The declaration is the first international attempt to draw up a framework on the issue and breaks ground by updating the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights for the internet-age. It also looks at how all the stakeholders – such as ISPs, hardware and software manufacturers, governments and civil society – can co-operate both nationally and internationally on the issue.
The declaration covers issues such as state and private censorship, protection of private information such as content and traffic data, education to help people assess quality information, media ethics, the use of information technology for democracy and freedom of assembly in cyberspace.
But according to lobby group European Digital Rights (EDRi), while the declaration is welcome and reassuring, it does not really offer anything new to internet users.
EDRi argues that, while the rights to freedom of speech, privacy and access to knowledge are all upheld by the declaration, the document creates a feeling of ambivalence by balancing them against internet threats such as the need to fight terrorism, uphold intellectual property rights and restrict access to illegal content.
