The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency charged with information and communications policy, last Friday released a batch of proposals--some quite controversial--submitted by member organizations and states in an attempt, the organization says, to become more transparent as it demands a bigger role in governing the Internet.
Collectively known as TD64, the proposals will be reviewed at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in December. The conference is a rare event that will update the telecommunications treaty that outlines ITU's responsibilities based on these approved proposals. The treaty, called the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR), hasn ...
Continue readingCould the United Nations squelch freedom on the Internet?
Activists expressed concern this week that several United Nations proposals to regulate the Internet would undermine freedom and give too much control over the World Wide Web.
Proposals to centralize Internet regulation will be discussed at the two upcoming U.N. winter conferences -- the Internet Governance Forum in November and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) meeting in December.
But panelists at “Clear and Present Danger: Attempts to Change Internet Governance and Implications for Press Freedom,” a National Endowment for Democracy forum in Washington argued for maintaining a more decentralized Internet.
“We see the potential to shift Internet governance away from ...
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