IGF 2014

Enforcing the correct level of human rights protection is very often a matter of jurisdictional reach. In the cyberspace, there could be two obvious alternatives to create a separate jurisdictional space: the technological option and the legal option.

Over a year before German Chancellor Merkel travelled to France in February 2014 to speak with French President Hollande about creating the foundations of a “protected” EU Internet, the EU-funded MAPPING project had already spelt out its plan of researching if “parallel universes” in cyberspace could be a solution for promoting human rights. This objective of creating spaces within cyberspace where European values on privacy and other human rights may be applied could conceivably be created by technological or legal means.

In its first stakeholder assembly (Rome 20-21 May 2014) MAPPING will be dedicating a session to “On-line mass surveillance, security and privacy: is an international treaty the only way forward?” including a discussion of the recent ECJ decision declaring “invalid” the EU Data Retention Directive.

In the IGF, the MAPPING consortium aims to take this debate even further with as many Internet governance stakeholders as possible - from Europe and beyond. How can we have human rights embedded in the current Internet structure? Are there technological or legal solutions to this issue? Would a “Schengen cloud” human rights Internet, as suggested by French and German leaders, be the solution? How would others see such a possible space?"