Internet Society releases a Request for Comments on Access

'This document expresses the Internet Society's ideology that the Internet really is for everyone. However, it will only be such if we make it so,' writes Vint Cerf.

He describes the internet as 'one of the most powerful amplifiers of speech ever invented', offering 'a global megaphone for voices that might otherwise be heard only feebly, if at all.' It invites and facilitates multiple points of view and dialogue in ways unimplementable by the traditional, one-way, mass media and can facilitate democratic practices in unexpected ways. Cerf cites proxy voting for stock shareholders as an example and suggests there are ways to simplify and expand the voting franchise in other domains, including the political, as access to the internet increases.

But the document warns that many factors are potential obstacles to access for all - including its usability. The internet will not be for everyone:

- if it is too complex to be used easily by everyone. 'Let us dedicate ourselves to the task of simplifying the Internet's interfaces and to educating all that are interested in its use.'

- if it isn't affordable by all that wish to partake of its services, 'so we must dedicate ourselves to making the internet as affordable as other infrastructures so critical to our well-being'.

- if it cannot keep up with the explosive demand for its services, 'so we must dedicate ourselves to continuing its technological evolution and development of the technical standards that lie at the heart of the internet revolution'.

- until 'in every home, in every business, in every school, in every library, in every hospital in every town and in every country on the globe, the internet can be accessed without limitation, at any time and in every language'.

- if legislation around the world creates a thicket of incompatible laws that 'hinder the growth of electronic commerce, stymie the protection of intellectual property, and stifle freedom of expression and the development of market economies'.

- if its users cannot protect their privacy and the confidentiality of transactions conducted on the network. 'Let us dedicate ourselves to the proposition that cryptographic technology sufficient to protect privacy from unauthorized disclosure should be freely available, applicable and exportable.'

- if parents and teachers 'cannot voluntarily create protected spaces for our young people for
whom the full range of internet content still may be inappropriate'.

- if we are not responsible in its use and mindful of the rights of others who share its wealth. 'Let us dedicate ourselves to the responsible use of this new medium and to the proposition that with the freedoms the Internet enables comes a commensurate responsibility to use these powerful enablers with care and consideration.'

Associated Link: The full text of Cerf's rfc

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