Global Internet Liberty Campaign Open Society Institute/Internet Program Press Release Contact: H. Juergen Hess OSI-Internet Program (212) 887-0602 Barry Steinhardt ACLU (212) 549-2508 Marc Rotenberg EPIC (202) 544-9240 Daniel J. Weitzner CDT (202) 637-9800 For Immediate Release With support from the Open Society Institute On-line Community is Coming Together Around Common Goals New York, NY -- September 2, 1997 -- The Open Society Institute (OSI) announced today that it has awarded a major grant for funding of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign. The Global Internet Liberty Campaign (GILC), a coalition of organizations* from around the world, works to promote and protect free speech, privacy, equality of access, and liberty on the global Internet. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) are playing a leadership role in building GILC. GILC's goal is to secure cyber rights around the world through a comprehensive program of public education and outreach, policy advocacy, dialogues between the Internet human rights community and policymakers, and coalition building. GILC has already demonstrated the effectiveness of the coalition approach with a major conference in Paris for delegates of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Among the new projects GILC will be involved in, utilizing the OSI grant, are: producing a regular on-line newsletter, featuring international human rights issues affecting cyberspace (The GILC Alert); organizing GILC events; promoting cyber liberties issues at international conferences; producing and disseminating policy reports; expanding the GILC web site, to make it the premier, one-step resource on international cyber rights issues; and promoting on-line activist campaigns around the world. OSI's grant will also make it possible for GILC to expand its membership in the post-Communist countries and the developing world. "Besides these activities, the major goal of GILC is to bring the on-line community together around common goals to promote openness and to protect personal freedom in the new communications world," commented Marc Rotenberg, Director of Electronic Privacy Information Center. "For the first time, an association has been created to unify the human rights and civil liberties organizations of the on-line world and to speak with a strong, unified voice," said Jonathan Peizer, Chief Information Officer of OSI. "We are supporting GILC as it is becoming increasingly clear that governments from around the world are taking steps that could severely limit free expression and personal privacy -- building blocks of an open society in the information age. Thus we see GILC's role as an information resource for policy makers to help them make sensible and intelligent Internet policy," he continued. Barry Steinhardt, Associate Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation added that "there are no borders in cyberspace. Actions by individual governments and multi-national organizations can have a profound effect on the rights of citizens around the world. Users of the Global Internet must work together to protect freedom of speech and the right of privacy. Thus the member organizations of GILC have banded together to promote human rights and civil liberties on the net." "As countries around the world continue to implement restrictions on Internet use, and as multi-national groups like the OECD, G-8, and the European Union discuss the development of international regulations, it is imperative that citizens from around the world mobilize on behalf of cyber liberties. Because our work has proved effective, and because we are concerned with the long-term effects of international policies relating to the most important communications medium of our future, the ACLU, EPIC, CDT, now joined by OSI, have developed a strategy to build the GILC coalition and protect liberty on the Internet," said Daniel Weitzner, Deputy Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. GILC can be found on the World Wide Web at . The GILC web site will be a central clearinghouse for people all around the world looking for information on cyber rights issues. It currently provides extensive materials, including international agreements, legal documents, research materials, and information useful for on-line organizers. The Open Society Institute--New York is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that promotes the development of open societies around the world, both by running its own programs and by awarding grants to others. The Open Society Institute--New York develops and implements a variety of U.S.-based and international programs in the areas of educational, social, and legal reform, and encourages public debate and policy alternatives in complex and often controversial fields. The Open Society Institute--New York is part of an informal network of more than 30 autonomous nonprofit foundations and other organizations created and funded by philanthropist George Soros. The Open Society Institute can be found on the World Wide Web at . # # # *A complete list of GILC's current membership is attached. Global Internet Liberty Campaign Member Organizations Associazione per la Libert… nella Comunicazione Elettronica Interattiva (ALCEI) American Civil Liberties Union Amnesty International USA Arge Daten Association des Utilisateurs d'Internet Bevcom Internet Technologies Center for Applied Legal Studies of South Africa (CALS) Center for Democracy and Technology CITADEL-EF France Committee to Protect Journalists CommUnity - The Computer Communicators Association Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) CypherNet Derechos Human Rights Digital Citizens Foundation Netherlands EFF-Austin Electronic Frontiers Australia Electronic Frontier Canada Electronic Frontier Foundation Electronic Frontiers Houston Electronic Privacy Information Center Forum InformatikerInnen fuer Frieden und gesellschaftliche Verantwortung (FIfF) e.V. F”rderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft (FITUG) Fronteras Electronicas Espa¤a (FrEE) Human Rights Watch Internet Society NetAction OpenNet Open Society Institute Peacefire Privacy International quintessenz e-zine XS4ALL Foundation The following is an attached File item from cc:Mail. It contains information that had to be encoded to ensure successful transmission through various mail systems. To decode the file use the UUDECODE program. --------------------------------- Cut Here ---------------------------------