This article is also available in:
Deutsch: G8- und eG8-Gipfel zur Internetfreiheit

The results of the 37th edition of the G8 Forum that took place in Deauville, France on 26-27 May 2011 and of the e-G8 meeting on Internet issues organised by the French Presidency immediately before, are sending a mixed message, on the one hand recognizing the "openness, transparency and freedom of the Internet" and on the other hand announcing the "commitment to ensuring effective action against violations of intellectual property rights in the digital arena, including action that addresses present and future infringements."

The civil society, represented by a large number of groups and associations, including EDRi, sent a statement, before the e-G8 and G8 meetings, urging the G8 Member States to "publicly commit to expanding internet access for all, combating digital censorship and surveillance, limiting online intermediary liability, and upholding principles of net neutrality.

Additionally, a petition was launched by digital rights group Access - G8: Protect the Net! - calling on the leaders of the Group of 8 to commit to citizen-centred internet policies, which was signed by internet users from over 100 countries.

The concerns were mostly related to the continuous tendencies of the governments to limit the freedom of the Internet for political or economical reasons. "Many G8 countries are actively pursuing policies that would similarly seek to restrict and control access; (...) the increase of restrictive policies in both the developed and developing world is a regressive and deeply worrying trend," reads the statement which also showed concern related to the lack of representation of the civil society at the e-G8 and G8 meetings as the invite list was mostly limited to representatives of governments and corporate leaders.

During the e-G8 forum, which was meant to prepare the issues related to the Internet for the G8 summit, the civil society representatives such as Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder of La Quadrature du Net, and John Perry Barlow, co-fonder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and author of the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, also tried to voice these concerns.

Access, together with Zimmerman, staged an ad-hoc counter-forum civil society press conference at the e-G8. Zimmerman led a panel of experts including Harvard scholars Lawrence Lessig and Jochai Benkler, US journalist Jeff Jarvis, former board member of ICANN Susan Crawford and Secretary-general of Reporters without Borders Jean-Francois Julliard, who collectively expressed their disappointment over the lack of adequate civil society representation as well as the direction of the discussions. "The free Internet must be defended before thought is given to regulating content," said Julliard, "The priority for G8 governments should be defending the Internet."

The Declaration on "Renewed Commitment for Freedom and Democracy" released at the end of the G8 summit, includes 19 paragraphs on the Internet and related issues and confirms to some extent the concerns expressed by the civil society. The Declaration commits to defending intellectual property rights rather than human rights such as the freedom of expression: "Regarding the protection of the intellectual property, especially copyrights, trade marks, commercial secrets and patents, we recognise we must establish legislation and national frameworks to improve this aspect. That is why we reaffirm our commitment to take firm measures against the violations of the intellectual property rights within the digital space, especially by procedures enabling the prevention of present and future infringements."

The human rights organisation, Article 19, believes the Declaration has failed to recognise the protection of human rights "as a core principle above all others", having included it within a framework "to be balanced with rule of law and protection of intellectual property."

In the groups' opinion, the Declaration ignores several international human rights treaties, while endorsing restrictions on Internet speech "by increasing enforcement of intellectual property such as through the controversial Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and domestic "three-strikes laws" which fail to fully recognise - and often violate - the right to freedom of expression."

Civil Society Statement to the e-G8 and G8
http://letter.accesslabs.org/Civil%20Society%20Statement%20to%20the%20...

G8 Declaration - Summit of Deauville - May 26-27, 2011
http://www.g20-g8.com/g8-g20/g8/english/live/news/renewed-commitment-f...

G8-The Deauville Declaration on Internet Fails to Recognise Importance of Human Rights Including Freedom of Expression (28.05.2011)
http://www.i-policy.org/2011/05/g8-the-deauville-declaration-on-intern...

eG8 Forum: Speeches by Jérémie Zimmermann & John Perry Barlow (partially only in French, 24-25.05.2011)
http://www.waebo.com/eg8-discours-de-jeremie-zimmermann-john-perry-bar...

The Counter-forum Civil Society Press Conference, May 25 @ e-G8
http://vimeo.com/24218524

Civil Society Petition - G8: Protect the net!
https://www.accessnow.org/page/s/g8-protect-the-net

Access Blog: World Rallies to Save the Internet from G8
https://www.accessnow.org/policy-activism/press-blog/world-rallies-to-...