[Libreplanet-ca-qc] Please stand for a free and open internet.

[Michael Faille]

Dear Sir / Madam,

At the upcoming WCIT conference in Dubai, governments will consider
proposals to update the ITU’s underlying treaty. Some proposals would
expand the ITU’s mandate in ways that could threaten Internet openness
and innovation, increase access costs, and erode human rights online.

The internet is powerful tool for communication, driving economic
development, and expanding human rights. Discussions about the future
of the internet should involve as many stakeholders as possible
including government officials, technology experts, businesses
leaders, civil society, and human rights organizations.

I write to ask that you:
-Reject proposals at WCIT that would expand ITU authority to areas of
Internet governance especially those that affect the exercise of human
rights online;
-Release to the public proposals that our country or other countries
will make at the WCIT; and
-Solicit input from your citizens and experts on proposals, including
by inviting a range of stakeholders to participate in our country’s
delegation.

The ITU has done much good in the world and I applaud these efforts. I
join a chorus of voices from around the globe, however, who feel
strongly that policy decisions about the Internet should be made in a
transparent manner with genuine multistakeholder participation from
civil society, governments, and the private sector, not by the ITU.

Sincerely,
Michaël Faille