Standblog

(I wish I had some time to post this earlier, but vacations got in the way.)

A couple of weeks ago, Mitchell Baker and I have been invited to participate to the eG8 forum, an event which took place in Paris, led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, known for his "three strikes law" that kicks citizens out of the Internet if they share copyrights content and get caught three times:

The two-day e-G8 gathering was an opportunity for debate and collective reflection on a wide number of key themes involving the Internet. They included support for innovation; future development of the Internet; freedom of networks; protection of personal data from cybercrime; protection of minors; and, more broadly, the practical impact of virtual and digital applications on fields as varied as economic growth, job creation, democracy, government administration, education, news and health.

President Sarkozy takes a question from the crowd during the opening session of the eG8 forum

The speaker line-up was quite impressive, including Eric Schmidt (Chairman, Google) and Mark Zuckerberg (CEO, Facebook) and many other CEOs. The fact is that the event was mostly focused on the economic value of the Internet, and therefore missed what is probably the biggest part of the Internet: users, the civil society. In short: us, the people who make the Internet what it is. While participating to the eG8, I had the impression that the attendees were entrepreneurs looking for business opportunities in an Internet that was perceived as a sea of customers. But Internet users are much more than customers. We're participants. Citizens. Human beings.

Mozilla, along with a handful of participants of the civil society, was here to bring a different perspective, following the 9th and 10th principles of the Mozilla Manifesto:

9 - Commercial involvement in the development of the Internet brings many benefits; a balance between commercial goals and public benefit is critical.

10 - Magnifying the public benefit aspects of the Internet is an important goal, worthy of time, attention and commitment.

Mitchell Baker (Mozilla) at the privacy workshop during the eG8 - Paris

Mitchell as she participated to a workshop on privacy, has taken the side of the users. The eG8 has also been an opportunity to meet with the press in order to explain what makes Mozilla a special organization, competing on a market against large commercial organizations, while being mission-driven.

• eG8 - Mitchell Baker - Chairperson of the Mozilla Foundation;
• eg8 - Tristan Nitot - Fondateur Mozilla Europe (actually in French, but available with English subtitles, thanks to the always amazing Universal Subtitles project and members of the French-speaking members of the Mozilla community);
• An invitation to speak on French National Radio the next day for 15mn in a live show
• Mitchell Baker interviewed by Nouvel Obs' (French magazine).

Mitchell Baker (Mozilla) being interviewed by OWNI.eu reporters at the eG8 Forum- Paris

Links to other articles, talks and interventions related to civil society at the eG8:

• Larry Lessig's Keynote given at e-G8 conference, introducing Innovation panel (a must-see, really)
• eG8 - Jeff Jarvis - CUNY Professor in Journalism;
• eG8 - John Perry Barlow - EFF;
• Inside the US-Anglo-French plan to civilize the Internet ;
• Impromptu press conference by a few members of the civil society (transcribed);
• G8: The Internet Take-Over Goes to Deauville;