3.1 launch without delay
the preparation of a Council of Europe white paper on democracy,
politics and the Internet, to serve as a major Council of Europe
contribution to the global work on the subject of Internet governance;
3.2 closely associate the Parliamentary Assembly with all
stages of the design and formulation of this white paper;
3.3 involve all the national parliaments and governments of
the member States in the collective discussion process, as well
as the political parties and, where practicable, intelligence agencies,
the main Internet operators, the media – particularly public broadcasting
services and national and European media associations – universities,
human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and associations
defending Internet users’ rights;
3.4 use the Internet and social media for this project in
order to widely consult civil society on how to renew our systems
of representative democracy via the optimum exploitation of the
positive potential of the Internet;
3.5 centre the analysis in particular on the exercise of fundamental
freedoms (individual and collective) and their protection on the
web, and on citizen participation in the decision-making process and
in public life by means of the Internet, and study, in this context:
3.5.1 how best to reconcile three fundamental requirements:
preserving the openness and neutrality of the Internet; protecting
rights to fundamental freedoms and particularly web-surfers’ privacy;
ensuring national security and effective action against crime;
3.5.2 how to use the Internet to reinforce participation of
the general public in the governance of our societies;
3.6 take into consideration in this analysis:
3.6.1 foreseeable
developments, in view of the rapid technological progress in this
field;
3.6.2 the relations between the State and commercial operators
and between the State and citizens, and the networks of relations
among social groups, between commercial companies and users and
between political parties and the electorate;
3.6.3 the existing legislative framework and the gaps that need
to be filled by the development of legal instruments or various
modes of self-regulation, notably in order to prevent manipulation and
use of the Internet for criminal purposes or with a view to destabilising
a democratic regime;
3.6.4 training individuals to use the Internet responsibly in
order to, among other things, protect themselves from specific dangers;
3.7 invite other partners and in particular the European Union
to participate in this project and look into the expediency of involving
the Internet Governance Forum.
