Thread: U.N. loses bid for control of Internet (OT)

This may appear again, and is a horibble thing to have happen.


November 16, 2005
U.N. loses bid for control of Internet
Steve Rosenbush

The United Nations has lost its bid to take control of the Internet. That's a good thing, because it was a poor idea at every level. According to a CNN dispatch from a global summit in Tunisia, the U.N. based its argument on the need to close the "digital divide" that separates rich and poor nations. But it's hard to understand how U.N. control over domain names and technical issues would help poorer nations make fuller use of technology. The U.N. certainly hasn't been a factor in the growth of the Internet in the U.S. or Europe. And I doubt the U.N. has made a difference in Internet usage in China or India. In each case, the growth of the Internet has been linked to domestic economic, social and political forces. Transfering control of the Internet won't close the digital divide. But it would create more opportunities for repressive governments to crack down on the flow of information inimical to their interests. The CNN story ends with a grim reminder of how blunt, physical force is still used to restrain free expression. The story says:

"Ahead of the summit, rights watchdogs say, both Tunisian and foreign reporters have been harassed and beaten. Reporters Without Borders says its secretary-general, Robert Menard, has been banned from attending."

Tunisia has just 12 phone lines per 100 people, compared to more than 60 in the U.S. and more than 70 in Switzerland, according to a 2003 report by the International Telecommunications Union. It's unlikely that Tunisia or any other developing country will close the digital or economic divide until it creates an environment where reporters aren't beaten. [note from editor: can we make an exception for you?] The thought of turning over management of the Internet to an organization like the U.N., which gives full voice to such regimes, would do nothing to close the digital divide or promote the free flow of information.

P.S. I'd link to the 2003 report, but the ITU, which is run by the UN, won't let me copy the address.

02:57 PM


http://www.businessweek.com/the_thre...es_bid_fo.html


UN showdown over control of net
Simon Hayes
NOVEMBER 15, 2005
THIRD-WORLD despots and European Union bureaucrats will push to take over the internet this week, with a United Nations summit in Tunisia set to hear plans to strip the US of control of the network it invented.

With Iran calling for the internet to be run on a more "democratic" basis and Saudi Arabia urging better "supervision" of the internet, the World Summit on the Information Society - which begins in Tunis tomorrow - promises to be fiery.

Paul Twomey, an Australian who heads the US-backed Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will be challenged by diplomats from nations such as Senegal and Cameroon.

Third-world nations have turned their attention to the net despite the pressing challenges of poverty and civil war.

Backed by the EU, they want control taken from the US and handed to the UN. At stake is the US Department of Commerce's grip on the internet through its agreement with the Los Angeles-based ICANN, a private company it contracted to run the domain names system.



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ICANN operates the domain name and root server system through an agreement with the US Department of Commerce that expires next year.

The organisation answers to elected representatives from the internet community.

Mr Twomey, formerly a senior Australian public servant, said delegates, who met for informal meetings in Tunis yesterday, were trying to find issues they agreed on before the summit began.

"Ambassador Khan, the chairman, is pushing people to stop just stating their position and start trying to work together," he said.

"The positions start quite far apart."

A preparatory meeting in Geneva last month turned into a circus after delegates disrupted talks by banging on tables to interrupt speakers.

Delegates representing business interests were refused permission to speak in some sessions after government delegates from developing countries objected.

The summit will deal with a long shopping list from a range of countries, some of which have few internet users.

Countries from the middle east, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, are concerned about content on the web, and US control.

The Saudis want more supervision of the internet.

African nations have banded together to seek more financial support for developing countries that have been left behind in the online race, while Russia and the former Soviet states are concerned about US control.

Australia, which backs the US, has warned a UN-run internet would be "hierachical and bureaucratic".

"Where there are issues that need to be discussed, we should seek to use existing institutions, enhanced as necessary," an Australian submission to the summit reads.

The Australian


http://australianit.news.com.au/arti...nbv%5E,00.html

rakishoner,
Great News! Thanks!

After reading the little bit I read today about agenda 21, all of this falls into place. Now I see why christianity is under attack, why our borders are wide open, why jobs are being outsourced. The citizenery matters not!

The UN hates it because they cant control what type of content can be shared and their lies aren’t secret. Its all a game for those that want to control their content and keep their people in the dark about the rest of the world and how they lived compared their own situation. How sad it is when you have countries demanding control, yeah ok! We built it and they aren’t going to take over it! Its unbelievable what the UN does or tries to do all in the name of the poor. What does the poor have to do with the Internet? Its basically free info and technology for those countries that don’t have it. What is someone that has a goat and hut have anything to do with Internet and how will help that poor person improve their lives? Perhaps they should work on the massive corruption within their organization perhaps? Just notion!

Also I don’t think they realize either how much it damage the Internet to place into a political origination that wants control of media, lies and the money that is produced from it. Screw that, all they want to do is stop freedom of expression and freedom of speech. It just drives them crazy that they can’t control something.

Pro

Why is such nonsense even being discussed?

The US invented the Internet. Didn't it? I even thnk Al Gore had something to do with the "concept". (Ha)

It's American. It stays American. PERIOD END OF DISCUSSION.

Please don't tell me we pay people to go to meetings to listen to this garbage, do we?

Judy,

The DOD invented the Internet. Al Gore had nothing to do with its concept. That is a an urban legend.

Yes its American made and I hope it always stays in our control.

Yes unfortunately we do send people to the UN because of the this crap.

Pro

Hi Pro!! Thanks for the information about the internet. DOD invented the Internet? I never knew that. I thought it was a group of scientists. Good to know.

Judy,

Brief history of the Internet: http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html

Pro

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Judy,

The DOD invented the Internet. Al Gore had nothing to do with its concept. That is a an urban legend.

Yes its American made and I hope it always stays in our control.

Yes unfortunately we do send people to the UN because of the this crap.

Pro

Darpa along with a couple of Universities created it.. all tax payer funded. As to Al Gore... he just sat on a government board that allowed the interent to be commerially avilable. In the way back you either had AOL, Genie or one of the other dial up services but you didn't have the internet. The internet at that time (mid 80's) was limitd to either colleges or government offices.

As too control its in teh hands of ICANN a non profit org that has NO government control and the DNS servers they control are actually all over the world only a few are in the US. This is so NO one country.. US included can screw with it.

Under the UN they would have total control including the recinding DNS names already assigned. They don't feel that companies back in the 80's that help spread the internet and were first adopters should have the right to their DNS names... you know companies like IBM.com Amazon.com and so on.

There was also talk from the UN to tax downloads or a usage tax. The EU has been toying with this for a few years and feel that super users or people that use more bandwidth should be taxed hirer even though a bandwidth is cheap they feel it would be a great way for rich countries to pay for poor countries teleco infrastructure.

All I have to say to that is.. when these poor countries can get around to feeding their citizens and not kill them in bloody civilwars... I really don't think their citizens are really worried that they aren't able to dowload music to their iPods.

Cmdr-Taco:

Exactly!! It needs to stay the way it is now...NO government controls and FREE.

The UN could decide during civil unrest world wide to SHUT IT DOWN and cut us all off from communication.

I really think that is their objective or any other government entity that might be involved.