Internet Governance, Multistakeholder Environment and Diversity

In a Least Developing Country (LDC) like Nepal, Internet governance is a very least expected topic that makes it to any national level dialogue process. Though various concepts and technologies find its way for communication and discussion, internet governance is still in progress of finding a channel among various stakeholders. Its identity struggles among various stakeholders, who shift their responsibilities in being carefree of putting a monster in a box and criticizing the  negative aspect of internet or social media. We fail to address the issues of its development and values where the current evolution in terms of diversity and adaptation matters.

We have made it or we have created it and we need to accept and move forwards towards finding a proper solution giving it the collaborative approach of multistakeholderism and trust.

Our society of today is not just limited within countable use of internet which prioritizes the involvement and openness of how the internet has evolved and will be further interpreted.

Whether you talk about leadership or technical people, the scope, role and objective of internet governance is very much hidden within the text  where most of the people in power and chair even fail to even address the issue. In recent development, Nepal has updated or upgraded with various wireless broadband technologies and policies,  but when it comes to awareness of internet and its core values people at leadership and normal layman still uses the internet without the knowledge of its basic core values.

THIS IS THE REALITY AND  WE ARE BLINDLY USING AND SPREADING THE USE OF INTERNET, MAKING PEOPLE MORE VULNERABLE.

It is used basically for a  number of applications where these devices are related to its output rather than giving a fair value of understanding or building the moral values of using the internet and its related technology. And maybe because of this the wrong use or the wrong interpretation is happening in most of the cases.

“I strongly believe, internet has been passed on to the developing world not as a service or facility, but it has been passed on as a part of a business promotion strategy which is more focused towards generating revenue rather than awareness and value.”

Reality of today, is  these gaps have been hindering people for its development in countries like Nepal, where internet is treated just as a business commodity and  the government is more focused about the taxes, the private companies are worried about their revenue and subscription and user groups are always worried about their connection only. More or less policies are made limiting the scope and role where survey and research at done at a very minimum criteria of fulfilling the gaps. Likewise diversity is yet another issues which has been long addressed as well. There is no point of talking or discussion about the core value or for what reason it has been phased out or how can we use it in a proper way of ensuring human values.

It is the limitation of human boundaries where we have created this gap and we need to overcome it by creating better core values.

Recently, I was invited to host a program called guffgaff organized  by LoomNepal which is a social organization working towards the rights of women and LGBT group. The program was themed internet freedom and FoE in Internet but with the level of participation, interest and queries I was pretty surprised interacting with the various stakeholders  that internet of today was no different than internet of yesterday. It was a great learning opportunity talking with youths, & other stakeholders, including the #LGBT community leaders. the LGBT group leaders expressed their level of concerned about how the internet is wrongly being used in slashing their rights and FoE. They have been deprived from the government and from polices which even fails to address their issues and rights at times of need.

Certainly, #FoE & #internetfreedom are issues of our concern, they are basic right of any individual ensured by the constitution of Nepal but how many of the citizen know about it is a question.

We need more #collaboration & #cooperation in terms of making governance visible & practical. It still is repressive, offensive and unsecured for the citizen from various angles . It was still the same at various levels of policy enactment and cooperation that was focused more towards promoting business to organization only.

In absence of proper internet core values we have made the internet a compulsive, addictive, un-manged daily commodity which was evolving as a bad habit.

The government was focused more towards regulation, the private sector towards business and the people are lost in communication and adaptation of social media and entertainment redeeming the real values of the internet.

Let's talk & let's be sensitive about these issues only then we can #change our society but first we have understand these core values of internet and further work towards creating awareness. Only then things can change or else  it is just a funding project that works without sustainability option.  

Event Link: Internet Freedom and FoE discussion

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Freedom on the Net 2016 reports censorship & shutdowns more common

The Freedom House is out with its latest report on an annual study of internet freedom around the world. The Freedom on the Net showcases a study in 65 countries where 88 percent of the world’s internet users of  34 countries have been on a negative trajectory since June 2015. The steepest declines were seen specifically  in countries like Uganda, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, and Libya.

The report also highlights in the past year, social media platforms, communication apps, and their users faced greater threats than ever before in an apparent backlash against growing citizen engagement, particularly during politically sensitive times. Of the 65 countries assessed, governments in 24 impeded access to social media and communication tools, up from 15 the previous year. Governments in 15 countries temporarily shut down access to the entire internet or mobile phone networks, sometimes solely to prevent users from disseminating information through social media. Meanwhile, the crackdown on users for their activities on social media or messaging apps reached new heights as arrests and punishments intensified.

Freedom on the Net is a collaborative effort between a small team of Freedom House staff and an extensive network of local researchers and advisors. Internet freedom around the world declined in 2016 for the sixth consecutive year. Two-thirds of all internet users  live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship. Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year. Globally, 27 percent of all internet users live in countries where people have been arrested for publishing, sharing, or merely “liking” content on Facebook.
Governments are increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, which can spread information quickly and securely.

Key finding of the reports are:

1. Internet freedom around the world declined in 2016 for the sixth consecutive year.
2. Two-thirds of all internet users – 67 percent – live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship.
3. Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year. Globally, 27 percent of all internet users live in countries where people have been arrested for publishing, sharing, or merely “liking” content on Facebook.
4. Governments are increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, which can spread information quickly and securely.

Link to the report https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN_2016_BOOKLET_FINAL.pdf

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