take a light touch on regulation, saying this was essential for promoting economic growth via the Internet. The approval of the recommendations by the O.E.C.D. council builds on a communique issued at a meeting in June, when the broad outlines of the policy were drawn up. The guidelines are not binding, but are intended to work through the power of persuasion. Also, the Internet recommendations will from now on be included among the criteria for assessing candidates for membership in the O.E.C.D., which is based in Paris. Some O.E.C.D. members’ policies have also come under scrutiny, especially measures aimed at cracking down on unauthorized sharing of digital music and other media. Campaigners for an open Internet have criticized the French approach to fighting piracy, which includes the threat of disconnecting persistent violators’ Internet connections. (New York Times)

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