Groups that fought anti-piracy bills post their ‘Declaration of Internet Freedom’
A coalition of more than 100 cyber liberties groups and Internet advocates unveiled a set of five principles on Monday aimed at protecting the openness of the Internet.
Called the “Declaration of Internet Freedom,” the five baseline principles are meant to guide lawmakers as they craft legislation impacting the Web. Supporters of the principles, including Public Knowledge and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, want to solicit feedback from the public this summer and hope lawmakers will sign on as supporters.
“This declaration is not a set of policies — it’s intended to inspire policy,” Free Press Internet Campaign Director Josh Levy told reporters on a conference call.
The groups hope the principles will prevent legislation similar to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), legislation they opposed earlier this year with a series of online protests. Critics of SOPA and PIPA argued the bills would result in censorship on the Web and stunt innovative start-ups.
