Surprisingly good coverage for the WaPo on an upcoming UN-ish based conference aimed at wresting control of the internet away from the US. Of course, with the usual suspects are involved in this for reasons having little or nothin gto do with smooth administration of the net.
Delegates from around the world will gather next week in Tunisia for what is known as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Few people are aware of WSIS’s existence, its mission or the purpose of this conference. That is unfortunate…
The chief problem appears to be is that the US allows too much free flow of information – and LOTS of thuggish governments have a real problem with a severe information allergy!
…the principal agenda item calls for a wholesale change in governance of the Internet that could lead to a significant setback for global freedom of information.
But demands are growing for the “internationalization” of Internet governance. To this end, a number of countries are pressing to remove oversight from ICANN and place it under the auspices of a new organization that would be part of the U.N. system. Advocates of this arrangement make no claims that the current system is flawed. Instead, they focus on the supposed “injustice” or “inappropriateness” of a system overseen by an American agency.
As far as the Chief is concerned, “That dog just won’t hunt!”
And there is an ulterior motive behind the clamor for change…the coalition of U.N member states making the loudest noise for change. Among them are regimes that have taken measures to control their citizens’ access to the Internet and have championed global controls over Internet content. These include some of the world’s most repressive states: Cuba, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Other governments have weighed in to support U.N. oversight, either out of anti-Americanism, a reflexive commitment to international governance or a belief that Internet content needs to be reined in.
With the sterling examples of UN integrity like the Iraq oil deals, and the UN Peacekeeping Piece-seeking Forces’ sex scandals, the last thing this world needs is the UN (dis-)Organization in charge of the internet.
It is no secret why Iran, China and Cuba are lobbying so desperately to replace ICANN: The Internet has proven a potent weapon against state repression. In an age of media concentration, it has contributed mightily to democratization of the means of communication. It nullifies totalitarian schemes to monopolize the airwaves; in the age of the Internet, the total control portrayed by George Orwell in “1984” is simply impossible in all but the most hermetically sealed countries.
As far as the Chief is concerned, “This dog just won’t hunt!”, and apparently even the WaPo agrees:
Given the stakes involved, it is incumbent on the world’s democracies to stand firm against efforts to undermine this critical instrument of free ideas.
Hear, hear!