18 June 2008
OECD aims to build confidence in Internet economy
The OECD on Wednesday announced it will work with countries and international organisations to improve policies for the Internet economy and increase international co-operation on issues such as cybercrime and security.
OECD member countries, the European Community and ministers from Chile, Egypt, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Latvia, Senegal and Slovenia at a meeting in South Korea’s capital, declared their commitment to working together to stimulate innovation, competition and investment in information and communications technology. They aim to build confidence in and secure the future of the Internet economy.
The Seoul Declaration came at the close of the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy. Participants agreed on the need for governments to work closely with business, civil society and technical experts on policies that promote competition, empower and protect consumers, and expand Internet access and use worldwide.
“Given that this infrastructure has become critical to our economies and societies, we should all engage in developing better, more broad-based, governance arrangements and policies,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría in the closing session.
He called for a new approach to drawing up these policies. “A more decentralised, networked approach to policy formulation for the Internet economy that includes the active participation of stakeholders.”
From: BusRep.co.za
