[P2P-F] Fwd: [opennetcoalition] G8: The Internet Take-Over Goes to Deauville

[Michel Bauwens]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: La Quadrature du Net <jz at laquadrature.net>
Date: Thu, May 26, 2011 at 7:30 PM
Subject: [opennetcoalition] G8: The Internet Take-Over Goes to Deauville
To: opennetcoalition at laquadrature.net


La Quadrature du Net - For immediate release

Permanent link:
http://www.laquadrature.net/en/g8-the-internet-take-over-goes-to-deauville


G8: The Internet Take-Over Goes to Deauville



*** Paris, May 24th, 2011 – Despite the huge PR campaign surrounding the
“eG8 forum”, citizens and civil society must hold their ground to reclaim a
free Internet and its social and democratic values. A club of corporation
CEOs (Publicis, Facebook, Orange, Google) is going to Deauville, pretending
to carry the message of the Internet to the heads of States. There is one
answer to this take-over: the Internet is ours! ***

Led by Maurice Levy of advertising giant Publicis [1], a bunch of CEOs [2]
will present the eG8 conclusions to the G8 head of states, as 12,000
policemen make sure the voice of citizens and civil society do not reach the
meeting room. Nevertheless, citizens were heard elsewhere: through the
criticism on the Net, at the civil society press conference, and during some
of the eG8 discussions, thanks to the few people rooted in the Internet that
made it to the official event.

“Barricaded in their golden room, the G8 governments and a select club of
CEOs will reinforce the fictitious narrative in which they believe. They
will consider the Internet from the angle of their business models or the
preservation of their oligarchic power. In the process, they risk damaging
the fabric of our freedoms and the essential tools of our future. During
these two days, and afterwards, citizen voices must still be heard.”
declares Philippe Aigrain, co-founder and strategy adviser for the citizen
organization La Quadrature du Net.

“These companies may control crucial parts of the infrastructure, they are
still a minor part of the Internet. The Net, as a universal space that we
love and share, is the sum of its users, who built it and make it grow. We
all collectively own the Internet as a common good, and together we must
make governments accountable for the protection of its openness as the basis
for our freedoms." concludes Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson of the citizen
organization.


* Références *

1. Levy's contribution to Internet policy includes pushing the French
government to cash on its immaterial capital by inserting ads on public
information websites and promoting a purely economic view of the Internet.

2. Among them, Mark Zuckerberg, Eric Schmidt, Stéphane Richard (Orange).



** About la Quadrature du Net **


La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that promotes the rights and
freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for
the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding
principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge.

In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better
understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and
pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage
citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the
digital age.

La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international NGOs
including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Institute and
Privacy International.

List of supporting organisations :
http://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-squaring-net-la-quadrature-du-net


** Press contact and press room **

Jérémie Zimmermann, jz at laquadrature.net, +33 (0)615 940 675

http://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room



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