Talk:The Internet is broken – Bringing back trust in the Internet – PL 03 2014

What is trust for you personally and how do you build it in your daily activity?

Please add you opinion below.

1. Trust to me is the ability to have the integrity expectations of my interactions in life met, and to have some control over that.

What specifically can and should Europe do in order to restore users' trust in the Internet?

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How to ensure a proper balance between the legitimate interests of business and governments, on one hand, and the rights and interests of Internet users, on the other hand?

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How can policy makers, the business sector, the technical community and the civil society in Europe contribute to bring back trust in the Internet and ensure that privacy is protected and the right to control our own personal data can be effectively exercised? What are the concrete solutions that could be taken over by the key stakeholders in Europe?

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Ask questions to the panellists.

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Microsoft and others together with the postdemocratic governments stand on the one, the users and consumers on the others side. Thats the feeling many internet users and citizens have. And its a real impression. What will Microsoft do exactly to regain trust?

Draft session description

Personal data of Internet users are collected and online activities are traced in order to deliver a better response, better service, better experience. Recent revelations of mass surveillance have shown that governments undertake Internet surveillance activities against their own citizens as nationals of foreign countries. They justify such surveillance by the need to ensure security and counter criminal and terrorist activities. Such tracking and surveillance actions undermine human rights, especially when it comes to privacy, personal data protection and freedom of expression. As a consequence, Internet users have lost their trust in using the Internet as a free medium of communications and as a tool for exercising their rights.

What can and should Europe do in order to restore users’ trust in the Internet? How can policy makers, the business sector, the technical community and the civil society in Europe contribute to bring back trust in the Internet and ensure that privacy is protected and the right to control our own personal data can be effectively exercised? How to ensure a proper balance between the legitimate interests of business and governments, on the one hand, and the rights and interests of Internet users, on the other hand?

What are the solutions for rebuilding trust: new or enhanced regulatory approaches meant to ensure the effective protection of human rights in the digital society? new technical mechanisms and applications meant to ensure that each and every one can control their personal data online? more education and awareness raising to empower users and give them the means to better protect their privacy online? And what about jurisdictional issues – how to ensure that the rights granted by European legal frameworks are protected beyond virtual European borders when personal data is flowing frontierless across the optic fibre or vanishing in the clouds ?

Development of the session - initial thoughts

Main questions to be addresses during the plenary:

• What needs to happen before we rebuild trust?

• How is the Internet broken and what are the solutions?

1. The legal perspective: With a focus on European reform of data protection legislation, policies concerning innovation of digital services, legal challenges of specific business models.

2. The technical perspective: With a focus on European perspectives based on alternative ideas about data ownerships, business models, user-industry/institution relations.

3. The user/civil society perspective: With a focus on capacity building of users e.g. young people. (If we take point of departure in the notion that the internet is fundamentally broken, then "to rebuild" trust is not the way forward). What can we ask from users? How much can we e.g. ask young people to be in charge of and handle, what kind of knowledge do they need? What do they know? What do they want?

Suggestions regarding the format of the session:

• short interventions and the inclusion of all participants in the discussions.

Suggestions for speakers and moderator:

Summary of proposals

Surveillance on the Internet, reinforcing human rights and regaining trust

• surveillance by states and private entities – data being collected and used for different purposes by different public and private entities. How to ensure the balance of powers between citizens, industry and government?

• citizens loosing their trust in using the Internet. How to regain this trust? How to ensure that privacy is protected and citizens exercise their right to determine how their personal data is used?

• how to define and implement proper safeguards for privacy and data protection in the context of law enforcement and national security activities?

• what regulatory approaches and frames are necessary to ensure the preservation of human rights in the digital society? How to enforce such provisions?

• what new mechanisms and applications can be built in order to ensure that citizens can control their personal data?

• recent revelations about Internet surveillance and the reactions of Internet governance processes. Discussion on the changes provoked in several areas: Internet technical standards, DPI cooperation between ISPs and national security agencies and localization as a response to surveillance.

• addressing insecurities by design. What technical and legal efforts are needed to protect the Internet infrastructure?

Trans-boundary data flow

• how to regulate trans-border data flow in order to ensure privacy and data protection? Who would have such a responsibility? Jurisdictional issues. How to ensure that the privacy and data protection rights of European citizens are protected beyond European borders?

Privacy and anonymity

• online vs offline anonymity?

• right to anonymity on the Internet; privacy by default;

• challenges for online anonymity.

Other issues

• big data

• Internet of things

• enhancing youth understanding about privacy

• European data protection reform