The Filipino Freethinkers, alongside hundreds of other organizations across the globe, sign The Declaration of Internet Freedom which can be read in full here.
The following is an excerpt from the site:
DECLARATION
We stand for a free and open Internet.
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.
Throughout the years, the Internet has enriched the lives of countless people and has made the world so much smaller with the incredible connectivity that it offers. It has enabled individuals to access virtually the whole pool of human knowledge through online encyclopedias and search engines, giving everyone almost unlimited sources for learning. It has allowed for near-instantaneous communication and sharing of creative content, revolutionizing what it means for information to be viral. It has given birth to a playful and entirely new Internet culture and has helped forge the image of an open global village in the minds of its users. It has fueled the growth of countless web-based services and communities that enable meaningful interaction between strangers and even better ways of collaborating with peers.
With these in mind, we realize that increased connectivity, openness, and transparency should be observed, and to abandon the very principles that guaranteed the success and speedy development of the Internet would be a huge step back for humanity.
Image from geeksaresexy.net
