SUMMER 20116

NICOLAS SARKOZY n ERIC SCHMIDT

The State and the NetThe other great transformation in the world besides the rising power of the emerg-

ing economies has been the ever deeper penetration of the Internet in civil society

and the economy. Alone among world leaders, French President Nicolas Sarkozy

has sought to address the sticky issue of how to “civilize the Internet” in the G-8, a

key forum of global governance which France chairs this year. As a kind of historical

document, in this section we publish Sarkozy’s speech to the leading information

technologists and entrepreneurs he gathered in Paris in May for the first “e-G-8”

Summit. Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, was among the attendees.

We include his report to the 21st Century Council of the Nicolas Berggruen Institute.

have a flag, it does not have a slogan: This revolution is a common good. Unique in

history, this revolution has occurred without violence. The discovery of the New

World brought about the total destruction of American Indian civilizations. The

global revolution that you incarnate is a peaceful one. It did not emerge on battle-

fields but on university campuses.

It arose from the miraculous combination of science and culture and the deter-

mination to acquire knowledge and the determination to transmit it.

With regard to the origins of your sector, legend has it that Google was created

in a garage:The thing I remember most is that Google was born in a university library.

The imaginary world of Hollywood wanted Facebook to be seen as the result of a

failed love affair: We’d like to see many more like that. The thing I remember most is

that Facebook was created at a top-ranking university campus.

The global revolution that

you incarnate is a peace-

ful one. It did not emerge

on battlefields but on

university campuses.

SUMMER 20118

ERIC SCHMIDT, executive chairman of Google, attended the G-8 Summit in

France in late May as a representative of the e-G-8 meeting held a few days before.

Here is a brief excerpt of Schmidt’s report to the 21st Century Council on the prin-

cipal points made by the G-8 leaders:

1. The knowledge society caused the end of the Cold War. Computers and infor-

mation enabled full participation by everyone. This ability for citizens to think

globally is a fundamental part of our democracies.

2. We cannot squelch the innovation power of the Internet. More jobs and com-

merce happen because of it. The freedom of the Internet is a means to

achieve more open participation in society. We need to keep free expression

and the open model of the Internet going.

3. The Internet makes governments more accountable and enables more self-gov-

ernment. It is important to make openness the norm. Liberating government

data has huge and positive benefits for openness, transparency and job creation.

4. The United States is funding $3 billion in R+D for the development of 4G and 5G

technologies. All of the G-8 countries should share and partner with this research.

5. The infrastructure of the Internet is vitally important. The connection of peo-

ple by fiber should be a high priority, regardless of urban or rural scale.

6. More transparent lives do not mean a person gives up his or her privacy

rights. Google Streetview in Germany was cited as an example where 3 per-

cent opted out and 97 percent were satisfied with what Google eventually did.

7. Privacy should not be used as an excuse to regulate content more broadly.

Regulation that we do need must be harmonized more. The European

countries differ among themselves on a number of issues.

“Openness

Must Be

the Norm”

This revolution that went so far as to change our perception of time and space

has played a decisive role in other revolutions. In Tunisia and Egypt alike, mere indi-

viduals were able to overturn a power that was completely discredited by building

virtual barricades and organizing very real rallies. People in Arab countries thus

showed the world that the Internet does not belong to states. International opinion

was able to see that the Internet had become, for freedom of speech, a medium for

expressing unprecedented power.

Like any revolution, the technological and cultural revolution you began holds

promise. Huge promise. Promise that is commensurate with the considerable

progress you incarnate.

Now that this revolution has reached the first stage in its maturity, it should not

forget the promise of its origins.

In Tunisia and Egypt alike,

mere individuals were able

to overturn a power that was

completely discredited by

building virtual barricades

and organizing very real rallies.

SUMMER 2011 9

8. We should be able to protect citizens without setting up barriers to innova-

tion and give citizens the power to control their privacy online. It is particu-

larly important to prevent child pornography on the Internet.

9. Internet censorship (opposed by all the members) is worse than Internet reg-

ulation and should be strongly opposed.

10. Our universities are not turning out enough programmers and Informa-

tion and Communications Technolgies (ICT) professionals to keep up with

the opportunities.

11. It is time to modernize copyright, for example allowing people to use the

copyrighted information on different types of devices they personally own.

12. Cybersecurity is getting more important and countries should review “con-

ventions” (the agreements between the countries) to make sure we all coop-

erate on network and Internet security.

13. Each country has the right to participate in the management of the World

Wide Web and all should act to keep it open and free.

14. Cloud computing enables a whole level of new government services as well

as enhances the openness we value so much.

At the end of the meeting, President Nicolas Sarkozy reminded us that revolutions

can be followed by counter-revolutions and pushed us to resolve the apparent

conflicts over such issues as digital rights. He encouraged information industry

negotiations with his help for digital rights under the operating assumption that

authors’ rights should be paid for, which we all generally agreed. He also men-

tioned the need for a digital tax to help fund infrastructure in our countries.