"10 Internet Rights and Principles" launched

The Internet Rights and Principles Coalition (IRP) – an open network of individuals and organisations working to uphold human rights in the Internet environment – has been working for many months to develop rights-based principles to govern the Internet. Those draft principles are now out.

The Internet Rights and Principles have launched the "10 Internet Rights and Principles" – ten key rights and principles which must form the basis of Internet governance. The principles are rooted in international human rights standards, and derive from the coalition's emerging Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet.

The Internet offers unprecedented opportunities for the realisation of human rights, and plays an increasingly important role in our everyday lives. It is therefore essential that all actors, both public and private, respect and protect human rights on the Internet. Steps must also be taken to ensure that the Internet operates and evolves in ways that fulfill human rights to the greatest extent possible. To help realise this vision of a rights-based Internet environment, the 10 Rights and Principles have been developed and published here.

The Dynamic Coalition on Internet Rights and Principles aims to make human rights on the Internet and their related duties, specified from the point of view of individual users, a central theme of Internet governance policy and processes.