Elements And Principles Of The Information Society

Elements and Principles of the Information Society

Elements and principles of the information society

Foreword

This paper on “Elements and Principles of the Information Society”, was prepared by Claudia Sarrocco (), under the supervision of Tim Kelly, Head, Strategy and Policy Unit. We would like to thank Joanna Goodrick, who edited the paper, and Yves Courrier, who provided us with his useful insights. This study is intended to provide a background resource for the forthcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and is not an official document of the WSIS preparatory process. Comments can be sent to .

The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the International Telecommunication Union or its members. More details can be found on the ITU website at: www.itu.int/osg/spu/wsis-themes

Table of contents

Introduction 5

1 Vision 5

1.1 Universal service and universal access 5

1.2 Equality of opportunity 7

1.3 Content diversity 7

1.4 Freedom of expression and freedom of access 8

2 Access: reliable, affordable and secure 8

2.1 Building the infrastructure 8

2.1.1 Convergence 9

2.1.2 Interconnection, standards and frequencies management 10

2.2 Enabling environment: policy, regulation and cooperation 11

2.2.1 Regulatory Framework 11

2.2.2 Private investment 12

2.2.3 Cooperation and public sector participation 12

2.2.4 Regional cooperation 13

2.2.5 Technology transfer 14

2.3 User and operator protection: legal issues 14

2.3.1 Intellectual property rights 14

2.3.2 Privacy, data and network security 15

2.4 Developing human capacity: education in ICTs and ICTs for education 15

3 Applications 16

3.1 E-commerce 17

3.2 E-education 18

3.3 E-health 18

3.4 E-government 19

3.5 ICTs: A multi-purpose instrument… 19

4 Conclusions: building the society of the future 20

Bibliography 21

Introduction

Ever since the 1980s, ‘information society’ has been one of the key terms used to describe today’s world. It has been employed variously as a social, cultural, economical and technical concept, and is typically seen as the natural development of the European liberal tradition, or of American technological modernity. Whether welcome or undesired, the information society is here, and it is therefore essential to clearly define its fundamental characteristics and principles.

This document is based on a number of declarations of principles and reports on information and communication technologies (ICT) and the information society.[1] Principles have been organized under three main sections, depending on their purpose: the “vision” which includes the main common principles at the basis of the information society; “access” where more specific requirements for the establishment of the information society are listed; and “applications”, illustrating the many dimensions of the information society. A synthesis of the main points is provided in the table in Annex 1.

1 Vision

ICTs represent to today’s world what industrial machines represented during the industrial revolution; they have revolutionized ways of working, transformed the economy, had an irreversible impact on the way people live, and have shaped a new “information” society.

Information and communication technologies are seen by various different bodies of the international community as being, inter alia:

- a bridge between developed and developing countries [DOI and DOT Force]

- a tool for economic and social development [WTDC 1994, Seoul Declaration, ADF 02]

- an engine for growth [The Missing Link Report, 1984];

- the central pillar for the construction of a global knowledge-based economy and society [Florianopolis Declaration];

- an opportunity for countries to free themselves from the tyranny of geography [ESCAP 2000].

The fundamental role of ICTs in the information and knowledge society is widely recognized, as is the fact that there is unequal distribution and sharing of this technology and of access to information. From this comes the first and most important principle for the information society: universal service.

1.1 Universal service and universal access

In an environment where information and knowledge are crucial to social and economic development, access to information and the means to use that information needs to be extended to everyone, everywhere. For this reason, universal access or universal service are a fundamental point of all declarations, in particular with reference to the needs of developing countries, where the information society both opens up great potential for development and poses new risks, widening disparities between and within countries. [2]

Universal service is the long-term objective of making communication facilities available to every member of society on an individual or household basis, and it is used in particular in the regulatory-legislative framework to indicate the obligation of telecommunication operators to provide their services to the entire population.[3]

However, the objective of universal service is still far from turning into reality in developing countries, and the universal service concept has been complemented by the concept of universal access, i.e. the opportunity for everyone, at home or at work, to be within a reasonable distance of a telephone.[4] In fact, to connect the majority of the poor, especially those living in rural and remote areas (around 80 per cent of world’s poor are rural dwellers), requires innovative approaches, including a shift from individual connectivity, which has been prevalent in developed countries, to community connectivity. Group or community connectivity, and the establishment of public access points,[5] will enable users to have access to information and knowledge at minimal cost in areas which are not currently served, so that, in the terms of the Missing link report, the whole of mankind will be within an easy reach of a telephone, fax and Internet access. Public access points are indeed the first step toward universal service, and also contribute to raising public awareness about the benefits of communication and information technology—possibly even providing opportunities to acquire computer skills and training.

The necessity of universal access to information services is stated in several declarations, which stress the need to broaden access to and use of ICTs, declaring that everyone, everywhere should be enabled to participate in the global information society.

The term “universal access”, however, sometimes also assume social, economic and cultural connotations, encapsulating issues concerning equality of opportunities, literacy, diversity of content, and so on. This connotation principle alone would appear to be too vague and could lose its force as a basic principle in the information society, especially considering that there are other principles (illustrated below) specifically dealing with the above-mentioned issues. Universal access should therefore be interpreted as material and physical access to information infrastructure and services.[6]

Lack of infrastructure, according to a Statement from Developing Countries in the DOT Force, “[is] one of the major challenges developing countries have to face in their efforts to access ICTs as a tool for development”.[7] The principle of “universality” should therefore be limited to the need to develop this infrastructure.

In addition to the need for universal service, several declarations mention the necessity of giving particular attention to the development of telecommunication infrastructures in rural and remote areas, where the telecommunication system is inadequate to sustain essential services—or where there is no service at all, but which are often home to a high percentage of the population. This is especially true in developing and least developed countries, with the latter requiring special attention.

1.2 Equality of opportunity

The physical existence of infrastructures is essential but not sufficient for development of the information society: factors of gender, level of education and literacy, household income, language, race and ethnicity are all critical determinants of ICTs utilization and access within countries, whence the necessity to promote equality of opportunity to citizens, and in particular to encourage the participation of weaker categories in the use of ICTs.[8]

Each country should also promote measures “to help people of every age, background and location and level of physical ability to access ICTs”,[9] and States should “actively involve the youth in national and regional ICT activities; ensure better gender balance in ICT use while instituting specific programmes that address the need of women particularly those aimed at rural and disenfranchised areas.”[10]

The use of voice and touch screen applications that enable a greater number of people to access ICTs and the development of applications and content suited to local needs, harness the potential of information and communication technologies, enabling the population to participate in the information society.[11]

1.3 Content diversity

Content is a fundamental element for the utilization of ICTs. Development of local content on the Internet is a means to ensure a culturally and linguistically diverse cyberspace, and this diversity is also an important part of our cultural heritage and has to be protected. ICTs provide new channels for the expression of this diversity and for the worldwide dissemination of locally created content.

Diversity of content on the Internet would enable the participation of all and ensure sustainable access, realizing the full potential of the Internet as a source of information and knowledge. Appropriate content would also benefit the utilization of ICTs for educational purposes, training and human resources development.[12]

The quality and variety of content is of “great importance to encourage more people to join online activities”, and “special emphasis should be placed on the promotion of applications that are useful for various languages, such as translation, as well as development and distribution of contents that reflect local cultural or linguistic characteristics.”[13] The Bamako Declaration acknowledged the continent's rich cultural diversity and urged that it should be reflected in cyberspace, affirming the need to “invest in African media content as well as new technologies and develop independent production.”[14]

The production of local, national and regional content in native languages, and the location of that content on regional servers, can also help in rationalizing access for local and regional traffic and promoting its exchange via the most direct route.[15]

Creation of local content, with the help of the international community and the collaboration of the private sector, should therefore be given high priority.[16]

“The information society should serve the cultural enrichment of all citizens through diversity of content reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of our peoples. Diversity of content, including cultural and linguistic diversity, should be promoted. The private sector should therefore develop and build information networks with abundant capacity to accommodate a wealth of information, both locally produced and that developed in other regions and nations.”[17]

1.4 Freedom of expression and freedom of access

Communications can be a vehicle for the implementation of the principle of freedom of expression,[18] as stated in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

For the creation of the global information society, it is essential to safeguard plurality of opinions,[19] and to promote “open access to networks for service and information suppliers” and “free expression of ideas”[20]. This freedom should then be coupled with the right of the public to have access to "information […] which is disseminated in all media including new multimedia systems.”[21]

2 Access: reliable, affordable and secure

Access to information and knowledge is essentially determined by connectivity, capabilities, and content. It is in these three areas that urgent action is required to ensure full access to ICTs for developing countries. Furthermore, unless connectivity and access are affordable, reliable and secure, prospects for development of the knowledge economy are dim.

2.1 Building the infrastructure

Where necessary, and particularly in developing countries, physically building up the infrastructure to access to the global information society is the first step. This is then followed by optimizing the use of the information and communication infrastructure through convergence of technologies, interconnection among different networks, standardization and management of scarce resources (such as the frequency spectrum).

In most developing countries, lack of infrastructure and connectivity are still the biggest challenges to the development of the information society. Very often, infrastructures fail to meet local demand and cannot guarantee a reliable access to global communication networks, therefore, immediate steps have to be taken “for the development of the basic infrastructure necessary for connectivity including for most remote areas.”[22] The Tokyo Declaration affirms the urgent need “to develop the necessary infrastructure that will provide access to such resources as the Internet” with the encouragement and support of government and international community, where appropriate.[23]

The same is stated by African countries, affirming that communication infrastructures are integral components of regional integration and that “strategies need to be developed to improve connectivity and […] develop more efficient communications”.[24]

Representatives of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have declared the necessity to design and implement public programmes with a view to building up physical infrastructure and paving the way for widespread access to digital networks. The promotion of the development of state-of-the-art national and regional communication infrastructures will lead to “upgrading the “capillarity” of information and communications networks within their various territorial units, substantially upgrading key functions such as applicability and interoperability, and facilitating a swifter diffusion of technological innovations”.[25]

2.1.1 Convergence

The utilization of the optimal mix of technologies is considered a key element for the deployment of the information society.[26] Asia-Pacific countries affirm that, in order to effectively promote the balanced development of information and communication infrastructure, taking into consideration the geographic and economic diversities of Asia-Pacific countries, it is necessary to use “different technologies and equipment according to local conditions, as well as to take account of changes such as technological convergence.”[27]

As pointed out by the Valletta and Istanbul Declarations, convergence is opening up new perspectives for the ICT sector, offering opportunities for e-learning, e-commerce, e-government, e-health, environmental protection, post-war reconstruction and many other applications which are highly beneficial for social cultural and economic development.[28] Owing to the tremendous and multiple impacts on nations and individuals, there is growing attention to multimedia convergence, and more recent declarations are taking this into account in the definition of new telecommunication regulations and development strategies.[29] Technological convergence is also leading to greater optimization of costs, thus leaving scope for cost reduction and resulting in greater network access.[30]