Letter to Abbasov

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

To the Republic of Azerbaijan’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mr. Ali Abbasov INFORMATION REQUEST SENDER OF INFORMATION REQUEST: Reporters Without Borders Secretary general, Robert Ménard Address : 47, rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris Telephone : 0033 (0)1 44 83 84 84 Email : [email protected] Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety Chairman Emin Huseynov Rafik oglu Address: Baku City, Rashid Behbudov St. #8, Flat 85/86 Telephone: Landline 418-0334, Mobile (050)398-48-38 Email: [email protected] Dear Mr. Minister, The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) was founded on 3 May 2006 and is involved in defending the rights of journalist. IRFS was registered with the Ministry of Justice on 29 September 2006. Reporters without borders is an international organization defending freedom of the press worldwide and free speech on the Web. At Reporters without borders, we fear that your plan to create an organ to oversee the Internet might be an attempt to free speech on the Web and we would like to know exactly what mission it will have. We would like to draw your attention that on 19 July 2008 APA Information Agency reported that you stated that it is planned to create a state agency in Azerbaijan to oversee internet security. You stated that this organization will seek to prevent cyber crimes and supervise Internet in Azerbaijan. “The creation and activities of this structure is encompassed in the International Convention on Cybercrime, and therefore cannot be considered censorship of the internet,” you said. This statement was interesting to both us and Reporters Without Borders, so we decided to send you a joint information request. According to the “Law on Access to Information,” with the exception of secrets protected by law, information holders are obligated to reveal all other information. Taking this into consideration, we request that you answer the group of questions below: • When will this organ be created? • What will it depend on (or answer to)? • What its role and duties be exactly? • Is there any danger for free speech on the Web ? Thanks in advance. Respectfully, Emin Huseynov Chairman of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety Robert Ménard Reporters Without Border Secretary general Date: 29 July 2008 .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Internet Points of Control As Global Governance Laura Denardis INTERNET GOVERNANCE PAPERS PAPER NO
INTERNET GOVERNANCE PAPERS PAPER NO. 2 — AUGUST 2013 Internet Points of Control as Global Governance Laura DeNardis INTERNET GOVERNANCE PAPERS PAPER NO. 2 — AUGUST 2013 Internet Points of Control as Global Governance Laura DeNardis Copyright © 2013 by The Centre for International Governance Innovation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Centre for International Governance Innovation or its Operating Board of Directors or International Board of Governors. This work was carried out with the support of The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (www. cigionline.org). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution — Non-commercial — No Derivatives License. To view this license, visit (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/). For re-use or distribution, please include this copyright notice. Cover and page design by Steve Cross. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CIGI gratefully acknowledges the support of the Copyright Collective of Canada. CONTENTS About the Author 1 About Organized Chaos: Reimagining the Internet Project 2 Acronyms 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 3 Global Struggles Over Control of CIRS 5 Governance via Internet Technical Standards 8 Routing and Interconnection Governance 10 Emerging International Governance Themes 12 Works Cited 14 About CIGI 15 INTERNET GOVERNANCE PAPERS INTERNET POINTS OF CONTROL AS GLOBAL GOVERNANCE ABOUT THE AUTHOR Laura DeNardis Laura DeNardis, CIGI senior fellow, is an Internet governance scholar and professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, DC. Her books include The Global War for Internet Governance (forthcoming 2014), Opening Standards: The Global Politics of Interoperability (2011), Protocol Politics: The Globalization of Internet Governance (2009) and Information Technology in Theory (2007, with Pelin Aksoy).
[Show full text]
Introduction to Internet Governance
For easy reference: a list of frequently The history of this book is long, in Internet time. The used abbreviations and acronyms original text and the overall approach, including AN INTRODUCTION TO TO AN INTRODUCTION the five-basket methodology, were developed APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation in 1997 for a training course on information ccTLD country code Top-Level Domain AN INTRODUCTION TO and communications technology (ICT) policy CIDR Classless Inter-Domain Routing for government officials from Commonwealth DMCA Digital Millennium Copyright Act countries. In 2004, Diplo published a print version DNS Domain Name System of its Internet governance materials, in a booklet DRM Digital Rights Management INTERNET entitled Internet Governance – Issues, Actors and GAC Governmental Advisory Committee Divides. This booklet formed part of the Information gTLD generic Top-Level Domain INTERNET Society Library, a Diplo initiative driven by Stefano HTML HyperText Markup Language Baldi, Eduardo Gelbstein, and Jovan Kurbalija. IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority GOVERNANCE Special thanks are due to Eduardo Gelbstein, who ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned made substantive contributions to the sections Names and Numbers GOVERNANCE dealing with cybersecurity, spam, and privacy, and ICC International Chamber of Commerce AN INTRODUCTION TO INTERNET GOVERNANCE Jovan Kurbalija to Vladimir Radunovic, Ginger Paque, and Stephanie aICT Information and Communications Jovan Kurbalija Borg-Psaila who updated the course materials. Technology Comments and suggestions from other colleagues IDN Internationalized Domain Name are acknowledged in the text. Stefano Baldi, Eduardo IETF Internet Engineering Task Force An Introduction to Internet Governance provides a comprehensive overview Gelbstein, and Vladimir Radunovic all contributed IGF Internet Governance Forum of the main issues and actors in this field.
[Show full text]
The State of Broadband 2020: Tackling Digital Inequalities a Decade for Action
The State of Broadband: Tackling digital inequalities A decade for action September 2020 The State of Broadband 2020: Tackling digital inequalities A decade for action September 2020 © International Telecommunication Union and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2020 Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO license (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https:// creativecommons .org/ licenses/ by -nc -sa/ 3 .0/ igo). Under the terms of this license, you may copy, redistribute and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided the work is appropriately cited, as indicated below. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that ITU or UNESCO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The unauthorized use of the ITU or UNESCO names or logos is not permitted. If you adapt the work, then you must license your work under the same or equivalent Creative Commons license. If you create a translation of this work, you should add the following disclaimer along with the suggested citation: “This translation was not created by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Neither ITU nor UNESCO are responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the binding and authentic edition”. Any mediation relating to disputes arising under the license shall be conducted in accordance with the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization (http:// www .wipo .int/ amc/ en/ mediation/ rules). Suggested citation. State of Broadband Report 2020: Geneva: International Telecommunication Union and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2020.
[Show full text]
No. 15: the Internet in the South Caucasus
No. 15 14 April 2010 Abkhazia South Ossetia caucasus Adjara analytical digest Nagorno- Karabakh resourcesecurityinstitute.org www.laender-analysen.de www.res.ethz.ch www.boell.ge The InTerneT In The SouTh CauCaSuS ■ Internet in Armenia: Slow, Expensive, but Increasingly Important 2 By Onnik Krikorian, Yerevan ■ The Internet in Azerbaijan 4 By Alexey Sidorenko, Moscow/Warsaw and Arzu Geybullayeva, Baku ■ Internet, Society and Democracy in Georgia 7 By Alexey Sidorenko, Moscow/Warsaw ■ Data Internet Use in the South Caucasus 10 Resource Research Centre for East Center for Security HEinRich Böll STifTung Security DGO European Studies, Bremen Studies, ETH Zurich South CauCaSuS Institute caucasus analytical caucasus analytical digest 15/10 digest Internet in armenia: Slow, Expensive, but Increasingly Important By Onnik Krikorian, Yerevan abstract Armenia’s geopolitical situation in a region where it is in conflict with two of its four neighbors and the trou- bled privatization of the ArmenTel monopoly in the late 1990s mean that, in regional terms, the country’s Internet connection speeds remain the slowest, prices remain the highest, and actual penetration remains the lowest. Nevertheless, Internet coverage is increasing in Armenia, especially with the arrival of three cel- lular phone companies in the market. Additionally, blogs moved in to fill the information gap when a 20-day state of emergency in the aftermath of the bitterly disputed 2008 presidential election imposed restrictions on the mass media. As a result, international donors, such as the World Bank and USAID, are interested in expanding and improving existing infrastructure, and especially using it to empower marginalized groups and communities in society.
[Show full text]
Republic of Azerbaijan QUICK FACTS –AZERBAIJAN
Safety on the Line Exposing the myth of mobile communication security Republic of Azerbaijan QUICK FACTS –AZERBAIJAN ........................................................................... Mobile penetration is at an amazing 99% of Land Area: 87,474 sq km * population. Population: 9.077 million GDI per capita, PPP $9,270 (WB, 2010) Indicator33 Measurement Value Computers Per 100 5.7 TLD: .AZ Internet Users Per 100 46 Fixed Telephones: 1.5 million (2010) Fixed Lines Per 100 16 GSM Telephones: 9.1 million (2010) Internet Broadband Per 100 15 Fixed Broadband: 0.5 million (2010) Mobile Subscriptions Per 100 99 Internet Hosts: 0.2 million (2010) WiFi Internet Users: 4.2 million (2010) Mobile Broadband % Internet Users 17.4 International Bandwidth Per 100 4.6kb Russia At more than nine million, Azerbaijan is a mid-sized Georgia Caspian Sea market for its three mobile networks. Government interference with internet content is observed by some Azerbaijan users, although not all seem affected. The market is Armenia otherwise competitive with part-state and part-privately owned operators. Iran TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET Azerbaijan exercises strict regulation on market access and limited rules on content. There are 3 GSM operators in Azerbaijan – Azercell (the largest), Bakcell (first Pricing Analysis ($US) Azerbaijan All countries surveyed operator in Azerbaijan), and Narmobile (Azerfon), which Rank by Median was the first to be awarded a 3G license. Cheapest Price PRE-PAID Package Pricing In December 2011, Azercell34 announced a project for Monthly Package Cost the students of Nakhchivan State University where Cost per Minute for 0.09 6 0.09 National Call (First 3 Min) China’s ZTE, which provides technological solutions, will enable 4G access for more than 4 thousand students.
[Show full text]
Freedom of Expression on the Internet
Freedom of Expression on the Internet Freedom of Expression on the Internet A study of legal provisions and practices related to freedom of expression, the free flow of information and media THE REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF THE MEDIA THE REPRESENTATIVE pluralism on the Internet in OSCE participating States www.osce.org/fom THE REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF THE MEDIA The Representative on ISBN 978-92-9234-638-6 Freedom of the Media The views expressed by the author in this publication are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. Edited by Ženet Mujić, Deniz Yazici and Mike Stone © 2012 The Representative on Freedom of the Media Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Wallnerstrasse 6, 1010 Vienna Austria Telephone: +43-1-51436-6800 Fax: +43-1-51436-6802 Design and Layout: Bakhtiyor Tukhtabaev ISBN 978-92-9234-638-6 Authored by Professor Yaman Akdeniz, Faculty of Law, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey ([email protected])* Commissioned by The Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media This report presents the conclusions of the first comprehensive research on Internet content regulation in the OSCE region. A preliminary report was prepared and published in view of the OSCE review conference and OSCE Astana Summit 2010. The information contained in this report is based on data received from OSCE participating States as well as bona fide sources in response to a questionnaire sent out on 23 September 2010. * Yaman Akdeniz’ recent publications include Internet Child Pornography and the Law: National and International Responses (London: Ashgate, 2008: ISBN: 0 7546 2297 5), Racism on the Internet, Council of Europe Publishing, 2010 (ISBN 978-92-871-6634-0).
[Show full text]
Internet Freedom in Azerbaijan
When the Voices Fell Silent Internet Freedom in Azerbaijan Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety November 2015 1 Contents Acknowledgements 3 Introduction 4 Key Developments 5 Case Study: Mysterious Internet blackout in Azerbaijan 6 Summary 8 Recommendations 10 Chapter 1: The Myth of “Internet Freedom” 11 Chapter 2: Freedom of Expression Offline 13 Chapter 3: Online Media and Social Media in Azerbaijan 18 2 Acknowledgements This report is a publication by the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety. It was researched and written by IRFS’s director, Azerbaijani human rights defender Emin Huseynov, with input from human rights defenders, lawyers and activists from Azerbaijan who request to remain anonymous. The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) is a member of the Global Network Initiative (GNI), the multi-stakeholder initiative designed to address efforts by governments to pressure information and telecommunications companies to comply with policies that violate users’ freedom of expression and privacy. This report has been produced in cooperation with International Media Support and Free Press Unlimited. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donors and supporting organizations. The authors of this report are solely responsible for the analysis and recommendations contained herein. 3 Introduction This report provides an immediate snapshot of the most pressing threats to internet freedom in Azerbaijan and highlights the ways in which Azerbaijani stifle freedom of expression online—for example, choosing to arrest and intimidate online activists a means of discouraging dissent, while generally blocking very little content. This report covers the period from July 2014 up until now and examines the state of freedom of expression online at the time when most prominent dissenters have been effectively silenced by the regime.
[Show full text]
Analysis of Azerbaijani Legislation on Freedom of Expression
ANALYSIS OF AZERBAIJANI LEGISLATION ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION This document has been produced as part of a project co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of either party. The information contained in this document is correct as of November 2017. © Council of Europe, 2017 The main purpose of this analysis is to provide an up to date overview of the legislative and regulatory framework of the Republic of Azerbaijan concerning the freedom of expression, and evaluate its compliance with the requirements of the Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as elaborated in the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. This analysis starts with the general norms applicable to the freedom of expression and the scope of regulation, including issues, such as incitements of violence, defamation, hate speech, obscenity, classified and confidential information and religious expression among others. It continues with an overview of laws and regulations concerning mass media, and then specifically broadcast media and internet. Each chapter is followed by recommendations on how the existing legal framework should be reformed towards compliance with the requirements of the Convention. These recommendations, as well as a summary and overview of the analysis are also included in the last section of the analysis. This analysis is intended to be useful for journalists, media workers, citizens and lawyers, as well as the civil society and government officials interested in legal issues concerning freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.
[Show full text]
No. 15: the Internet in the South Caucasus
caucasus analytical caucasus analytical digest 15/10 digest bution. Although YouTube was blocked for some days program to be implemented over the next 4 years to during that time as well as some news sites, the govern- support alternative resources in the media. The proj- ment decided that the best way to counter the informa- ect aims to strengthen the regional media, particularly tion war online was by supporting bloggers sympathetic through individuals who serve as content producers to the newly elected president, Serge Sargsyan. using high and low technology solutions. The program As a result, international organizations and donors also includes resources for the production of alterna- are now looking to promote blogs as part of their exist- tive video. Its success will be determined by the Inter- ing media development programs. Moreover, the U.S. net as a delivery system, and as a result, its speed and Embassy in Armenia last year announced a $4 million cost to end-users. About the Author: Onnik Krikorian is a freelance photojournalist and writer based in Yerevan. He is also the Caucasus region editor for Global Voices Online and writes from Armenia for the Frontline Club. His blog is available at: http://blog.oneworld.am/ The Internet in azerbaijan By Alexey Sidorenko, Moscow/Warsaw and Arzu Geybullayeva, Baku Abstract Azerbaijan boasts the greatest Internet penetration rates of the three South Caucasus countries thanks to government support. The government, political parties, and civil society organizations are developing their on-line presences, including the use of social media. Especially for some progressive youth, the Internet has become a window to the outside world – an opportunity to learn, share, promote and discuss.
[Show full text]
The State of Internet Freedom in Azerbaijan, a Legal Overview July, 2021
The State of Internet Freedom in Azerbaijan, a legal overview July, 2021 Human righs lawyer, Emin Abbasov Azerbaijan Internet Watch Table of Contents Introduction and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 3 Connecting to the internet 4 Organization and licensing of internet services 5 Accountability and Transparency 9 Obstacles to the internet: martial law, internet disruptions, and blocking 10 Content Regulation 12 Internet Regulatory Authority 12 Blocking, Filtering, and take-down of illegal internet content 13 “Online policing” 14 Specific issues 15 Privacy & data protection: weak safeguards 15 Access to information and education 16 Conclusions & Recommendations 17 Introduction and Methodology This report has been prepared in the framework of the Azerbaijan Internet Watch (AIW) project as a final report in the series of explainer reports on the landscape of critical national legislation adopted, and/or subject to amendments and affecting internet freedom in Azerbaijan. The previous reports include: 1. The Pegasus Project and Azerbaijan – what does domestic legislation tell us about privacy of users in Azerbaijan 2. Legal analysis of a COVID tracing app released last year in Azerbaijan, June 8, 2021 3. Azerbaijan’s desire to regulate online hate speech: what problems should Azerbaijan fix first? April 7, 2021 4. Restrictive new bills sweet freedoms under the carpet, January 11, 2021 The following report identifies gaps within the legislation, policy, and practice that fail to comply with international legal standards in the field of internet freedoms. As such, the aim of the report is to: • identify and report key developments concerning internet freedoms covering the period between 2020-2021; • analyze and review legislation, policies, and practices in line with international standards; • provide recommendations to strengthen and develop legislation, policies, and practices already in place; This report was prepared based on desktop research and media monitoring.
[Show full text]
Articles Principles of International Internet
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Regensburg Publication Server Articles Principles of International Internet Law By Robert Uerpmann‐Wittzack* Abstract Legal principles are an essential element of jurisprudence. They help to systemize, to comprehend and to further develop a legal order. Although International Internet Law is quite a new legal subject, some principles begin to evolve. The article addresses five emerging core principles of International Internet Law: (1) The principle of internet freedom, (2) the principle of privacy, (3) a modified principle of territorial jurisdiction adapted to cyberspace, (4) the principle of interstate cooperation, and (5) the principle of multi‐stakeholder cooperation. A. Introduction International Internet Law (IIL) is a fairly new subject. Although the origins of the internet date back to the 1960s,1 its political and economic importance only became visible at the beginning of the 1990s. By that time, legal scholars had become interested in questions of internet governance. IIL is the common denominator for all rules of public international law pertaining to the functioning and use of the internet. Furthermore, IIL is a cross‐ sectional matter which comprises, inter alia, questions of human rights, and of international economic and institutional law.2 Some problems have already given rise to intensive legal debate on this subject. The most prominent example is the administration of the Internet Domain Name System (DNS) by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).3 The debate on domestic jurisdiction over internet content * Email: Robert.Uerpmann‐[email protected]‐regensburg.de 1 See ANDREW D.
[Show full text]
Social Media Opportunities in Azerbaijan for Government and Opposition Katy Pearce University of Washington, Seattle
TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME: SOCIAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES IN AZERBAIJAN FOR GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION KATY PEARCE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEATTLE Abstract: Much has been written on the ways in which the Internet benefits opposition movements, in particular in authoritarian regimes. And while some acknowledge that the Internet also provides opportunities for authoritarian governments as well, few have looked at the Internet and social media as a space for back-and-forth actions between the sides. In Azerbaijan, social media allows both the ruling regime and oppositionists to engage with each other and Azerbaijani citizens in new ways. Social media provides the regime with an alternative medium to harass the opposition and demonstrate its power to the citizenry. And while there is a social media presence, the traditional opposition parties do not leverage all affordances of it, however oppositionists not affiliated with traditional parties are leveraging social media to build audiences and engage in action. While the regime is currently “winning” the social media battle through the use of its resources, the new and creative ways that oppositionists are using social media for connective action could prove to be a successful means of dissent. Katy Pearce is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at University of Washington, Seattle, Box 353740 Seattle, WA 98195, email: [email protected]. 39 40 Demokratizatsiya he authoritarian state of Azerbaijan has a unique way of regulat- Ting the Internet and social media to maximize its opportunities for simultaneously promoting itself while deterring dissent. Instead of using high-level filtering, it instead uses psychological techniques to create an environment of self-censorship (and increasingly is using policy mech- anisms to enforce the psychological controls.) The government also monitors and punishes social media-enabled dissent.
[Show full text]