Hi there,

The global petition to ICANN to protect free expression and innovation 
will launch on Wednesday.  It would be great if NCUC could sign-on to 
the petition before the launch.    And / or, if any individual NCUC 
members would like to sign-on please do so. 

Either sign-up on the website:  http://www.keep-the-core-neutral.org
 or let me or Dan know.

Thanks much!
Robin


Robin Gross wrote:

> NCUC:
>
> Please check out the civil society petition to "keep the core neutral" 
> below. The global petition is directed to the ICANN Board of 
> Directors, and both organizations or individuals will be welcome to 
> sign the petition.
>
> The Keep the Core Neutral Campaign and petition will launch next week 
> at the San Juan Board meeting, so we are looking for initial 
> signatures to the petition, particularly from organizations. I'd like 
> to propose that NCUC sign the petition and be an initial coalition 
> member upon the campaign's launch next week. What do others think?
>
> The campaign website is being built by Dan at:
> http://www.keep-the-core-neutral.org
>
> Any volunteers for translations of the petition into non-English 
> languages?
>
> Thank you!
> Robin
>
> ================
>
> Global Petition to ICANN Board of Directors: “Keep the Core Neutral”
>
> Everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information and 
> ideas without interference through any media, including cyberspace.
>
> As the new generic top-level domain name space emerges and policy 
> choices are made about how ideas may be expressed at the Internet’s 
> top-level, we ask ICANN to keep the core neutral of non-technical 
> disputes and choose policies that respect freedom of expression and 
> permit innovation in the new domain name space.
>
> Encouraging the free flow of information is a foundational principle 
> of public policy decisions related to information and communication 
> technology. Freedom of expression rights, which are fundamental in an 
> Information Society, foster democratic participation, individual 
> empowerment, and economic development.
>
> Cyberspace remains a unique and special place that bridges ancient 
> divisions, where diverse communities interact readily, and all views 
> are welcome. But only if these attributes are valued by policymakers 
> who set Internet governance rules and incorporated into policies about 
> how ideas may be expressed in domain names.
>
> We ask that ICANN stay within its technical mandate and refrain from 
> embedding particular national, regional, moral, or religious policy 
> objectives into global rules over the use of language in domain names. 
> It would be dangerous “mission-creep” for ICANN to adjudicate between 
> conflicting policy objectives and set global standards for expression 
> that are enforced through ICANN’s technical function. Please do not 
> allow ICANN to become a convenient lever of global control by those 
> seeking to censor unpopular or controversial expression on the Internet.
>
> We urge ICANN to resist any attempt to limit what ideas may be 
> expressed at any level of the Internet hierarchy. Please keep the 
> Internet’s technical core neutral from national or other ideological 
> conflicts, allowing freedom and innovation to flourish in cyberspace.
>
> Signed,
>
> [Individuals or groups may sign.]
>
>