The first meeting of the Forum on internet governance was held at Athens from 30 October to 2 November. The decision to set up the Forum was taken at the world Summit of Tunis on the information society (WSIS) in November 2005. The Athens meeting, promoted by the UNO, in which the EU was represented by the Commissioner for the Media Viviane Reding, was intended to lay “a milestone on the road of the internationalisation of internet governance, whose objectives are safeguarding freedom on line and filling the digital gap between the countries of the world”. “The opportunity to communicate via internet with the whole world is undoubtedly one of the most positive aspects of globalization”, said Viviane Reding in her opening address in the Greek capital. “But internet can only continue to play a role of democratisation and motor of economic development if freedom of expression and access to information are guaranteed. That’s why the European Commission invites governments and industry throughout the world not to tolerate public restrictions on internet access, nor any form of cyber-repression”. The questions tackled during the debate included: freedom of expression; the free circulation of knowledge; security; cultural diversity and the promotion of multilingualism; and the technical problems of internet (connectivity and costs).
