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    7.
    2010

  • Switzerland must act on digital policy

    admin

    The media campaign against Wikileaks and its impact on Switzerland 1 have prompted us to appeal directly to the Federal Council with this open letter.

    The Wikileaks publishing platform calls into question the ability of authorities and institutions to keep classified information secret. These organisations should serve the public; they should also be accountable to the people that fund them. With regard to privacy, this can be misused by the state. Greater transparency makes the abuse of power more difficult.

    The more comprehensively a society is informed about the news of the day, the better it understands the international ramifications, and the more it is able to access this information, the better able the people are to take part in the democratic process. All three of these points require the media to act as a watchdog. Investigative journalism is necessary not to indiscriminately reveal secrets, but to unmask lies. It is precisely this investigative journalism that has been neglected in recent years due to cost pressure 2, and civil activist players like Wikileaks have emerged to fill the gap. These activities seem to be necessary at the moment and they need to be protected by a prudent digital policy.

    That the governments of other countries are interfering in our own media landscape is a serious matter. The censorship of media is still taboo, but nevertheless behind-the-scenes economic and political pressure seem commonplace. Switzerland must resist outside interference and remain strictly neutral. Swiss service providers, like PostFinance or the independent non-profit organisation SWITCH (that acts as the state registry for the .ch domain) will be put under pressure 3. What has happened in the US – political pressure leading to the suppression of free speech by private companies like PayPal, Amazon, EveryDNS and Tableau 4 - should not be allowed to happen in Switzerland. For all these reasons a consistent and uncompromising digital policy is needed.

    The balance between transparency and the right to privacy must always be considered in the light of the prevailing balance of power. Those that have more power should give up some privacy in order to facilitate accountability. Conversely, a basic right of privacy should be granted to those without power: in their position they are not accountable to anyone. Before the ubiquity of global networks one worked to maintain a well-groomed appearance to the outside word. In a virtual world with lightning quick exchange of information, control of one’s own identity is quickly lost and the data takes on a life of its own. A profile on a social networking site is easy to create and your latest photos are quickly uploaded. As our identity in the virtual space expands, problems occur at different levels. Where is the data stored? Who trains young people to take control of their web identity? What happens to personal data after death? Who has access to the data? The answer to these and many other questions is a comprehensive digital policy.

    The undersigned from political and civil society request the Federal Council to make the formulation of a digital policy a priority. This must clearly set out a position for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. We urge you to counter the interventions by the US and their ambassador in Switzerland 5. On the grounds of digital politics, the question of asylum for Julian Assange should be examined.

    Signees

    • Fanti, Sébastien - Rechtsanwalt
    • Fouquet, Pascal - Präsident Piratenpartei Bern
    • Gloor, Pascal - Vizepräsident Piratenpartei Schweiz
    • Gregr, Michael - Präsident Piratenpartei Zürich
    • Lang, Josef - Nationalrat Grüne, Mitglied APK und SIK
    • Mäder, Brenda - Präsidentin Junge Freisinnige, Vorstand FDP
    • Meury, Cedric - Präsident Piratenpartei beider Basel
    • Noser, Ruedi - Nationalrat FDP
    • Simonet, Denis - Präsident Piratenpartei Schweiz
    • Wäckerlin, Marc - Gemeinderat Winterthur der Piratenpartei Schweiz
    • Wermuth, Cédric - Präsident JUSO, Vizepräsident SP Schweiz
    • Geri Müller, Nationalrat, Mitglied der Aussenpolitischen Kommission (APK-NR)
      Mitglied der Sicherheitspolitischen Kommission (SiK-NR)

     

    • Jungfreisinnige schweiz
    • Piratenpartei Schweiz
Submitted by admin on 7 December, 2010 - 19:20