The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a pair of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information, communication and, in broad terms, the information society that took place in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis.

Just on the eve of the November 2005 Tunis event, the Association for Progressive Communications came out with its stand. (APC is an international network of civil society organizations — whose goal is to empower and support groups and individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), including the internet).

APC said it had participated extensively in the internet governance process at the World Summit on Information Society. It says: Out of this participation and in collaboration with other partners, including members of the WSIS civil society internet governance caucus, APC has crystallized a set of recommendations with regard to internet governance ahead of the final Summit in Tunis in November 2005. APC proposed specific actions in each of the following five areas:

(1) The establishment of an Internet Governance Forum;

(2) The transformation of ICANN into a global body with full authority over DNS management, and an appropriate form of accountability to its stakeholders in government, private sector and civil society;

(3) The initiation of a multi-stakeholder convention on internet governance and universal human rights that will codify the basic rights applicable to the internet, which will be legally binding in international law with particular emphasis on clauses in the universal declaration of human rights specifically relevant to the internet, such as rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and privacy.

(4) Ensuring internet access is universal and affordable. APC argued: "The internet is a global public space that should be open and accessible to all on a non-discriminatory basis. The internet, therefore, must be seen as a global public infrastructure. In this regard we recognize the internet to be a global public good related to the concept of the common heritage of humanity and access to it is in the public interest, and must be provided as a global public commitment to equality."

(5) Measures to promote capacity building in "developing" countries with regard to increasing "developing" country participation in global public policy forums on internet governance.

On September 12, 2011 the Permanent representatives of Russia, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the United Nations jointly sent a letter to the UN Secretary General asking to circulate the Draft International Code of Conduct for Information Security as an official document of the 66th UN General Assembly session.

The main objective of the draft is to determine the code of responsible conduct for states in the area of international information security in the light of challenges and threats of a military-political, criminal and terrorist nature emerging in this space. The document is designed to counter the use of information and communication technologies for purposes incompatible with the objectives of maintaining international stability, peace and security. It is also assumes observance of human rights and freedoms in the information space, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all states as well as creation of multilateral transparent and democratic international Internet governance arrangements.

The Russian Federation, as one of the sponsors, encourages interested parties to participate actively in discussions on this issue. We believe that this initiative will be a first step towards developing a universal document under the UN auspices which would be aimed at providing comprehensive international information security, that would take into account the interests of the international community.

Citerank: (13) 121601Safeguard legitimate expression against censorshipSafeguards must be in place to prevent censorship of legitimate content in cyberspace. Ensuring lawful access for users without discrimination or interference.959C6EF, 121676Ensuring reliable accessEnsuring reliable and resillient access to cyberspace.8FFB597, 121757Cyberspace is no longer a lawless frontierThe digital world is no longer a lawless frontier, nor the province of a small elite. It is a place where the norms of responsible, just and peaceful conduct among states and peoples have begun to take hold.13EF597B, 121823Intellectual property theft threatens national competitiveness1198CE71, 121824Intellectual property theft undermines innovation1198CE71, 121835Netwtork security should not compromise free flow of informationStates should not have to choose between the free flow of information and the security of their networks.959C6EF, 121836End-to-end, worldwide interoperability of the Internet959C6EF, 121883States reserve right to respond by all means necessaryStates possess an inherent right to self-defense, and reserve the right to use all necessary means—diplomatic, informational, military, and economic—as appropriate and consistent with applicable international law iin response to cyberattacks.1198CE71, 121884Open, secure, and reliable cyberspace should be available to allThe virtues of an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable cyberspace should be more available than they are today.959C6EF, 121887Economic policy959C6EF, 121893Stolen IP can amount to billions of dollars of lost valueStolen information and technology can equal billions of dollars of lost value.1198CE71, 121895Harmonize cybercrime laws internationallyHarmonize cybercrime laws internationally by expanding accession to the Budapest Convention.959C6EF, 121901Denounce those who threaten free expression / associationDenounce those who harass, unfairly arrest, threaten, or commit violent acts against the people who use these technologies.109FDEF6

Our Goal: The United States will work internationally to promote an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable information and communications infrastructure that supports international trade and commerce, strengthens international security, and fosters free expression and innovation. To achieve that goal, we will build and sustain an environment in which norms of responsible behavior guide states’ actions, sustain partnerships, and support the rule of law in cyberspace.