[Chapter-delegates] FW: WSIS began as "how to bridge digital divide" has transformed into the "who should control the Internet" debate

[Rosa Delgado]

Fyi,

Rosa 

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Internet showdown in Tunis
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The United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society began with a
high-minded purpose: to bridge the technological gap between richer and
poorer nations. But now the WSIS event, which begins Nov. 16 in Tunisia,
has transformed into a week-long debate about who should control key
portions of the Internet.

Delegates from nations like Iran, China, and Cuba have been clear in
what they want: less control by the U.S. government. Instead, they've
suggested creation of some sort of cyberbureaucracy---perhaps under the
U.N. International Telecommunication Union.

Those arguments have met with a cold shoulder in Washington. The Bush
administration said in no uncertain terms in June that it intended to
relinquish the United States' unique influence over domain names and the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that
position. But that doesn't advocate relinquishing total control or
creation of a U.N. bureaucracy.

http://news.com.com/Internet+showdown+in+Tunis/2008-1012_3-5945200.html


The U.N. thinks about tomorrow's cyberspace
-------------------------------------------

Mr. H Zhao of the ITU said "Countering spam is just one of many elements
of protecting the Internet that include availability during emergencies
and supporting public safety and law enforcement officials," Zhao wrote
in December. Also, he wrote, the ITU "would take care of other work,
such as work on Internet exchange points, Internet interconnection
charging regimes, and methods to provide authenticated directories that
meet national privacy regimes."

http://news.com.com/The+U.N.+thinks+about+tomorrows+cyberspace/2008-1028
_3-5643972.html?tag=nl


Regards/Rosa