Welcome – 2014

Opening Speech

• Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany

Transcript

Provided by: Caption First, Inc., P.O. Box 3066, Monument, CO 80132, Phone: +001-719-482-9835, www.captionfirst.com

This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.

>> Would you please take your seat.

Would you please take your seat.

>>MICHAEL ROTERT: Good morning, everybody. The Honorable Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, esteemed State Secretary, honoured guests and participants of EuroDIG 2014, Internet Governance is on the move. More than 700 participants, more than ever before, I think it was an increase of 20 percent, according to last year. And exceptionally strong media interest, for whatever reasons. But these facts speak for themselves.

Europe now has the opportunity to take the responsibility on a stronger role in Internet governance when you look at the development worldwide. And to make it short, I would like to encourage certain institutions to give Europe or to give EuroDIG a longer and much stronger support to last even or whatever happens to the International or global IGF. There are developments, as you can see the IGF will be renegotiated next year. And then we will see. But Europe has its own face and should stay like this.

I welcome you all in Berlin. And I’m looking forward to an inspiring and constructive “Dialogue on the Digital Society at Stake – Europe and the Future of the Internet.”

And now, I would like to give the floor to the German Federal Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Thank you.

(Applause)

>>MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER: Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Federal Foreign Office and welcome to the 7th Europe Dialogue on Internet Governance. Thank you, Michael Rotert, for your introduction and thanks to you and your team from the Association of the German Internet Industry for organizing this event.

The name of this conference is “European Dialogue on Internet Governance.” Yes. You heard correctly, “governance” and “dialogue” in the same phrase. To most people, “governance” sounds like ministries, or boardrooms, or rules, or hierarchy. Not at all like dialogue. Well, the Internet is different.

Let me tell you a story about this. It is set in Brazil. And no, it’s not about the World Cup. Soccer will have to wait until tonight.

This story is about NETmundial, the global Internet Governance conference that was held only a few weeks ago. I know that many of you participated in it. For the German Foreign Office, my colleague Dirk Brengelmann went to Sao Paulo. And when he came back, the Ambassador told me a story about how the Conference worked. He said when we were putting together the different parts of the final document, everybody got an equal say. A truly equal say. Because all participants, software engineers, entrepreneurs, NGO people, Government people, all of them had to line up at a micro to deliver their statements. And each had the same time to talk – exactly two minutes.

Now I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, Excellencies, can you imagine a NATO defense summit where a minister waits in line to speak after a human rights activist? Or a G20 meeting where a President queues at micro? Or, in fact, can you imagine any politician who speaks for only two minutes?

(Laughter)

Can you imagine that? I can’t. And if I could, I’m sure my Protocol Office would give me a very hard time!

The Internet, that is what I wanted to say, is different. It is and it should be. It should be a free, safe, and open space. That is why we use this rather technical term, the multistakeholder model. But, simply, it takes many to make sure it remains free, safe and open. That is why this conference is a dialogue. And that’s why I am glad about the diverse mix of people in this room. I’m seeing that from here.

Entrepreneurs, regulators, academic journalists, activists, diplomats, and I wish you all a very warm welcome at the Foreign Ministry here in Berlin.

And I want to make some remarks for the opening of this conference, to start with the Question: What makes the Internet a multistakeholder space? I think there are, at minimum, three reasons. The first is simple. There is no other way. The Internet is too complex, the challenges are too big, no actor alone can balance freedom and security in the digital world or ensure human rights and equal access. No Government. No corporation. Not even the smartest, smartest programmer. I would have to say more about these challenges a little bit later.

The second reason is history. Do you know who received the first e-mail in Germany? He just spoke to us. It was 1984,and Michael Rotert was neither in Government nor in business, but a lecturer at the Technical University of KwaZulu.

“Dear Michael,” I wonder what this e-mail was about, what it was saying. I assume something like this. “Sorry I’m late for lunch, but I invented a really fast way to tell you something.”

(Laughter)

Probably something like this. But seriously, it is stunning. And it says a lot about the incredible pace of digital progress that somebody who took part in the early days of this revolution is still shaping today. The pace will become even faster.

Which brings me to the third reason, the future of the Internet. In the 30 years since Professor Rotert’s first e-mail, the Internet has developed revolutionarily our lives. And experts agree that in the next 30 it will do so even more.

Think of economy. We are now at the start of what people call the industry 4.0. I like to think of it this way. Industry 4.0 happens when you bring together the people with hipster glasses and the people with yellow helmets. Industry 4.0 is the digitization of industry and manufacturing. Now I would say now Germany is very good at the staff with yellow helmets. And that’s why bringing what we are calling the Middle Temple together with the people here in Berlin will be a huge economic opportunity for Germany and for Europe overall. I think we should work together to make that happen.

Or, ladies and gentlemen, think of politics. Think of the opportunities that the Internet brings for participation in Democracy. To give you an example of my own work here in the foreign ministry, we are in the middle of a big review of German foreign policy. The purpose of this review is to debate our foreign policy as broadly and openly as possible. And that’s why much, if not most of this debate happens online through our website, on Twitter, Facebook, or on the blogs. I encourage you to take a review at review2014.de. We could use the cyber perspective for our review.

And, finally, think of society. Access to Internet means access to information. To information, to network, to ideas, to jobs, to all that you need to make your way through modern society. As you know, I’m a social Democrat. During our early days in the end of the 19th century, in the so-called industry revolution, one key idea of the workers movement was education. “Give every child a book” was their slogan.

My position is we should not be eager to replace a book. That is still necessary. But it’s perhaps necessary to modernize our slogans and to add the sentence “Give every child a book” but an additional sentence “Give every child in addition to that, a laptop.”

For in the 21st Century, equal opportunity should include equal digital opportunity. If we fail at that, if we make the Internet exclusive or unaffordable for some, the world of tomorrow will be even more unequal than it is already today. And we should avoid that.

I stand here as a representative of the State. If you and I agree on the multistakeholder model, you might ask me what is the role of the State in all of this? When I look at this question in the broader public debate, I find that people are worried about two completely different things that pull into quite different directions. On the one hand, there is the fear of the omnipotent State. The feeling that the age of big data is turning into an age of Big Brother. Here is what I think. I think the State has an important role to play in Internet governance, but, but it can only do so if it’s building trust. Trust with all States. I’ve been describing, citizens, International partners, businesses, and so on. The practices, look at pictures.

The practices revealed by Edward Snowden have done the opposite. They have eroded the trust in European Governments and in Europe’s most important ally, the United States, and that’s a setback. Believe me, that’s a setback for all of us.

Yes, we need to balance freedom and security, but the balance needs to be reasonable. And the instruments of security need to be proportional to the costs they impose on our privacy. Rebuilding trust and discussing reasonable standards is what we hope to do when we, the German Foreign Office, welcome our American partners to what is happening the week after next week, to a trans atlantic cyber dialogue here in Berlin.

But, ladies and gentlemen, on the other hand, I also sense in the public the opposite fear. The fear of an impotent state. People are worried that Big Brother lurks when they are searching for a restaurant or order a book online. And they wonder who really makes the rules about all this data. Governments or big corporations?

My view on this is the mirror image of what I just said about trust. Big corporations need it also. The trust of their regulators, and most of all the trust of their customers. This brings big business to the table when we debate Internet governance in a forum such as here today.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is between these two extremes, these fears, that the State has to steer its course. Yes, the Internet is a free and open space. But it is not and it should not be a legal vacuum. We need standards. And we will need them more and more because the Internet will keep growing. Today there are about 2 and a half billion Internet users worldwide. In only five years, the number will be doubled. In such an evermore connected world, the invisible hand won’t do what we need. We need reliable transparent standards, and it is states and International organisations who will have to coordinate and enforce them.

That brings me to my last point: Internet Governance is a concern not only for nations alone, but, believe me, also for foreign policy. After all, one of the great things about Internet is that it transcends borders. And we should make sure to keep it in that way. In fact, national rules will be useless if they are not embedded in International standards. In many ways, our situation today reminds me of the debate we had on climate change some years ago. A global challenge can only have global solutions. That thought got us started at the climate conference in Rio years ago. And that thought holds through for Internet governance, from my point of view, for Internet governance as well.

I just hope it won’t take those in power as long to realise it. But we have started the process, you know that, by taking initiative for a global right of privacy in the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Now, the experience, I’ve started my speech in Sao Paulo and ended it in Rio. You must think I’m obsessed with the work up. That is two starts in Sao Paulo tonight and we’ll end sometime in Rio. I assure you, this was really pure coincidence, but what can I say? I’m a German, and I do have hopes!

Many thanks for your attention.

(Applause)

>> MICHAEL ROTERT: Thank very much for this fantastic site. Although we are EuroDIG, let’s see how we can end in Europe.

Let me introduce the next speaker. This will be a video from Neelie Kroes from the European Commission.

Can you play it?

>> NEELIE KROES: Dear friends, you are gathered to talk about the Internet, how we can ensure global resources of Democracy and freedom across the world. I wish I was there with you. Because I know that we agree on a great deal, in particular on the need for governance that is open, inclusive, transparent and multistakeholder. But that is also the reason why I can’t be with you today. I re-organised my schedule this week to go to Geneva, addressing the World Summit on the Information Society. And I felt my participation in Geneva was needed in order to insist that multistakeholder approach is the way forward.

Because, if the Internet is to be unified, global and inclusive, we need to have all stakeholders on board from all countries. The alternative is to see the network fragment and see its many benefits shattered, too. The sad fact is that there are some countries that are prepared to see the Internet fragment ifit allows them to get more control. And I made the assessment that those countries are in Geneva this week, not in Berlin. So I want to speak to them, and my starting point was the NETmundial meeting in Sao Paulo. The NETmundial conference gave us something valuable to work with, and now we need to ensure it becomes a roadmap everyone can follow. I believe strongly in the multistakeholder model. But my approach is not to ignore those who advocate a different approach. Rather, it is to understand them, address them, and find our common ground. And also to reassure them, as we saw at Sao Paulo, some Governments are not comfortable with being treated the same as everyone else. While we can help each other to adapt to the multistakeholder way, we can also acknowledge that Governments do have a legitimate role. They have a right and a duty to protect human rights and rule of law. But that doesn’t mean a Government take over of the Internet. Because I believe the Internet is innovative, diverse, and adaptable enough to respond to local needs without fragmenting or losing its unified character, without foregoing its foundation as a forum for fundamental rights, without having to surrender the significant advance of the multistakeholder system. If you believe that too, I hope you will join with me in convincing others.

I call on all European stakeholders to elaborate recommendations, commitments and proposals that will contribute to concrete reforms of how the Internet is run. You should, of course, agree on its common values, champion them, and defend them. That includes defending the multistakeholder model.

Europe’s uniqueness lies in its diversity and in its ability to come to terms with the complexities that this implies. This is where your strength lies. Its historical vocation, two words, inclusive, Democratic and pluralistic applies to Government.

And this is the value that EU wants to bring to the debate, building on our solid tradition of Democracy and respect of differences. And that is why EuroDIG is so important.

It contributes to making Europe a reference player in Internet governance, and at the same time it provides a connection with the global IGF to ensure the European point of view is adequately reflected in the global discussions. If we want to strengthen the IGF, we also need to strengthen its links to regional fora, like EuroDIG.

So I wish you all the best with your discussions, and look forward to working together at the IGF in Istanbul.

Thank you.

(Applause)

>> MICHAEL ROTERT: Thank you very much, Mrs. Kroes. I don’t think she will hear me.

Thank you very much, Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. I understand that you have other appointments and are already late. Anyway, we now have the discussion from the Governmental view, which we just heard from Minister Steinmeier and Neelie Kroes to all the stakeholders, and the show is run by Jeanette Hofmann.

(Applause)