A new report released by the United Nations Broadband Commission has declared that the Internet is being used as a tool “to inflict harm on women and girls” and called for worldwide action on what it calls “cyber VAWG” because despite the rapidly growing number of women experiencing online violence, only 26% of law enforcement agencies in the 86 countries surveyed are taking appropriate action.
Entitled “Cyber Violence Against Women and Girls: A World-Wide Wake-Up Call”, the report urged governments and industry to work more effectively to better protect the growing number of women and girls who are victims of online threats and harassment.
So while the UN says we need to ‘wake up’ and fight cyber violence, it wants the tech companies to cooperate with law enforcement, implementing takedown procedures, producing transparency reports, and make sure that the termination of abusers’ accounts is possible.
According to The Washington Post, the United Nations proposes that social networks proactively police every profile and post, and that government agencies only “license” those who agree to do so. The report, according to the newspaper, repeatedly suggests that social networks need to opt-in to stronger anti-harassment regimes and that governments need to enforce them proactively.
Excerpts from the report:
“The respect for and security of girls and women must at all times be front and center not only for those producing and providing the content, but also everyone with any role in shaping the technical backbone and enabling environment of our digital society…
“Rigorous oversight and enforcement of rules banning cyber VAWG on the Internet is going to be an essential foundation stone if the Internet is to become a safe, respectful and empowering space for women and girls, and by extension, for men and boys…
“Political and governmental bodies need to use their licensing prerogative to better protect human and women’s rights, only granting licenses to those Telecoms and search engines that supervise content and its dissemination.”
While the UN wants to mobilize the public and private sectors, the proposed plan of action definitely looks like an attempt to transform the Web from a libertarian free-for-all to some kind of enforced social commons.
Don’t get mad that some charlatans spoke at the UN, get mad that they are pushing VAWG as a means to regulate the internet #cyberviolence
— C:\mcintosh (@full_mcintosh) September 25, 2015
There’s so much wrong w/the UN VAWG report it shouldn’t even be considered valid. Just another everlasting vie for control for the internet — stackfl0w (@stackflow33) September 28, 2015
Cyber VAWG: PJ Watson harpoons the beached whale: http://t.co/D4pbD7vBwo
— BrowningMachine (@BrowningMachine) September 28, 2015
This Article (UN Proposes Plan To Censor The Internet To ‘Wake Up The World’) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.
What can we do about it? Avaaz or hacktivism?
Does it really matter what the reasons are for them to engage in this kind of on-line security crackdown? The reasons don’t matter anymore. They have wanted to do this for some time now, it was only a matter of finding the right excuse. Those who can control the flow of information, can control the information. If this plan is engaged, we will have taken one step closer to Orwell’s dystopian future.
I agree, as far as we can get from the dystopia that is 1984 or even John Twelve Hawk’s The Traveller the better.
That’s the stepping stone manipulation technique… Look it up.
Greetings from France
got to be kidding..TO WHERE THIS FUCKING WORLD GOES????
Is that even true??? I think this is kind a means to many ends… more internet surveillance, more monopoly and population control… And it came from UN…
And people should know that creating fake profiles protect them from these situations…
This is only an issue on social media like twitts and Fakebook etc so why censor the whole fucking internet, sounds like big brother is looking for a legal way to spy on everyone. Just censor social media and leave the rest of the Internet alone.
Yea I kinda agree. However to women and girls, you wanna be social creatures have the damn brains to do it at your own risk! Most of these females are posting every detail of their lives on Facebook and so they are attracting people who are going to harass them. Use your damn brains. The internet isn’t about your self ego. Its about information. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to post anything of your personal life on the damn Internet!!
If you can’t figure that out, then perhaps you don’t have the mental capacity to be on the Internet. The Internet wasn’t created for you. It wasn’t created for anyone. It was the result of very smart people with very smart ideas. Facebook is the worst invention for the Internet. Now we got all these people who have no damned clue what the Internet is, but we gotta regulate it now because technology has made it possible for the average idiot to use it. Now we gotta drop everything because all these women and insecure men are posting their daily life on it for everyone (including people like ISIS) can read all about it!
If you don’t wanna be harassed online then DON’T GET ONLINE!!! STOP AND THINK THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN 2 BILLION PEOPLE WATCHING AND READING YOUR POSTS!!! Chances are there are many screwed up people who will harass you if not worse.
Laws always come out to protect the average idiot who just flows with the latest fad because they are too stupid to stop and think for themselves.
The UN doesn’t give a rat’s ass about women’s and girls harassment online. They’ve been looking for an excuse to censor the internet and Sarkeesian and friends just gave it to them. Please people, don’t let this happen. Don’t make the internet loose it’s most important aspect (Freedom of Expression for everyone) because a bunch of professional victims are tired of being contradicted online.
Who cares what the UN wants? The Constitution trumps any UN resolution, so they can go to hell as far I am concerned. The only way they can make this happen is if WE ALLOW IT.
This is just asking people to go onto the deep web just to do normal things.
We all operate under one rule information must be free, any infringement on that is threat to a freedom of thought and speech, however we also must understand that humans in their nature are vicious and society are cowards, who rather give away their freedom for safety. The strong must rise so that the weak are protected, question is who it will be governments or members of society.
We all agree that information must be free, any infringement on that is attack on our freedom of thought and speech. However we need to understand that humans are vicious by nature and society is generally made out of cowards that are willing to give up their freedoms for safety. Someone will provide protection to these people at some point, question is will it be a government or the brave who are willing to stand up and do the right thing. Freedom is not free if we are not responsible with it, world will take it away from us.
To Sazhar, freedom is not free, never has been. Freedom is paid in blood. We are taking one giant step toward to activation of thoughtcrime justice. This is the most terrible of living conditions, and I for one, will not give up my right to think. I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees.
This article is a little too late. The study is behind this push were found to be opinion based and some even fabricated. The lobby group within the UN have been told they have one week to come up with a real scientific justification for the lobbying or the matter will be dropped from even discussion.
Basically the whole thing was a farce.
It’s just another attemp to control the web. Such a pitty…
I’m so done -.- they are really going to spend money on this aren’t they….
out of all the other problems the Un has to address this one is the most important? I fail to see how, quick sum1 save the internet! or kill it so it dosn’t suffer a fate worse than death!
Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize if this is not the right board to say this, but on reading some information this morning, I had to share.
Now, regarding the Canadian federal election, we see more manipulations taking place, as they have in the past. The Robocall scandal in the past is a fine example. Voters go to the appropriate voting enters, and see the ballots are premarked for conservative party selection, even before the vote has taken place. Is this, or is it not, a direct violation of our rights as Canadians according the Charter of Rights And Freedoms to voice our thought unopposed? Certainly I cannot be one of the few to see what’s going on. More people MUST understand what has happened. These actions to change the outcome of the vote, means one thing. It does not mean your vote will not be counted, it means your vote has been rendered irrelevant. The purity of democracy in action, the one area of political activism we all thought was sacred and impartial, has been destroyed. The question now must be asked, how do we EVER trust any politician to act in the best interest of the PEOPLE, when they can’t even protect our most sacred right, our right to choose. I say that as this scandal has presented itself for yet another round of propaganda spins and inter-party blood feasts, and we are now, and have been for some time, living under the banner of dictatorship. The only way the PEOPLE will have a voice is if we stand together at the top of the hill and scream until we can no longer be ignored. It’s time to take a stand.