Limeoutsider
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LONDON (Reuters) - A controversial plan to grant governments broad controls over the Internet has stolen the spotlight of a United Nations conference on IT next week, where China and Cuba will be among its strongest supporters.
Leaders from nearly 200 countries will convene in Geneva for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Dec. 10-12, an inaugural conference with lofty goals to discuss bridging the digital divide and fostering press freedoms.
But a contentious political move to grant an international governing body such as the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) control over Internet governance issues -- from distributing Web site domains to the public to fighting spam -- has all but obscured the more virtuous aspects of the event.
Incubated in a geeky part of the Department of Defense decades ago, the Internet has become a thriving global marketplace since being fully turned over to the private business community in the early 1990s.
But many in the developing world believe a new approach is needed as the medium enters its teen years, one that will see poorer countries harness new technologies to improve their competitive stance.
The most recognizable Internet governance body is a California-based non-profit company, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Under the new plan, it has the most to lose.
Incorporated in 1998, ICANN oversees management of the Internet's crucial addressing system, which matches numerical addresses to familiar Web site addresses.
While ICANN's oversight has been confined to the decidedly technical matters behind doling out domain names and establishing a domain name dispute resolution system, the group has been criticized roundly for adopting a pro-business approach that neglects the developing world.
The ITU, a 138-year-old trade body that among other things established country code rules for international telephone dialing, has been put forth by the developing world as the governing body that will best address its needs.
"What we are looking at is the future management of the Internet. It's not about who owns it or who will be regulating the laws, but what is best way to manage what has become a natural resource for all of humanity,'' a summit official said.
There we go, get the governemnt involved, cuz theyve done such a smashing job of things in the past
Leaders from nearly 200 countries will convene in Geneva for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Dec. 10-12, an inaugural conference with lofty goals to discuss bridging the digital divide and fostering press freedoms.
But a contentious political move to grant an international governing body such as the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) control over Internet governance issues -- from distributing Web site domains to the public to fighting spam -- has all but obscured the more virtuous aspects of the event.
Incubated in a geeky part of the Department of Defense decades ago, the Internet has become a thriving global marketplace since being fully turned over to the private business community in the early 1990s.
But many in the developing world believe a new approach is needed as the medium enters its teen years, one that will see poorer countries harness new technologies to improve their competitive stance.
The most recognizable Internet governance body is a California-based non-profit company, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Under the new plan, it has the most to lose.
Incorporated in 1998, ICANN oversees management of the Internet's crucial addressing system, which matches numerical addresses to familiar Web site addresses.
While ICANN's oversight has been confined to the decidedly technical matters behind doling out domain names and establishing a domain name dispute resolution system, the group has been criticized roundly for adopting a pro-business approach that neglects the developing world.
The ITU, a 138-year-old trade body that among other things established country code rules for international telephone dialing, has been put forth by the developing world as the governing body that will best address its needs.
"What we are looking at is the future management of the Internet. It's not about who owns it or who will be regulating the laws, but what is best way to manage what has become a natural resource for all of humanity,'' a summit official said.
There we go, get the governemnt involved, cuz theyve done such a smashing job of things in the past
