Executive Summary
Over the first decade of the 21
st
Century, the Internet and its convergence
with mobile communications has enabled greater access to information and
communication resources. In 2010, nearly 2 billion people worldwide – over
one quarter of the world‟s population – use the Internet. However, during the
same period, defenders of digital rights have raised growing concerns over
how legal and regulatory trends might be constraining online freedom of
expression. Anecdotal accounts of the arrests of bloggers, the filtering of
content and the disconnection of users have sparked these concerns.
However, they are reinforced by more systematic studies that provide
empirical evidence of encroachments on freedom of expression, such as
through the increased use of content filtering.
This report provides a new perspective on the social and political dynamics
behind these threats to expression. It develops a conceptual framework on
the „ecology of freedom of expression‟ for discussing the broad context of
policy and practice that should be taken into consideration in discussions of
this issue. This framework draws on an original synthesis of empirical
research and case studies of selected technical, legal and regulatory trends.
These include developments in six interrelated arenas that focus on:
1. technical initiatives, related to connection and disconnection, such as
content filtering;
2. digital rights, including those tied directly to freedom of expression and
censorship, but also indirectly, through freedom of information, and
privacy and data protection;
3. industrial policy and regulation, including copyright and intellectual
property, industrial strategies, and ICTs for development;
4. users, such as measures focused on fraud, child protection, decency,
libel and control of hate speech;
5. network policy and practices, including standards, such as around
identity, and regulation of Internet Service Providers; and
6. security, ranging from controlling spam and viruses to protecting
national security.
By placing developments in these arenas into a broad ecology of choices, it is
more apparent how freedom can be eroded unintentionally as various actors
strategically pursue their own diverse array of objectives. The findings
reinforce the significance of concerns over freedom of expression and
connection, while acknowledging countervailing trends and the open future of
technology, policy and practice. Freedom of expression is not an inevitable
outcome of technological innovation. It can be diminished or reinforced by the
design of technologies, policies and practices – sometimes far removed from
freedom of expression. This synthesis points out the need to focus systematic
research on this wider ecology shaping the future of expression in the digital
age.
