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  • US Keeps Control of Net

    Row over American control of the net avoided


    Tunis : A potentially damaging rift over American control of the Internet was averted hours before a key summit aimed at helping poor countries embrace the net began.

    The three-day World Summit on the Internet Society (WSIS) opened in Tunisia, with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan joining 50 government leaders and about 10,000 participants.

    A deal was struck to resolve the long running row late on Tuesday night when key clauses on the governing of the internet were finally agreed on - however they still mean that the US controls the web.

    These clauses will now be put to the delegates taking part in the WSIS conference for endorsement.

    However, the US will still retain overall control over the internet.

    The talks only led to a proposal for the creation of an Intergovernmental Forum (IGF) which will meet to discuss all internet related issues, including spam and cyber crime.

    There has been a long running row over America’s insistence on controlling the private organisation (ICANN) which currently looks after the infrastructure of the internet.

    The non-profit group polices things like domain names and manages the way in which email servers and web browsers direct traffic around the web.

    Poorer countries have argued that control over the internet should be spread out, and they feel left out of the process.

    http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/Wo...ticleID=192822

  • #2
    Hey look, we invented the thing in the first place ok?
    We stash the cash, we hold the gold!

    OK, jingoistic mode off.....


    ....because a Brit invented the WWW and after all, what part of the Net really counts?. ;)
    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

    Comment


    • #3
      So long as they don't interfere with WAB, it's fine.


      "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

      I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

      HAKUNA MATATA

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      • #4
        The idea of the net being controlled by the UN, or several countries would be a nightmare. The US control isn't great, but it's the best option I know of.
        In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

        Leibniz

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        • #5
          You know Europeans ALWAYS want a piece of the pie especially when it involves money and/or control of something.

          Comment


          • #6
            To be honest I was more concerned about China being able to globalise it's censorship
            In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

            Leibniz

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by parihaka
              To be honest I was more concerned about China being able to globalise it's censorship
              That is too funny to ever imagine.

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              • #8
                I, too, was more concerned that a Chinese form of censorship could be imposed if it went to the UN.


                "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                HAKUNA MATATA

                Comment


                • #9
                  Canada backs continued U.S. control of Internet: Censorship elsewhere feared

                  An international summit will this week see Canada back continued U.S. control of the Internet if that's what it takes to keep censorship-imposing countries such as China and Cuba at bay.

                  While Ottawa generally favours international solutions to global log-jams, officials and activists involved in the World Summit on the Information Society say Canada has had few complaints about U.S. oversight to date.

                  Seeing that control continue would be preferable to surrendering it to a United Nations body that could be hijacked by countries known for limiting freedom of speech, the summit-watchers say.

                  The concern is not without foundation. Countries with poor human rights records have used their position as UN member states to blunt criticism of their activities by the UN Human Rights Commission.

                  After launching the Internet, the United States retained control of the mechanisms behind every mouse click through the California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

                  The non-profit body is in turn overseen by the U.S. Commerce Department, which can veto ICANN decisions.

                  But as the Internet has spread around the world, the call for an end to U.S. control has grown, with countries such as Brazil, China, Cuba, Iran and Saudi Arabia calling for the creation of a UN oversight body.

                  Recently, the European Union joined the chorus, though it has declared the international input must ensure freedom of speech.

                  While Washington initially envisaged giving up control when its contract with ICANN expires next September, it declared in June that ICANN oversight would continue, citing the need to maintain the Internet's security and stability.

                  Canada, though preferring some international oversight, has sympathized with Washington's claim the Internet is better off in U.S. hands than in the hands of a UN body.

                  The fight over the Internet is the most contentious topic at the three-day summit, which gets underway tomorrow in Tunis, Tunisia.

                  "If Canada has to choose between the status quo and some unknown that appears to put Internet governance in play, Canada would very likely stick with the status quo," said Liss Jeffrey, director of the McLuhan Global Research Network at the University of Toronto and a delegate to the first leg of the conference in Geneva in 2003.

                  "Canada does seem to have confidence [in] the United States, and has been very supportive."

                  National Post

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                  • #10
                    The dam' UN.

                    In control of the Internet.

                    May God forbid it.

                    Some of the backers of the measure: Brazil, China, Cuba, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

                    That's really all I need to know.

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                    • #11
                      I've got a question - who controls the net within the US? Is it the federal government or private industry? I know it was invented through an ARPA project, so it started out as a government entity.
                      "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

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                      • #12
                        If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
                        F/A-18E/F Super Hornet: The Honda Accord of fighters.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by shek
                          I've got a question - who controls the net within the US? Is it the federal government or private industry? I know it was invented through an ARPA project, so it started out as a government entity.

                          After launching the Internet, the United States retained control of the mechanisms behind every mouse click through the California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

                          The non-profit body is in turn overseen by the U.S. Commerce Department, which can veto ICANN decisions.
                          I suppose you could say ultimately it's the feds that control it, what with that handy veto in their back pocket.

                          I also like what Bluesman said. Look at the countries that are demanding that the U.S. relinquish control of the Internet. Iran? Cuba? Saudi Arabia? That reads like bad comedy.
                          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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