Subject: [hrpc] Fwd: RE: []] FW: I-D Action: draft-irtf-hrpc-research-08.txt

From: avri doria <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2017 16:25:44 -0500

Another late review

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:     RE: [JNC - Forum] FW: [hrpc] I-D Action:
draft-irtf-hrpc-research-08.txt
Date:     Sat, 4 Feb 2017 11:52:29 +0100
From:     Richard Hill <[email-masked]>
To:     'Internet governance related discussions'
<[email-masked]>
CC:     [email-masked]

Dear Avri,

That you very much for inviting comments.  I hope that you will take
into account my review below, even if some people think that I am
somewhat of a tech expert.

I have two overall comments, and some detailed comments, see below.

Best,
Richard
--------------------------------------------

1) Overall: introductory material
=================================

I find that the introductory part of the paper is influenced by what I
consider to be the old-fashioned view that "the Internet" is or should
be somehow immune from the rules that govern the rest of the world.  For
me, it has always been obvious that offline law applies equally online.

For example, it is not legitimate to argue that child abuse material
should be permitted on the Internet.  Yet that would be the consequence
of accepting a principle (cited in the introduction) such as  "There's a
freedom about the Internet: As long as we accept the rules of sending
packets around, we can send packets containing anything to anywhere."

Conversely, application of the long-standing rules governing the
confidentiality of physical mail to E-Mail would have avoided the
surveillance mess that we now face.  That is, if we recognize that
E-Mail is a modern equivalent of physical mail, and that offline law
applies equally online, then E-Mails could not be read by government
agencies without a court order based on probable cause.  Sadly, the
opposite is true in many countries.

2) Overall: focus on specific rights
====================================

The paper correctly notes that there are many human rights, but that not
all are relevant for ICTs. A partial catalog, with references to
sources, of human rights related to ICTs is at:

  http://www.apig.ch/UNIGE%20Catalog.pdf

While the RFC does mention rights other than freedom of speech and
privacy, it tends to focus on those particular rights.

I think that a more balanced approach would be better, and I will make
some specific suggestions.

3) Specific suggestions
=======================

Section 2
---------

Add the following definitions:

Democratic: Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity to
take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely
chosen representatives (see art. 20 [ICCPR])

Living Standard: The right of everyone to an adequate standard of living
for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and
housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions (see
art. 11.1 [ICESCR])

Outcome Transparency: In this context outcome transparency is linked to
the comprehensibility of the effects of a protocol in relation to the
choices it makes for both user and protocol developers and implementers,
including the comprehensibility of possible unintended consequences of
protocol choices (e.g. lack of authenticity may lead to lack of
integrity and negative externalities)

Section 5.2.2, Figure 2
-----------------------

Add a new box:

First column: Transparency, Outcome Transparency, Connectivity,
Accessibility, Localization, Decentralization
Second column: Right to adequate standard of living

Section 6.1
-----------

Add a new penultimate paragraph, reading:

"A partial catalog of human rights related to ICTs, including economic
rights, is found in [HILL]."

Section 6.2
-----------

Add the following new sub-sections

6.2.19. Democratic

Question(s): Does your protocol infringe on, or weaken, the right of
every citizen to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or
through freely chosen representatives?

Explanation: certain protocols impose, de facto, policy choices, and
thus deprive citizens of the right to make those policy choices.

Example: a protocol that results in personal data being publicly
available deprives citizens of their right to make a policy that
protects personal data.

6.2.20. Living Standard

Question(s): Does your protocol infringe on, or weaken, directly or
indirectly, the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for
himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing,
and to the continuous improvement of living conditions?

Explanation: certain protocols can have dramatic effects on economic
conditions. This does not imply that the protocol should not be
developed or implemented, however, some consideration should be given to
the economic effects and how to deal with them.

Example: a protocol that automates the filing of briefs in court could
result in the unemployment of many court clerks. As a remedial measure,
it could be envisaged to train the concerned people so that they can
perform other tasks.

6.2.21. Outcome Transparency

Question(s): Are the effects of your protocol fully and easily
comprehensible, including with respect to unintended consequences of
protocol choices?

Explanation: certain technical choice may have unintended consequences.

Example: lack of authenticity may lead to lack of integrity and negative
externalities, of which spam is an example. Lack of data that could be
used for billing and accounting can lead to so-called "free"
arrangements which obscure the actual costs and distribution of the
costs, for example the barter arrangements that are commonly used for
Internet interconnection; and the commercial exploitation of private
data for targeted advertising which is the most common funding model for
the so-called "free" services such as search engines and social networks.

Section 12.1
------------

Add:

[HILL] Hill, Richard, "Partial Catalog of Human Rights Related to ICT
Activities", 2014, < http://www.apig.ch/UNIGE%20Catalog.pdf>

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