From: aa319@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Marita Moll) Date: Wed, 31 Aug ******************************************************************* Public Advisory Council on Information Policy (PACIHP) The Virtual Lobby: Enter at Your Own Risk Organized by Marita Moll and Shawn Yerxa CONTENTS 1. What is a virtual lobby? 2. Reasons for starting this project 3. Resources available 4. Timely Advantages 5. PACIHP description 6. Importance of print 7. Who is participating in the discussion? 8. On-line discussions and local action 9. Parting thoughts Appendix A. Window on the World. Bulletin #2 ********************************************************************* 1 What is a virtual lobby? Although most lobby groups have some organization and/or funding sources, "virtual" is not a far fetched description, in this case, as this lobby has neither of these elements. It is simply an attempt by two individuals, with no formal organization behind them, and no money, to use the resources available through the Internet to encourage discussions on information highway policy issues and to promote and facilitate political action on this issue. The many to many communications facility of computer mediated communications seemed an ideal environment in which to attempt such an experiment. 2. Reasons for starting this project The organizors felt that there was a serious need for more public discussion on information highway policy issues, that there was not enough awareness in Canada yet to make sure that the public agenda was part of the debate in official circles. The federal government's appointment of an Advisory Council on Information Highway Policy which was heavily weighted with members representing corporate interests had reinforced this perception. The announcement that the meetings of this Council would be held behind closed doors and that there would be no final report of deliberations left the public shut out of the debate even further. 3. Resources available The organizors felt that they had some resources that would be valuable to such an initiative: -- A reasonable amount of networking experience -- Personal interest in the communications policy and legislation -- Many personal contacts, both local and national -- Access to equipment, both hardware and software, and information sources Above all, they had a passionate desire to try to take some real action against the corporate agenda -- the all out attempt to define the information highway in terms of consumer driven services such as video on demand, games, banking and home shopping. The need to move some of the discussion into the language of citizens rather than consumers and to see more discussion on the communications potential of these technologies, and how these will impact on society seemed essential. As well as personal resources, the new and thriving community network, the National Capital Freenet (NCF), represented an opportunity to access many individuals who could help move the project forward. These included: -- Dave Sutherland, NCF President and member of the Federal Advisory Council, who agreed to act as a courrier, taking information from the network discussion into the Council meetings -- Michael Richardson -- a local system administrator and NCF volunteer who set up a URL site, archived and classified the postings -- Many network activists who contributed ideas, support, and encouragement. -- Many local journalists who had NCF accounts because of the interest in and support for the community network project in the local press. -- Aides and assistants to politicians and bureaucrats who did not yet have Internet access in their offices. 4. Timely advantages The success of lobbying of any nature is highly dependant on timing. The following elements have been important to the success of this project so far: Strong government interest -- partly because of the vigorous debate being carried on south of the border as well as the novelty of a new medium. Strong community network -- its physical location here in Ottawa, the large user base, the interest and support of the local press A newly established Usenet newsgroup -- can.infohighway. It was useful to have access to a newsgroup which was not yet established, in which most of the participants did not yet know eachother, and in which the debate had not yet taken shape. 5. PACIHP Description Following is a description of the PACIHP on-line lobby as it was posted in a FAQ in mid-April ******************************************************************* TERMS OF REFERENCE Provide a forum where members of the community can participate directly in public policy discussions about technical, economic and social questions arising from new electronic communication and information delivery technologies. Develop policy papers reflecting the views presented by the community on these topics. Support members of the community in providing advice to government and regulatory agencies. GOALS Short term: To generate the necessary discussion for the creation of policy papers outlining the concerns of the community with respect to the "information highway" debate. Long term: To demonstrate the significance of online communication by using it to make a direct contribution to public policy in this area. TIME FRAME To begin immediately and continue until such time as the community feels its needs have been represented and views heard. Have the first paper ready for the May 5th meeting of the federal advisory council on the information highway. RESOURCES Newsgroup: Utilize the "can.infohighway" newsgroup as a forum for the discussions. Archive: Establish and maintain a centralized document site for the storage, maintenance, and compilation of discussions, related documents, and other resource material. People: Draw on interested individuals from all sectors of the community to moderate discussions, assist in technical needs, compile data, and provide ongoing support. ******************************************************************* 6. The importance of print a) PACIHP Bulletins The organizers felt that on-line discussions alone would not be enough to attract and retain any kind of interest on the part of policy makers. There would be a need to create a paper product to draw attention to the discussion. Therefore, since the beginning of the project, a one page bulletin has been produced and delivered to the monthly Council meetings by Dave Sutherland. More recently a feedback sheet has been added with direct comments from the newsgroup regarding specific recommendations made by the Council. The text of the second bulletin submitted to the Council in June, 1994 is reproduced in Appendix A. b) Media interest >From the beginning, the organizors felt that on-line and print media, working together, could be a much more powerful force than one or the other alone. On-line discussions are still very exclusive, and print media would benefit from a wider reference point than is usually possible in its current framework. Fortunately, the newsgroup quickly became a favourite landing spot for the media - - both Canadian and U.S. Responding to many questions from journalists has become a time consuming but necessary part of the project. In order to publicize the existance of this lobby effort more widely, the organizors recently took advantage of an offer to submit a paper to a well know Meckler publication Internet Research Journal . This paper, "Notes from the Grassroots: On-line lobbying in Canada" is scheduled to appear in the November 1994 issue. 7. Who is participating in the discussion? During the period between April 15 and July 31st, there were 500 participants. Over 1700 messages were posted. A brief analysis of these postings showed that a large percentage of these postings originated from National Capital Freenet addresses -- a consistant 20% of all postings. To encourage wide participation, the organizors had, early in the project, requested that the newsgroup be made very accessible to the general users. It currently is one of the choices in a popular "general discussion" section just off the main menu. The idea that community networks can play an important role in public policy discussions has been frequently promoted by community networking enthusiasts. The organizors were pleased to find some evidence that this might be the case and intend to work towards seeking more contributions from the other community networks. 8. On-line discussions and local action At this point in the development of computer mediated communications, on-line discussions are a reinforcement to, not a substitute for, local action. Two questions that remain unanswered are: Does participating in on-line political discussions translate into local action? Does watching on-line political discussion translate into local action? Future plans for this project include conducting feedback polls in order to generate information related to these questions. 9. Parting thoughts: For those interested in using on-line tols to promote political action, the on-line medium offers the following strengths: superb mail facilities: Participants can easily communicate with eachother, develop local alliances, create strategies for local action. Organizers can help by clarifying the issues, and providing information to as well as gathering information from the discussion for wider distribution. a bank of excellent writers Many participants in this medium have highly developed writing skills. The production and submission of articles, letters to the editor and opinion pieces destined for the national and local press should be encouraged. An on-line newsletter aimed at bringing the issues to the general net public would be useful. Individuals should be encouraged to download and distribute these in their communities. However, on-line discussions must still be augmented by local activities. A tried and true way to keep activities moving ahead on the local level is to encourage the creation of cells of activists who can meet regularily to discuss appropriate local strategies. Access to computer mediated communications will make the formation of such groups easier and facilitate communication between them. Appendix A A WINDOW ON THE WORLD FOR THE ADVISORY COUNCIL No. 2 >From the Atlantic provinces to the Northwest Territories. Following are some of the opinions and concerns being expressed as Canadians participate in a national on-line debate about information highway policy. Over the last six weeks, more than 1200 messages have been received from individuals in all parts of the nation. Carriers and content Cable and telephone companies are actively seeking mergers with major publishing and entertainment concerns. It seems likely they would like to own the conduits as well as the services carried on them. With our entire communications structure moving in this direction, it could, ten years down the road, be under the complete control of a few mass media corporations. Universal access Our telephone pricing structure, unlike that which has evolved in some other parts of the world, encourages people to use the telephone as a personal communications tool. A fee structure for electronic communications which encourages personal use would promote cross country communications and public participation in discussions affecting individuals on a personal and social level. We also have a tradition of charging increased fees in urban areas to subsidize services in remote areas. Equalizing access to strategic services has always been an important part of our national vision. Public lanes There should always be a public lane on our information highway to which everyone will have access at minimal or no cost. Industries may offer such services initially, but we have no assurance that they will continue to do so, unless mandated by government. Our government has stated that it intends to use the information highway to disseminate information designed for all Canadians. There is an implied obligation to ensurethat such public lanes will always be open. Community networks, which could fill this role, should be actively encouraged right across Canada. Privacy The issue of privacy needs to be addressed. The public is entitled to the same level of security in the electronic medium as has been the tradition with telephone and mail communications. Proper safeguards to protect the public interest must be put in place before, not after, relaxed regulations open up the doors for commercial interests. ***************************************************************** PUBLIC ADVISORY COUNCIL ON INFORMATION HIGHWAY POLICY Organized by: Marita Moll and Shawn Yerxa aa319@freenet.carleton.ca ai435@freenet.carleton.ca _____________________________________________________________________ -- Marita Moll Ottawa, Ontario aa319@freenet.carleton.ca "The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings." (The Book of Tea) -- Garth Graham aa127@freenet.carleton.ca Coordinator, Canadian Community Networks Conference, and founding meeting, Telecommunities Canada, Aug. 15-17, 1994 Box 86, Ashton, Ont., K0A 1B0, 613-253-3497