WCIT [UN] Vote Threatens Internet
12/13/2012
Last
night at 1:30am in the morning the fears of many citizens, businesses, NGOs and
public agencies were realized as the chairman of the World Conference on
International Telecommunications (WCIT) called for an unexpected vote to have a
UN agency, where only governments have a real voice, take on a more active role
in governing the Internet. Delegates voted on the inclusion of language that
drives states to engage the ITU in Internet governance. The proposal was
adopted over substantial opposition and undermines the current bottom up,
multi-stakeholder governance structure of the Internet.
The vote sidesteps the traditional practice of the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), which has always operated by consensus. It
contradicts the words of the ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré, who for months insisted that the WCIT would under no
circumstances address Internet concerns – and that all decisions would be made
by consensus, not voting. As an organization that has been involved in
technology policy for over 40 years and which has -- with its members -- been
actively involved in helping shape Internet policy, the Computer &
Communications Industry Association is deeply troubled by these developments.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black (While CCIA is represented on the US delegation in Dubai,
we do not speak for the delegation): “The growth of the Internet can largely be attributed to its decentralized
governance structure. Although – as with many multi-stakeholder
organizations -- the process through which decisions are made can at times be
chaotic, it is hard to argue with the results. Since the turn of the
millennium, worldwide Internet penetration rate has grown from 6 percent to 35
percent of the world’s population. That is a growth of more than 2
billion users in the span of only 12 years. More than any technology or
invention that came before it, the Internet has empowered citizens,
supercharged commerce, inspired innovation and revolutionized education and the
diffusion of knowledge around the globe.”
“Because of the Internet’s success as a means of communications and commerce, CCIA
strongly objects to fundamentally changing how the Internet is governed.
Although global dialogue and outreach around the future of Internet
governance may be healthy, it needs to be centered on extending and updating
the multi-stakeholder process that has shepherded the Internet through its
unprecedented growth trajectory. Under no circumstances should the
stewards of the Internet be forced to hand over the keys to Internet governance
mechanisms to a body where the short-sighted political considerations of
morally questionable regimes hold more weight than concerns of the very
engineers and programmers who have built and maintained the Internet since its
birth. The controversial circumstances that gave rise to yesterday’s
Internet power grab should be illuminating. Giving this body control over
the future of greatest input to the world’s economy should be a non-starter.
“The ITU has had a narrow but useful role with regard to coordinating and
facilitating some aspects of the operation of multinational telecommunications
systems. Going forward, if the ITU
hopes to regain some of the legitimacy it has accrued in its historic areas of
responsibility, it will have to recalibrate its approach and focus on more noble,
less political goals. There is still much work to be done in diffusing
telecommunications technology around the world, encouraging investment in
telecommunications services, and facilitating dialogue among the world’s
telecommunications regulators. Drastically altering the structure of an
Internet governance framework that has worked well up to this point would not
only be ill advised, but would call into question the very legitimacy of the
ITU itself. “
