CSISAC Events
April 6, 2020
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov has joined the Public Voice Statement on COVID-19 and Fundamental Rights statement to OECD Secretary General Ángel Gurría that urges the international organization to "continue to uphold the democratic values on which the OECD is based." Kasparov helped launch the OECD work on Artificial Intelligence policy that led to the OECD AI Principles, adopted by the OECD member countries, the G-20, and others. The statement to the Secretary General Gurria, signed by more than 70 experts and NGOs, applauds the important work of the OECD in response to the pandemic.
The expert statement also asks the OECD SG to "make clear the ongoing importance of the OECD policy frameworks that safeguard fundamental rights, from the OECD Privacy Guidelines of 1980 to the OECD AI Principles of 2019." The statement further asked the SG to "continue to use the powerful analytical tools of the OECD to demonstrate that there are many uses of data that do not require 'trade-offs' or 'balancing' and to "urge colleagues at the G-7, the G-20, UNESCO, the ITU to uphold fundamental rights."
The OECD statement was coordinated by both the Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council to the OECD and the Public Voice coalition. @CSISAC @thepublicvoice @EPICprivacy
April 3, 2020
The CSISAC invites Non-Governmental Organisations and civil society experts to endorse the Statement to the OECD Secretary General on COVID-19, Privacy, and Fundamental Rights. From the statement:
Today the OECD and the member countries confront perhaps the biggest challenge in the organization's 60 year history. Many nations are considering proposals to use digital technologies to track and monitor individuals, to enforce quarantines, and perhaps to impose legal penalties. Law enforcement agencies want access to cell phone records. Companies are gathering enormous amounts of personal data related to the pandemic that could be used for other purposes in the future. New transfer arrangements for personally identifiable information are being established with little oversight or accountability. Governments have already limited the scope of preexisting privacy law.
At the same time, we see innovative approaches that aim to respond to the pandemic and to safeguard privacy and personal liberty. This week several European countries announced that they are creating a "privacy-preserving proximity tracing" app that uses Bluetooth signals between mobile phones to track users who are close enough to infect each other. It is claimed that the software uses privacy-enhancing techniques such as encryption, data anonymization, and data minimization to provide effective tracing while maintaining high data protection standards. We note the efforts of Singapore to curb the spread of the disease by way of a similar app that is open source and exchanges short distance bluetooth signals, while records are stored locally on the phone, and it is claimed that logs will be shared with the Health Ministry only when requested. A major tech company has launched a Screening Tool that provides information about the coronavirus, social distancing, and guidance on testing. The company has stated that it will not collect personal data.
The claims made regarding the privacy-preserving nature of such applications require further inquiry to ensure that they work as stated and are not repurposed. On behalf of civil society organizations and experts around the world that work with the OECD we therefore urge you to:
Make clear the ongoing importance of the OECD policy frameworks that safeguard fundamental rights, from the OECD Privacy Guidelines of 1980 to the OECD AI Principles of 2019;
Continue to use the powerful analytical tools of the OECD to demonstrate that there are many use of data that do not require "trade-offs" or "balancing." For example, the OECD's evaluation of "the initial impact of COVID-19 containment measures on economic activities" provides direction to governments without raising privacy concerns. Effective evidence-based analysis can both provide critical insights to policy makers and safeguard privacy and liberty; and
Use your role as the leader of one of the most respected international organizations in the world to urge your colleagues at the G-7, the G-20, UNESCO, the ITU and elsewhere to uphold fundamental rights
It is not just leaders among the civil society groups that want to ensure governments respect fundamental rights. Those on the front line of the pandemic are also urging governments to safeguard privacy and data protection. Dr. Michael Ryan, a key advisor for the World Health Organization, said last week that there is a tremendous amount of innovation and enthusiasm for new products. But he also cautioned that "when collecting information on citizens or tracking their movements there are always serious data protection and human rights principles involved." Dr. Ryan said, "we want to ensure that all products are done in the most sensitive way possible and that we never step beyond the principles of individual freedoms and rights."
We must be certain that the actions taken now are necessary and proportionate to the challenges we face. They should be evidence-based and they should respect the traditions on which the OECD was founded.
Civil society NGOs and experts are invited to endorse using the Public Voice sign-on website.
November 13, 2019
The CSISAC Steering Committee is elected by the CSISAC members to manage the coalition and represent it for a two-year term. The following schedule has been agreed for the election of the Steering Committee members for the 2020-2021 term (always Paris time, CET/ CEST timezone):
2019-11-13 Election call. Census review and nominations ends 2019-11-30 00:00
2019-12-01 Announcement of nominations
2019-12-08 Vote starts
2019-12-15 Announcement of voting results, call for extra SC members
2019-12-22 Proclamation of 2020-2021 SC
2020-01-01 End of transition period.
Any member of the CSISAC can nominate candidates for the Steering Committee, posting a message in the elections internal thread (see the regular updates) with the following information:
- Full name, mail and country/ region of the candidate
- Brief statement on the expected contribution of the candidate
- Short bio, including reference to the most related CSISAC goals
Alternatively, they can send the nomination to liaison@csisac.org with copy to the CSISAC Members mailing list. The list of nominees will be announced once finalised and published in the CSISAC website.
Once the nomination period is over, voters will receive a ballot to select up to five candidates. Consistently with the committment of the CSISAC with diversity, the elected candidates will be able to appoint other CSISAC members to ensure gender, regional and expertise balance. The maximum final size of the Steering Committee is eight members.
The full detail of the Steering Committee election can be found in the document describing CSISAC election process. CSISAC members are asked to nominate candidates and update their contact mail address so they can receive and cast their ballot, until 2019-11-30 00:00 Paris time.
Update 20201028: the post was updated to correctly reflect the term period 2020-2021.
October 23, 2019
CSISAC member the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has opened endorsement to the Public Voice Declaration: A Moratorium on Facial Recognition Technology for Mass Surveillance.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the privacy commissioners, CSISAC Steering Committee Member, and EPIC President Marc Rotenberg presented a declaration from civil society calling for a moratorium on the further deployment of facial recognition. The declaration, organized by the Public Voice coalition, has gathered the L5[support] of more than 60 organizations and many leading experts in 30 countries. The declaration calls on countries to (1) suspend the further deployment of facial recognition for mass surveillance; (2) review all facial recognition systems to determine whether personal data was obtained lawfully; (3) undertake research to assess bias and risk; and (4) establish legal rules, technical standards, and ethical guidelines before further deployment occurs. Mr. Rotenberg explained that around the world there is growing opposition to the deployment of facial recognition and urged the international data protection commissioners to act.
Civil society participants are called to endorse the call for a moratorium on Facial Recognition, consistently with the CSISAC Civil Society Principles, and the 2009 Madrid Privacy Declaration.
June 21, 2017
About 25 civil society participants attended a workshop on "The Digitalisation Agenda of the G20: Why Civil Society Should Care, Towards Argentina" organised by the CSISAC G7/ G20 Digitalisation Task Force at the C20 Summit, held in Hamburg June 18-19, 2017. The workshop was proposed by the CSISAC to the C20 with the purpose of improving the mutual understanding of the CSISAC and the C20 communities about the relevance of digitalisation for global policy-making, to evaluate the progress of the Civil Society Principles during the G20 German Presidency, and to set the way forward towards ensuring that digitalisation is properly covered in the Argentina G20 Presidency.
The workshop was structured as a conversation between civil society organisations active in the field of digital policy, and C20 participants working in other areas with an interest on the topic. During the first part of the workshop, the participants exchanged views about the nature of the digitalisation phenomenon and its political, economical and social relevance. The conversation focused around cases exemplifying the relevance of digitalisation and the need for civil society to engage in global policy-making, including mass surveillance, privacy violations, cyber-attacks exemplified by the recent 'WannaCry' ransomware, abuses to digital consumers including kids, wars in areas mining the rare materials needed for electronic components, infra-human labour condition of electronics manufacturing, the danger of failures in digital systems driving public infrastructures such as water or transport, the mass unemployment caused by automation and robots, the risks of big data and the issues of data ownership, the capacity of governments to shut-down or prevent the provision of telecommunications infrastructures in cases of political unrest, the exclusion of the most vulnerable to access governmental services, the problems of biometric identification, or the cases of algorithmic bias and digital discrimination. While the benefits of digitalisation have been addressed as well, exemplified by the utility of the digital tools for the C20 to organise the Summit, the risks of digitalisation for human rights, democracy, the environment, safety and the economy helped to clarify the relevance of digitalisation and the need for civil society to engage in the regulatory and standard-setting work on this area, currently dominated by the industry. As a result, the workshop registered consensus on the need for the C20 to include digitalisation among its priorities in the future.
The second part of the workshop focused on how to foster that work in the future work of the G20. With this regard, the workshop engaged in an evaluation of the current outcomes at the German Presidency, and a discussion on how to empower the civil society voice on digitalisation at the G20, focusing on how to integrate the work of the CSISAC G7/G20 Digitalisation Task Force in the C20 towards the Argentina Presidency. Where it regards the German Presidency, the CSISAC provided an overview of the initiatives developed following up on the invitation of the OECD to engage in the OECD-G20 common work on digitalisation, and on the C20 call to engage in a consultation about the priorities for the German G20. CSISAC activities included:
- engagement in the OECD-G20 work, including assessment of the papers, and participation in the OECD-G20 joint conference on17 January, 2017 in Berlin.
- facilitation of the participation of civil society to demand the inclusion of digitalisation during the C20 Consultation;
- constituted a G7/ G20 Civil Society Digitalisation Task Force as the result of exchange between the CSISAC and the G20 Secretariats on possible ways to include digitalisation, after the topic was neglected in the consultation,
- facilitated the elaboration of a G7/ G20 Civil Society Statement on Digitalisation: No Trust, No Trade that was disseminated in the CSISAC web site, forwarded to the C20 to support their participation in the Sherpas meeting, and to be added to the C20 policy briefings,
- engaged in three out of the six C20 working groups contributing with views on the digital aspects of finance, inequality and investments,
- achieved civil society speakers at the preparatory meeting of the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Digitalisation held on 6 Apri 2017 at Düsseldorf, and fostered the CSISAC position at the meeting itself;
- facilitated the participation of civil society participants working on digitalisation from both Germany and Argentina in the G20, including the C20 activity;
- organised a meeting to raise awareness about the G20 process and to facilitate participation of global civil society at the RightsCon in Brussels;
- reminded the C20 about the lack of a position on digitalisation in the final communiqué, and in the C20 policy briefings, and offered the CSISAC position as the reference to elaborate a position on the topic.
- organised a workshop at the C20 Summit to report about the request made frustration of global civil society participants in the interaction with the C20, and provided a Chair Summary (this document).
The workshop reflected on the results of that activity. The main outcome of the civil society engagement on digitalisation during the G20 German Presidency has been the improvement of the G20 language on the topic at the G20 Ministerial Meeting, compared to the less useful references of the previous Baden-Baden Ministerial. This improvement can be seen in two elements. First, the G20 adopted the approach fostered by the CSISAC at the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy such as the need to foster a digitalisation process based on human rights and the rule of law, privacy and data protection, or freedom of expression; and recognised the explicit reference to affordability towards ensuring universal access to the Internet, as proposed in the G20 Civil Society Statement fostered by the CSISAC.
At the workshop, CSISAC repeated that they welcomed the G20 Statement on Digitalisation where it proposes a continuation of the work on digitalisation at the Argentina Ministerial; and acknowledged the already described improvements in the final text. In the note published on the topic, the CSISAC remarked the need to continue working in several aspects such as the explicit recognition of privacy as a human right, algorithmic transparency and encryption by default, specific plans on affordability and universality, initiatives on skills and digital literacy, and the recognition of risks connected to digitalisation including cyber-attacks, compensation structures for digital disruptions such as Internet shutdowns or labor displacement, or a proper multi-stakeholder implementation.It was recognised that the Civil Society Seoul Principles continue to provide a useful framework for civil society participants to engage also in the G20 work on digitalisation.
The discussion at the C20 Summit workshop was useful to recognise the disconnection of the C20 in the interactions between civil society and G20 on the topic. While the engagement of civil society on digitalisation proved to be useful, it was entirely developed through the CSISAC Digitalisation Task Force, in a context where digitalisation was a topic excluded from the C20 priorities and also from the policy briefs, even when a substantiated Civil Society Statement on digitalisation was available. On possible explanations about why digitalisation was a neglected topic in the C20, the workshop served to identify two main ones: 1) the need of the C20 to focus on an increasingly smaller number of priorities; 2) the novelty of the digitalisation phenomenon in the agendas of the organisations involved in the German C20.
Despite the limitations derived from the exclusion of digitalisation from the C20, the workshop served as well to recognise the progress made by the C20, as exemplified by the inclusion in some policy briefs and the draft communiqué of CSISAC language, and also proposals put forward by the Labour Unions Advisory Committee at the OECD (TUAC) supported by the CSISAC; the inclusion of this workshop in the C20 Summit; the financial support for three representatives from CSISAC to attend the C20 Summit, including the Liaison and two representatives from CSISAC member Asociación por los Derechos Civiles, and the active participation and engagement of the C20 Steering Committee members from both Germany and Argentina.
The workshop was useful as well to identify the way forward towards improving the capacity of civil society to constructively engage in the future work of the G20 on digitalisation. With this regard, the preparatory work towards the Argentina Presidency has been identified as the natural way to continue getting progress on the integration of digitalisation in the C20 work. Following up on an exchange on possible approaches towards the Argentinian C20, two proposals were put forward:
- to enable the C20 with a capacity to address the cyber and digitalisation issues (CDI) i) structured as a C20 transversal task force; ii) implemented towards linking the already existing civil society groups working in the relevant settings, such as the OECD, ICANN or the UN/ IGF; iii) deployed on an infrastructure capable to ensure persistence over the subsequent G20 iterations,
- to prepare a Chair Summary of the Workshop report on the referred proposal, to feed the discussion of the C20 on structure and priorities for Argentina.
After putting forward this proposals asking the participants for objections, without any being raised, the Chair referred to the current infrastructure of the G7/ G20 Civil Society Digitalisation Task Force as an useful platform to facilitate the deployment of such a C20 CDI Task Force, and thanked the participants, with a special mention to the German and Argentinian members of both the C20 Steering Committee and the CSISAC taking part in the meeting.
Note: In addition to the German and Argentinian representatives of the C20 Steering Committee and the CSISAC G7/ G20 Digitalisation Task Force, a more detailed acknowledgements list would include:
- CSISAC Steering Committee Michael Gurstein for taking the lead in the proposal of this workshop, and his input in the C20 Inequality Working Group;
- CSISAC Steering Committee member Claire Milne, for her input in the C20 Investment Working Group and her proposal on affordability, finally reflected in the G20 Statement on Digitalisation;
- German CSISAC member Wolfgang Kleinwächter for his continued monitoring and participation of the German G20;
- CSISAC member Pam Dixon, for taking the role of civil society speaker in the preparatory meeting of the G20 Digitalisation Ministerial,
- Argentinian CSISAC member Asociación por los Derechos Civiles, specially to Valeria Milanes and Alejandro Segarra for their engagement during the German Presidency, and their work taking the lead towards the Argentina Presidency;
- CSISAC member Access Now, specially Amie Stepanovich, for their support to the CSISAC organised event at the 2017 RightsCon in Brussels to report about the G20,
- Global Partners Digital, specially Sheetal Kumar and Richard Wingfield, for having prepared supporting materials, including a useful policy brief on "Navigating Human Rights in Digital Environment - the G20", and a blog post on the digital agenda, and for supporting the travel expenses of CSISAC members Kimberly Anastácio from Coding Rights (Brazil) and Grace Mutung'u from KICTANet (Kenya). All the members of the CSISAC organised G7/ G20 Civil Society Digitalisation Task Force
- The participants of the C20 Working Groups for their interest in the digital aspects of their topics.
March 2, 2016
The RightsCon has confirmed the proposal of CSISAC to organize a Hub Table session about the OECD Ministerial on the Digital Economy, focused to inform and engage civil society participants from Latin America.
The goal of the session is to facilitate civil society engagement with the OECD Ministerial Meeting on "Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity" in Mexico, 2016. The main themes of the Ministerial are very relevant to Rights Con's community including Internet openness and innovation, Internet of Things, metrics on privacy and security, and broadband access. We would like to encourage the participation in the civil society event that will be held in advance of the OECD Ministerial.
Civil society is represented in the OECD by the Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC). Our goal is to effectively represent civil society's interest with regard to Internet policies and ensure the presence of a broad variety of NGOs with a special emphasis on Latin America in 2016. Organizations that are not CSISAC members yet would learn more about the process and the discussion could attract new participants. We would like to expand the CSISAC network, to enable ongoing participation by civil society organizations in the work of the OECD.
The event will take place on March 31 at 16:00 and it was estructured as 'Hub Table' session, to facilitate the exchange and dialogue. Participants included:
- - Suso Baleato (CSISAC) (organizer)
- - Alberto Cerda (Ford Foundation),
- - Katitza Rodriguez (Electronic Frontier Foundation),
- - Carolina Botero (Karisma),
- - Luis Fernando Garcia (R3D/Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales),
- - Claudio Ruiz (Derechos Digitales),
- - Miguel Morachimo (Hiperderecho),
- - Jazmin Acuña Cantero (TEDIC),
- - Carolina Rossini (Public Knowledge),
- - Michael Baak (Public Knowledge),
- - Antonio Martínez Velázquez (Horizontal),
- - Luca Belli (Center of Technology and Society at Getulio Vargas Foundation),
- - Paulina Gutierrez (Article 19),
- - Luca Belli (Center of Technology and Society at Getulio Vargas Foundation),
- - Paulina Gutierrez (Article 19),
- - Fanny Hidvegi (EPIC)
March 24, 2017
The CSISAC panel at the RightsCon 2017 will be held Wednesday the 29th of March from 14:30 to 15:45 at the Inspiration room, in the 1st Floor of the events's venue. The purpose of the panel is to take stock of the current situation after the Cancún Civil Society Forum, and set the way forward for global digital policy making. With this purpose, CSISAC Secretariat Suso Baleato will provide a brief update about the G7/ G20 and OECD digitalisation agenda, as a way to set the context for civil society leaders to share their views on the global policy-making priorities. Panelists will include:
- Amie Stepanovich (Access Now), on encryption and mass government surveillance
- Harry Halpin (INRIA), on encryption and international trade
- Maryant Fernández (EDRi) on trade and data protection/ privacy
- Anriette Esterhuysen (APC) on gender and digital access
- Renata Ávila (Web Foundation) on digital equality and developing countries
- Richard Wingfield (GPD) on Africa and Internet shutdowns
- Dennys Antonialli (Internet Lab) on Brazil and digital rights
- Alejandro Segarra (ADC) on Latin América, including next G20 Presidency (Argentina)
- Jeremy Malcolm (EFF) on multistakeholderism and Internet policy making
After the initial round of brief interventions, the audience will be invited to engage in an exchange of views for the remaining time of the panel, moderated by the CSISAC Secretariat. RightsCon attendants whishing to share their views are encouraged to contact the organisation of the panel to facilitate their participation, sending a mail to liaison@csisac.org
March 10, 2017
The organisation of the RightsCon 2017 has confirmed the proposal of the CSISAC to organize a meeting for civil society participants to share their view on the priorities of the global digital policy agenda, and setting the way forward towards 2018.
At the meeting, the CSISAC will provide an update about the recent incorporation of digitalisation in the policy agenda of the G7/ G20. This group of countries represent the 80% of the global GDP and the 64% of the world's population, turning the G20 into one of the most relevant arenas for global policy making. The incorporation of digitalisation to the G20 agenda in the 2017 German Presidency, following up on the Hangzhou outcomes, and the prominent role of the OECD in providing evidence base references, opens the opportunity for civil society to engage in the digital policy making directly at the global level.
The purpose of the meeting is to have civil society participants reporting on their respective areas of leadership, to set the way forward in this context. The CSISAC invites civil society organizations, activists and scholars to engage in this discussion to set the way forward towards 2018.
November 28, 2016
At its 73rd session, the OECD Committee for the Digital Economy (CDEP) has discussed the program of work to implement the outcomes outcomes of the Cancún 2016 Ministerial. The core of this proposal will be developed in the context of an Horizontal Project onDigitalisation, to be implemented during the 2017-2018 CDEP term. The horizontal approach involves up to 14 OECD bodies in addition to the CDEP, and will feed the most relevant global conversations on the topic, including the Internet Governance Forum of the United Nations, and the Summits of the most industrialized countries.
The CSISAC welcomes the proposal to develop this project on the basis of a multi-stakeholder approach, and thanks the invitation made to the CSISAC to engage in this process. The extension of CSISAC participation to the work of other OECD bodies reflects the comment of the OECD Secretary General on the importance of multi-stakeholder approach, and implies the extended recognition of the CSISAC as the main channel for civil society participation at the OECD. In addition, the CSISAC acknowledges the consideration of many of the proposals made by our members during the Civil Society Forum, and thanks the Ministers for their recognition of the importance of respect for human rights and digital security, and supports the declaration of the importance to preserve the fundamental openness of the Internet, the development of international arrangements that promote effective privacy and data protection across jurisdictions, and the evidence- and research-based policy work of the OECD.
However, the threat that the digital economy poses to human rights, including privacy and freedom of expression, was insufficiently addressed in the Ministerial Declaration. Particularly with the rise
of the Internet of things and the use of artificial intelligence for secretive decisions concerning the rights and freedom of individuals, the OECD must focus on the emerging challenges in the Digital
Economy, including a multi-stakeholder approach that is grounded in the rule of law and democratic institutions with a committment to meaningful participation and concrete outcomes; the need to approach the connectivity issue with neutrality, affordability, respect of human rights, and a prohibition of Internet shutdowns; the development of new metrics to assess the consequences of the digital economy including inclusion, fairness and equity, with a focus on the individual, assessing possible discriminations and inequalities; where innovation, data flows, and trade policies respect human rights.
The CSISAC will continue fostering this issues as specific policy issues in the context of the Civil Society Goals, engaging in the OECD Horizontal Project on Digitalisation. The involvement of the CSISAC will consist in the participation of the policy making process both at the OECD and at the interaction with other international settings, and the dissemination of the resulting outcomes. The CSISAC calls the Civil Society participants with expertise on digital topics to engage in this process. Learn more about the CSISAC, or directly contact the CSISAC Secretariat <liaison@csisac.org>
June 21, 2016
Harvard Business Professor Shoshana Zuboff spoke about "The Secrets of Surveillance Capitalism" at the opening of the CSISAC Forum in Cancun, Mexico. Professor Zuboff warned that the structure of the digital economy is incompatible with democratic institutions. "In our lifetimes, we observe capitalism shifting under our gaze," said Zuboff. "Surveillance capitalism is a coup from above. Like all incursions of power, we must focus on the fundamental legitimacy of surveillance as a mode of accumulation. We must interrupt, outlaw, and regulate the capture of behavioral surplus. This is necessary for society, for people, and for a return to the healthy evolution of capitalism."
June 21, 2016
Civil society organizations from more than a dozen countries are hosting a forum "Toward an Inclusive, Equitable, and Accountable Digital Economy" in Mexico. The forum is organized under the auspices of the Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC), "the voice of civil society at the OECD," in conjunction with the OECD Ministerial on the Digital Economy. The CSISAC Forum features NGO leaders, technology experts and government decision makers. The NGOs affirmed the Seoul Declaration and also called attention to new issues for the digital economy, such as algorithmic transparency, market consolidation, and metrics for human rights and social progress. CSISAC is an outgrowth of the Public Voice campaign to promote civil society participation in decisions concerning the future of the Internet. Similar NGO meetings were held in Ottawa in 1998 and Seoul in 2008. #CSISAC #OECDdigitalMX
May 23, 2016
The OECD has announced a Ministerial Conference about Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity in the context of the Digital Economy, to be held the 21-23 June 2016 in Cancún (México). This event is expected to set the agenda for the digitalisalization of the global economy in the following decade. Provided the deep implications of that process for social justice and human rights, the CSISAC is working to foster the voice of civil society in this event, according to the goals of the Seoul Declaration.
Travel Grants
In order to foster Civil Society participation, the CSISAC has actively explored options to retrieve funds to contribute to the participation costs. A criteria for travel grant was defined to prioritise goal alignment, capacity building and regional and gender diversity, and a call was published asking for expressions of interest to benefit from a travel grant. As the result of that initiave, the Steering Committee, received a total of 40 travel requests, and developed the capacity to cover the 90% of them.
Among the granted participants, 53% of them come from Latin America, 24% from Europe, 18% from the USA and CAN, and 6% from Africa. Mexico is the most populated delegation, with 41% of the LatAm groups, followed by other countries like Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay and Argentina. Gender balance is on the 50% rate, and we are proud to have also a member of the LGTB community.
Any remaining fund will be distributed among the pending travel requests after the meeting.
The CSISAC wants to thank the Ford Foundation, the Open Societies Foundation, the Government of Mexico and the Electronic Information Privacy Center (EPIC) for their economic support. That is the material foundation that makes such diversity possible.
Civil Society Forum
The main goals of CSISAC in the context of the OECD Ministerial on the Digital Economy are:
- to evaluate the progress on the Seoul Declaration, and to review emerging issues in the digital realm, towards setting the Civil Society goals for the OECD,
- to enlarge the long-term participation of civil society in the OECD process through the CSISAC, with a focus on non-governmental groups, activists and scholars from Latin America, and
- to consolidate the recognition of the CSISAC as the main channel for civil society participation at the OECD.
In pursuing those goals, the CSISAC is organizing a Civil Society Forum, to be held the 21st of June in the OECD Ministerial meeting venue. The purpose of the Forum is to foster the dialogue between the Civil Society participants and the governmental representatives and OECD officials attending the Ministerial meeting.
With this purpose, a Programm Committee has been formed with active Civil Society participants, including groups, activists and scholars with an emphasis on the Latin American countries. The Forum will be structured in three Civil Society panels, where civil society, governments and the OECD will have a dialogue about the Seoul Declaration, the emerging issues and the Civil Society goals. In addition, the Forum will have a panel focused on online platforms jointly organized with TUAC, the Trade Unions Advisory Committee of the OECD. The Forum will be closed with a panel where CSISAC, TUAC, OECD and governmental representatives will reflect on the outcomes of the Forum towards the Ministerial discussion.
The updated schedule of the Forum can be find in the CSISAC Forum site: http://csisac.org/events/cancun16/
A maximum of 100 participants will be allowed to register for the Civil Society Forum. CSISAC members planning to attend are strongly encouraged to contact the Liaison so to ensure attendance as part of the CSISAC delegation.
Registration and Logistics
Participation in the Ministerial and connected events, including the Civil Society Forum requires registration in advance. Registration is needed for all participants, including those invited by the OECD or by CSISAC, and it needs to be managed personally by the involved person. Deadline for registration is the 3rd of June, 2016.
The registration process, including deadlines, is entirely administered by the OECD through an official Ministerial site. The CSISAC do not manage the registration process. Registration for the Ministerial and connected events, including the Civil Society Forum, can only be done individually in the following link:
There is no registration fee to participate. Travel, lodging and any other costs are expected to be provided by participants on their own. Hotel booking must be done individually by each participant in addition to the registration process. The main venue of the Ministerial conference is to be located in the 'Moon Palace' meeting complex in Cancún. Participants pursuing alternatives in the city center should consider as well transportation to the venue.
April 4, 2016
The CSISAC has participated in the last preparatory meetings towards the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy, to be held in June 2016 in Cancun (Mexico). CSISAC took part in his meetings to bring the voice of Civil Society to the OECD policy making process. The next meeting of the OECD Digital Economy Policy Committee will take place the day after the Ministerial.
The preparatory meetings were scheduled for preparatory purposes, focusing on the background and issue papers that will serve as the basis for the Ministerial discussions at the meeting, including the final approval of the draft Ministerial Declaration to be sent to the Ministers during the Ministerial for approval. The meetings served to finalise the Ministerial documentation and get progress in the logistics of the event. In addition, the commitee discussed the proposed ranking of the projects proposed for the 2017-2018 Program of Work and Budget and provided an update on the preparation of the Digital Economy Outlook 2017, and the Next Production Revoluion OECD project by the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP).
With regard to events, the agendas included the organization of the Stakeholders Forum the day before the event. During this event, the four Advisory Committees of the CDEP will meet in parallel. In addition to the CSISAC, the other stakeholders are the Business and Industry (BIAC), the Trade Union (TUAC) and the Internet Technical (ITAC) advisory committees. The CSISAC is working to organize a Civil Society Forum where activists, academics and experts gather to exchange views on the analyzed topics and provide a constructive input to the Ministerial's discussion. The CSISAC presented the event's agenda prepared by the CSISAC Forum Program Committee, together with TUAC, and explored options with the OECD and the member states to have official representatives in the Forum to foster and active dialogue with civil society representatives.
In addition to the logistics, the CSISAC has been active in the preparation of the documentation of the Ministerial, including the background and discussion papers and the draft Declaration expected to be adopted by the Ministers at the end of the event. All along the process started in January 2015, the CSISAC has been pursuing the Civil Society goals, achieving improved recognition of and committment to human rights standards, respect for the rule of law, privacy and data protection or consumer rights among other outcomes reflected in the Ministerial narrative.
The CSISAC has been instrumental in leveling up the importance of privacy and data protection; in preserving the references to cryptography; and in alligning the Ministerial goals with the UN agenda and the NetMundial Multistakeholder Statement; and in fostering participation parity in the decision making models. The CSISAC achieved to develop a more inclusive approach to ICT adoption and use, and also in the approaches to reduce of social costs derived from job displacement promotion of skills development, now explicitly mention gaps affecting women. The needs of the most vulnerable groups are recognised, and support for the sustainable development goals (SDG) have been included. This achievements can be recognized in the current draft of the Ministerial Declaration and the background references to be sent to the Ministers.
The CSISAC will continue working pursuing the goals of the Civil Society Seoul Declaration focusing on the preparation of the Civil Society Forum the day before the Ministerial. Several topics need further recognition, like the need to frame protection of privacy and security as part of the digital safety and therefore to be reinforced, instead of a 'problem' to be solved; and fairness and inclusion and a greater focus on development and sustainable growth. New issues have been introduced in the discuss that needs to register further progress like the lack of meaningful measurement on openess, privacy, and security; and the differenciation between trust of the users and the trustworthiness of the systems supporting the Internet of the Things. Emerging issues like artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, new challenges on security and cryptography, the impact of trade agreements, online platform monopolies, and new findings on mass surveillance need to be developed and fostered as well.
The CSISAC is actively searching for civil society groups, activists and experts to participate in the Forum and the Ministerial discussions, with a focus on participants from the Latin America region. Participation in the Forum and the Ministerial requires registration in advance, where a maximum of 100 participants will be allowed to register due to limitation in the available space. Details on logistics and participation have been published to facilitate engagement: http://csisac.org/2016/03/oecd_ministerial_registration_.php
February 11, 2016
The next meeting of the OECD Digital Economy Policy Committee will take place from the 22nd and 23rd of February, and the 29th of March to the 1st of April 2016 at the OECD headquarters in Paris (France). CSISAC will take part in this meetings to bring the voice of Civil Society to the OECD policy making process.
The first meeting is scheduled for preparatory purposes, focusing on the background and issue papers that will serve as the basis for the Ministerial discussions at the meeting, including the final approval of a draft Ministerial Declaration to be sent to the Ministers during the Ministerial for approval. The second meeting will be the last preparatory meeting towards the Ministerial, and it is expected to finalise the Ministerial documentation, and is expected to include discussions on getting progress in the logistics and the contents of the event. In addition, the meeting will review the CDEP Program of Work and Budget 2017-2018, and will provide an update on the preparation of the Digital Economy Outlook 2017, and the Next Production Revoluion OECD project by the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP).
With regard to events, the agendas will include the organization of the Stakeholders Forum the day before the event including in addition to CSISAC, the Business and Industry (BIAC), Trade Union (TUAC) and Internet Technical (ITAC) advisory committees. CSISAC is working to organize a Civil Society Forum where activists, academics and experts gather to exchange views on the analyzed topics and provide a constructive input to the Ministerial's discussion. At the meeting, the CSISAC will present the provisional agenda prepared by the CSISAC Forum Program Committee, together with TUAC. In addition, the CSISAC will be exploring options with the OECD and the member states to have official representatives in the Forum so to foster and active dialogue with civil society representatives.
The CSISAC is actively searching for participants from Latin America to take part in the preparatory work and participate in the Forum. Participation in the Forum and the Ministerial requires registration in advance, where a maximum of 100 participants will be allowed to register due to limitation in the available space. Details on logistics and participation have been published to facilitate engagement at http://csisac.org/2016/03/oecd_ministerial_registration_.php.
March 14, 2016
The OECD has opened the registration process to attend the Ministerial Conference on the Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity, to be held the 21-23 June 2016 in Cancún (México). The CSISAC encourages civil society participants to engage in the preparatory work and to register for participation in the Ministerial. This post provides the basic information on registration, logistics and travel support to participate in the Ministerial.
Registration and Logistics
Participation in the Ministerial and connected events, including the Civil Society Forum on the first day, will require registration in advance. Registration is needed for all participants, including those invited by the OECD or by CSISAC, and it needs to be managed personally by the involved person.
Registration deadline is June 3, 2016. A maximum of 100 participants will be allowed to register for the Civil Society Forum. CSISAC members planning to attend are strongly encouraged to contact the Liaison so to ensure attendance as part of the CSISAC delegation.
The registration process, including deadlines, is entirely administered by the OECD through an official Ministerial site. The CSISAC do not manage the registration process. Registration for the Ministerial and connected events, including the Civil Society Forum, can only be done individually in the following link: http://www.gob.mx/economiadigital/en/
There is no registration fee to participate. Travel, lodging and any other costs are expected to be provided by participants on their own. Hotel booking must be done individually by each participant in addition to the registration process. The main venue of the Ministerial conference is to be located in the 'Moon Palace' meeting complex in Cancún. Those pursuing cheaper alternatives in the city center should consider as well transportation to the venue.
Travel Support
The Steering Committee of the CSISAC is looking for opportunities to support travel costs of CSISAC members planning to attend the CSISAC Forum. A travel fund is planned to be available thanks to the contributions made by the Ford Foundation, the Open Societies Foundation and the Government of México among others. The priority to distribute the available fund among the eligible participants will be decided according to the following criteria.
- Criteria 1: Goal alignment. Priority will be given to participants showing engagement with the goals of the Civil Society Seoul Declaration and involvement in the preparation of the Forum and the Ministerial.
- Criteria 2: Capacity building. Priority will be given to participants belonging to and representing established groups. The purpose is to encourage participation from groups that stand to benefit the most and develop capacities at the forum. In the case of individuals, activists will get priority over experts and scholars.
- Criteria 3: Regional diversity. Priority will be given, in this order, to groups from 1) Latin America, with priority to those operating in OECD countries, 2) Africa, 3) BRICs.
Support for travel is decided by the Steering Committee of the CSISAC and requires the approval of a travel budget in advance to the event. Approved travel budgets are to be reimbursed after the event only, so participants need to purchase travel tickets and lodging on their own. Participants are not eligible for travel support when they benefit from funding granted by the same entities sponsoring CSISAC travel to the Ministerial.
Request for travel support is done sending the following information to liaison@csisac.org: i) contact data, ii) expression of
interest stating how participation CSISAC Forum can benefit the
applicant/ organization, iii) short biography showing the engagement
with the Seoul Declaration, iv) a travel budget including transportation
costs and any other requested am mount, v) registration confirmation or invitation letter, if any.
About CSISAC and the OECD
CSISAC is the voice of civil society at the OECD Committee on the Digital Economy Policy. We facilitate the exchange of information between the OECD and civil society participants, leading to better-informed and more widely accepted policy frameworks. The formal recognition of this Advisory Committee by the OECD was the result of an effort initiated in the 1990s decade to promote participation parity in the global policy-making. Today, the CSISAC is the main venue to channel the participation of civil society in the OECD work on the digital economy.
You can learn more about CSISAC visiting the official website, or sending your question to the CSISAC Liaison <liaison@csisac.org>
November 24, 2015
The next meeting of the OECD Digital Economy Policy Committee and its working parties will take place from the 30th of November to the 4th of December in the OECD headquarters in Paris (France). CSISAC will take part in this meeting to bring the voice of Civil Society to the OECD policy making process.
This 70th meeting will focus on the preparation of the 2016 Ministerial on the Digital Economy. This involves the discussion of the logistics and the contents of the event, including the appointment of the high level speakers like Ministers and representatives of International Organizations. CSISAC will continue fostering the presence of Civil Society representatives in the panels, and also to improve the Civil Society perspective in the key issues under consideration.
The work on the Ministerial will include the organization of the Stakeholders Forum the day before the event. CSISAC is working to organize a forum where activists, academics and experts gather to exchange views on the analyzed topics and provide a constructive input to the Ministerial's discussion. CSISAC is actively searching for participants from Latin America to take part in the preparatory work joining the programm committee, and also during the discussion as panelists. Proposal and suggestions on topics and participants can be sent to the CSISAC Liaison.
In addition to the preparatory work for the Ministerial, the Committee and its Working Parties will discuss the reports and ongoing projects. Topics included in the agenda include several aspects related with Digital Risk and Identity Management; the protection of Critical Infrastructures; privacy and health data; the broadband policy toolkits; and several measurement issues on mobile commerce and ICT sector indicators.
About CSISAC
The Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC) is the "voice of civil society" at the OECD. CSISAC strengthens the relationship between civil society and the OECD and promotes better-informed and more widely accepted policies for the IT sector. CSISAC contributes to the OECD's work on Digital Economy Policy and promotes the exchange of information between the OECD and civil society. The OECD provides civil society participants with substantial empirical analyses that enable informed policy assessments; CSISAC provides the OECD with the essential perspectives of experts and NGOs leaders.
In order to fullfil its mission, CSISAC participates in the regular meetings of the OECD Digital Economy Committee (CDEP) and its working parties: the Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy (MADE), the Working Party on Communication, Infrastructures and Services Policy (CISP) and the Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE). The participation of CSISAC consists in the circulation of the draft reports and working paperS among Civil Society experts for analysis and assessment, attendance at the regular meetings by CSISAC representatives, and the submission of policy assessments for the ongoing policy guidance. In addition, CSISAC nominates high level experts to participate in the ad-hoc sessions like expert groups or advisory panels linked to specific policy developments.
June 1, 2015
The Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC) is the "voice of civil society" at the OECD. CSISAC strengthens the relationship between civil society and the OECD and promotes better-informed and more widely accepted policies for the IT sector. CSISAC contributes to the OECD's work on Digital Economy Policy and promotes the exchange of information between the OECD and civil society. The OECD provides civil society participants with substantial empirical analysEs that enable informed policy assessments; CSISAC provides the OECD with the essential perspectives of experts and NGOs leaders.
In order to fullfil its mission, CSISAC participates in the regular meetings of the OECD Digital Economy Committee (CDEP) and its working parties: the Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy (MADE), the Working Party on Communication, Infrastructures and Services Policy (CISP) and the Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE). The participation of CSISAC consists in the circulation of the draft reports and working paperS among Civil Society experts for analysis and assessment, attendance at the regular meetings by CSISAC representatives, and the submission of policy assessments for the ongoing policy guidance. In addition, CSISAC nominates high level experts to participate in the ad-hoc sessions like expert groups or advisory panels linked to specific policy developments.
The next meeting of the OECD Digital Economy Policy Committee and its working parties will take place from the 22th to the 26th of June in the OECD headquarters in Paris (France). The meeting will cover topics like the revision of the Security Guidelines, the Internet of Things, the effects of ICT in jobs and skills or statistics on children online. The draft reports and working papers will be circulated to the CSISAC membership to facilitate analysis and assessment in time for the meeting. CSISAC encourages Civil Society experts to join the task forces on their topics of interest so as to provide substantial and high quality contributions to the OECD policy-making process.
CSISAC wants to acknowledge the contribution of the Open Society Foundation (OSF), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and the European Digital Rights (EDRi) for their continued support, among other contributions.
June 29, 2015
The June sessions of the OECD Committee for the Digital Economy Policy have finished today. CSISAC wants to thank Steering Committee members Marc Rotenberg from EPIC and Claire Milne for leading the task forces and attending the Working Parties and the Committee, together with the CSISAC Liaison. In addition, the Civil Society delegation benefitted from the expertise of CSISAC member Martin Schmalzried on the children online topic.
The meetings included the 20th MADE (Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy), 53nd CISP (Working Party on Communication, Infrastructures and Services Policy), 38th SPDE (Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy) and the 69th CDEP (Committee on the Digital Economy Policy). In addition, CSISAC took part in the preparatory meetings for the 2016 Ministerial, including the 3rd Ministerial Steering Group and the 1st Stakeholders Coordination Meeting.
Thanks to the voluntary contribution of CSISAC experts in the analysis and assessment of the OECD draft reports and working papers, the Civil Society delegation contributed to achieving the following outcomes:
- A new revised Security Guidelines that explicitly recognizes transparency, human rights and responsibility among its principles, increasing the potential for accountability by replacing the previous 'national security' frame with a 'risk management' approach. The acknowledgment by the OECD of the contribution made by CSISAC during the revision process can be recognized in the adoption by the OECD of the proposal to launch the guidelines in an event to be hosted by EPIC in Washington.
- Increased awareness about the challenges of the digital economy, as only the benefits were initially planned for discussion in the Ministerial. This holds for the four themes of the Ministerial, and includes security and privacy aspects and balancing individual and group interests in the Internet of Things, the potential of privacy enhancing technologies for innovation, or consumer protection and quality of jobs with regard to emerging digital platforms like Uber. CSISAC members are invited to engage in the drafting process of the Ministerial panels to ensure that this need is sufficiently reflected in the Ministerial dossier, and to nominate High Level delegates to participate as speakers in the panels.
- Adoption of the proposal to hold a Civil Society Stakeholders Forum in coordination with TUAC -labor unions stakeholder- in parallel to the forums organized by BIAC -the business stakeholder- and ITAC -the technical community stakeholder- the day before the Ministerial. In addition, a CSISAC member will participate in the High Level Plenary that will serve to launch the Ministerial in the first day, opening the way to effectively feed the Ministerial with the output of our Forum, perhaps in the form of a Civil Society Declaration. CSISAC has started to explore possible alternatives to maximize the Civil Society participation at the Ministerial. With that purpose, CSISAC has invited the OECD to coordinate with the Mexican delegation the logistics of Civil Society participation.
The meetings of the CDEP represent an important milestone, as the work of CSISAC during the following year will focus on the preparation of the Ministerial. The organization of the Civil Society Forum is expected to concentrate the efforts of CSISAC in order to contribute constructively to the outcomes of the 2016 Ministerial in Cancun (Mexico).
CSISAC wants to acknowledge the contribution of those who have been providing the resources to support our activity, mainly the Open Society Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the European Digital Rights (EDRi). That leads to a big thanks to Meryem Marzouki from EDRi, the 'architect' of CSISAC, who has recently handed over her responsibilities after many years of excellent work. In addition, COFACE-EU has contributed by sending a delegate to provide input on the OECD work on children online.
April 3, 2015
The OECD is organizing a Workshop on Health Data Governance to be held the 20 of May in Paris. CSISAC member Robert Gellman will participate in the workshop as moderator of the panel on Safeguards for for Privacy-Protective use. The panel will discuss legislative safeguards to protect privacy and enable data use, embedding privacy protection, ethical review, best practices in data identification and accreditation of health data processors.
April 16, 2015
Steering Committee member and EPIC director Marc Rotenberg will participate in the Luncheon Discussion Program of the Executive Council Diplomacy, to be held the 16th of April in Washington. The event will include a discussion on the role of the OECD in global economic governance guided by Secretary-General of the OECD Angel Gurría.
September 2, 2014
CSISAC will participate in the 2014 Internet Governance Forum, to be held this week in Istanbul, Turkey. The theme of the forum is "Connecting Continents for Enhanced Multistakeholder Internet Governance".
February 27, 2015
CSISAC will participate in the 2016 OECD Ministerial on Digital Economy in Mexico in May 2016. CSISAC will convene a meeting for civil society organizations concerning the future of the Internet. The Ministerial will also encourage emerging and developing countries to discuss how Internet policy making can address current and emerging issues in a way that helps mitigate risks to, and maximises the economic and social benefits of, the Internet economy.
September 23, 2010
The Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP) will hold a forum to discuss Smart Information and Communication Technologies and Green Growth at the OECD Conference Center in Paris on 29 September 2010 from 9:00-18:00. The ICCP will also hold meetings 30 September-1 October.
September 16, 2010
The Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP) will hold a forum to discuss Smart Information and Communication Technologies and Green Growth at the OECD Conference Center in Paris on 29 September 2010 from 9:00-18:00. The ICCP will also hold meetings 30 September-1 October.
The Committee for Information, Computer and Communication Policy (ICCP) will meet in 30 September-1 October, 2010. Topics for the meeting include Forging partnerships for advancing the Internet economy: Internet intermediaries, Shaping Policies for the Internet Economy: Follow-up the Seoul Ministerial, and Green Growth: DSTI Contribution to the Ministerial projecr. The ICCP will also conduct Elections of the 2011 ICCP Bureau. Papers and reports will be presented on: the OECD Privacy Guidelines; Cloud Computing; and relevant work of the Committee on Consumer Policy.
August 24, 2009
Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC) is the voice of civil society at the OECD Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP)
CSISAC's mission is to contribute constructively to the policy work of the and to promote the exchange of information between the OECD and the civil society participants most active in the information technology field. Information from the OECD will provide civil society participants with a stronger empirical basis to make policy assessments; inputs into research and policy development from civil society will provide the OECD with the essential perspective of stakeholders "at the receiving end" of policy. Strengthening the relationship between civil society and the OECD will lead to better-informed and more widely accepted policy frameworks.
The CSISAC Steering Committee will represent the CSISAC Membership in the work of the OECD-ICCP. Members of the Steering Committee will have access to all OECD draft documents made available for OECD committee members with the understanding that OECD rules regarding disclosure must be respected. The Steering Committee will also be responsible for assembling ad-hoc working groups who can review OECD policy issues.
The CSISAC Steering Committee will be composed of 8 members, selected either as individuals or as organizations' representatives, and who will serve two-year terms, according to the CSISAC Structure.
The election will be carried out from September 15, 2009 14:00 GMT until September 29, 2009 at 14:00 GMT. The name of the person coordinating the election is Katitza Rodriguez, CSISAC Liaison, katitza AT epic DOT org. The full details of The CSISAC Steering Committee Election Process is available online
February 2, 2009
This is a report on the OECD's consideration of the CSISAC proposal at the ICCP (Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy) meeting that took place in December 2008 in Paris.
By way of background, at the conclusion of the OECD Ministerial conference in Seoul this summer, the Secretary General recommended that the OECD "begin the process of formalizing the participation of civil society and the technical community in the work of the OECD on the Internet economy." This proposal followed many years of effort by civil society organizations at the OECD and the specific recommendation of the civil society groups that participated in the 1998 Ministerial in Ottawa as well as the groups that supported the 2008 Civil Society Declaration in Seoul.
June 30, 2008
The presentations of all the speakers at the OECD Civil Society Forum are now available online. The forum consists of interactive policy round tables, covering the future of the Internet from 5 perspectives: the Human and political dimension; Towards a better future – Decent work, social justice and sustainable development in a global Internet economy; Fueling creativity and access to knowledge (A2K); Ensuring consumer and privacy protection and benefiting from convergence
