Hooray and congratulations, Niels! I can't wait to see your file and congrats on it premiering at the Internet Freedom Festival! Best, Kathy On 3/4/2016 3:04 PM, Niels ten Oever wrote: > Hi all, > > Today, 4 March, ARTICLE 19 and Coding Rights are launching ‘Net of > Rights’, a short film which explores the link between internet protocols > and human rights online. The film will screen at 6pm at the Internet > Freedom Festival. > > Please find the film Net of Rights here: > https://hrpc.io/wp-content/uploads/videos/netofrights.io.mp4 > > and the teaser here: > https://hrpc.io/wp-content/uploads/videos/netofrights.io_teaser.mp4 > > If the teaser doesn't show in your browser, you can also use this link: > https://vimeo.com/157722482 > > Here is the press release (also below): > http://is.gd/kqYjc3 > > and please get involved in the work at: https://hrpc.io/ > > It is too-often assumed that there is no link between protocols (the > standards which underpin the way the internet functions) and human > rights, but this is simply not the case, as the film argues. > > The Internet aspires to be the global ‘network of networks’, providing > connectivity for all users, at all times, for any content. Connectivity > increases the capacity for individuals to exercise their rights, meaning > that the architectural design of the internet is, necessarily, > intertwined with the human rights framework. > > Promoting open, secure and reliable connectivity is essential for the > rights to privacy, expression and assembly. But how are these concepts > addressed at the protocol level? Without proper definition, the human > rights-enabling characteristics of the internet are at risk. > > The role of human rights in Internet policy is slowly becoming part of > the general discourse. Former United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on > the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and > expression, Frank La Rue, explicitly spoke of the replationship, leading > to the approval of the landmark resolution "on the promotion, protection > and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet" at the UN Human Rights > Council, and the resolution "The right to privacy in the digital age" at > the UN General Assembly. > > Mapping the relationship between human rights and internet protocols and > architectures is a new research challenge, which requires the > development of a consistent methodology, bringing human rights experts > together with the community of researchers and developers of Internet > standards and technologies. The Human Rights Protocol Research Group is > a group chartered to research how standards and protocols (the rules by > which the internet functions) can enable, strengthen, or threaten human > rights. > > The rights-enabling characteristics of the Internet will be increasingly > endangered if they are not properly defined, described and protected as > such. And, indeed, the other way around: by not protecting these > characteristics, we risk loss of functionality and connectivity in the > architecture of the internet itself. > > To protect human rights online, it will be necessary to explore and map > the link between rights and protocol, ensuring the survival of a > decentralized and collaborative internet, in which freedom of expression > through unimpeded connectivity remains a central principle, and a > guiding force. > > Conceived in partnership between ARTICLE 19 and Coding Rights, this film > aims to highlight the importance of addressing this issue within the > technical community and human rights advocates, but also to feed into > the work of the Human Rights Protocol Considerations research group > (HRPC) in the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF). This group is > currently mapping the relation between human rights and Internet > protocols, in order to strengthen the Internet as a human rights > enabling environment, in which freedom of expression through unimpeded > connectivity remains a central principle and guiding force. > > All the best, > > Niels >