Yahoo!’s human right summit was kicked off by Ory Okolloh with an inspiring account of the role of new media during the post-election violence in Kenya, which she described as a story about the Internet and the possibilities around it, and a case against stanching information flows. The diverse and inspiring participants highlighted old friends like Global Voices, new friends, emerging platforms, and nascent projects. The crowd could not help but be reminded why we’ve waxed enthusiastic about the promise of Internet technologies as a catalyst for development, democracy and human rights.

In the face of this promise — perhaps due to it — the focus was actually on the tensions around freedom of expression and privacy. While a disconcerting theme emerged around the recent backsliding on these rights by early Internet adopters, the activists from Bahrain, Ethiopia, India, and Kenya made clear that the trends in the Global South were the overriding concern.

There was discussion throughout on the Global Network Initiative, of which Yahoo! is a co-founder, along with a host of great companies, NGOs, academics and investors, with a good measure of support, and no shortage of hard questions about global inclusion, progress to date, and what success looks like.

The substance of day was compelling, but not especially novel; indeed, Soul of the New Machine was going on simultaneously. Very much out of the ordinary, however, were the setting and the participants — ranging from dreaded competitors and other businesses, to some of Yahoo!’s toughest critics, and its own employees (who posed some of the most thoughtful questions). We converged at Yahoo! for a discussion of areas where they’ve admittedly learned some very painful and public lessons, something CEO Carol Bartz and General Counsel Mike Callahan both acknowledged in their remarks. What felt significant here, was the committed and open manner in which the company is moving ahead.

While welcoming critics was a valuable step, I believe the greatest impact will come from bringing Yahoo! employees together to consider both the threats to human rights and power of the Net, helping them to understand their (and our) importance in helping to change the world.

Colin Maclay
Managing Director, Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society