Have you heard of The Paris Call? Has Paris called you yet?
It called the US, and the US denied the call. Along with Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. The reasons the US gave were vague. The reasons the others denied the call seem to be pretty obvious.
The US Government states they largely support the “objectives of the Paris Call” but due to certain “ambiguities” it has opted to not endorse it. No specifics were provided.
The Paris Call, full name Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, was initiated by President Macron of France in November of 2018. It is a nonbinding declaration. Most notable are the declarations of welcoming collaboration between governments, as well as affirming a “willingness to work together.” This willingness to work together is directly addressing the “crucial role” that cyberspace and the internet have become in our daily lives. The Paris Call states that it is a “shared responsibility” between a variety of parties, including but not limited to, states and countries. The goal here is to “improve trust, security and stability in cyberspace.”
John Frank, who is the vice president for European Union affairs at Microsoft, stated that “Governments can’t solve this problem (cyber threats) themselves. Companies can’t solve this problem by themselves. Customers can’t solve this problem by themselves. We need to work together.” He feels the US is losing an “opportunity to show leadership in this area.” Washington, Colorado, and Virginia seem to agree as they have endorsed the Paris Call themselves.
There seems to be no specific action behind this Call. It presents itself mostly as a gesture of good will. There are no obligations one makes when signing it, only commitments and reaffirmations. For example:
We reaffirm that the same rights that the people have offline must also be protected online, and also reaffirm the applicability of international human rights law in cyberspace.
Does not signing this gesture of goodwill and peace put America on Santa’s Naughty list? Let us know what you think.