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Imagine A UN-Run Internet

Posted by timothy on from the nightmare-material dept.

Damon Dimmick writes "Small countries in the United Nations have been arguing to put the Internet under the control of the UN so that countries can more easily monitor (read: control) Internet content. It's on hold for now, but this could become a very real censorship problem, very soon. Some nations have gone so far as to suggest "monitoring boards" for internet content. Here is the link to the Financial Times article. It briefly describes the current situation. Just something to keep an eye on."

9 of 860 comments (clear)

  1. un-run is right by infinite9 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Imagine A UN-Run Internet

    A prophetic subject line? If they run it as well as other things, the internet may be un-run.

    --
    Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
    1. Re:un-run is right by jhunsake · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No world wars in 50+ years

      The UN has nothing to do with this. It's the more powerful countries that have prevented this from happening. Do you honestly think the UN could do shit if the US and China decided to go at it?

      Has negotiated and enforced many peace treaties throughout that time.

      Negotiated, yes. Enforced, no. In fact, more than half of all international treaties are violated on a regular basis, and many are simply ignored because they've been violated so much.

      Economic and other sanctions have had positive effects on some countries.

      WHO has done some fantastic work in the 3rd world.

      True.

      Is the world's first supra-national organization and, more remarkably, has had its power seriously challenged only a few times.

      Wrong, but another poster already addressed it.

      Has, respectively, saved the countries of Korea, Kuwait,and many others i'm forgetting by using multinational forces to defeat a common agressor enemy.

      What saved Kuwait was oil, and those that need it. Has Korea been saved yet? Hardly.

      I think you should read more. The UN is a joke (outside of it's humanity/charity functions).

  2. Oh, great by annielaurie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Replace one sluggish bureaucracy with another one that's even larger and more sluggish. Then stand back and watch the fights about funding and budgetary contributions. That should be very helpful.

    --
    DUCT TAPE: The Election Supervisors' Secret Weapon
  3. Re:Good idea by CelloJake · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Exactly how would the international control improve the internet? What control is currently placed on it by the US? Besides assignment of IP's and domain names, what US control is affecting you? Most of the internet is privately owned. Its controlled by whoever owns the routers.

  4. Re:Good idea by DAldredge · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The 3rd world countries should work on getting less corrupt goverments installed first.

    They could also try working on the ability to feed themselves before they do another inet.

  5. Re:Better than a USA-run Internet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    God Bless America, with the worst crime levels in the first world

    Where even criminals have civil rights.

    God Bless America, so happy to violate international laws

    When those laws are put together by the dictator's club called the UN, you bet. You know, the place that puts Syria and Libya on the "human rights committee"?

    God Bless America, where "freedom of speech" means race-hate groups like KKK

    Where freedom of speech applies to EVERYBODY, even the ones with unpopular causes. Hint: popular causes don't NEED freedom of speech.

    God Bless America, with barely 300 years of dire history and culture

    Hint: we're still on our first Republic. France is on their fifth, with intervening Reigns of Terror, anarchy, kings, emperors, and Nazi collaborationist regimes.

    Hint: our popular culture dominates the world. Deal with it.

    God Bless America, with the highest obesity levels in the developed world

    Where food is so cheap that even the poorest can (over)eat.

    God Bless America, wasting billions to attack foreign countries

    They're ours to "waste", Saddam-lover.

  6. Article 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights by LionKimbro · · Score: 5, Informative

    Article 19

    Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

  7. An excellent comparison by runlvl0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Leauge of Nations and the Catholic Church both predate the UN, and both are very arguably "supra-national" organizations

    An excellent comparison: when you get right down to it, the UN is like the Vatican, but for atheists. (With the predictble results.)

    --

    Carthago delenda est!
  8. Re:US bad, US good by leerpm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wasn't the AC, but if you want proof of this just do a search for agricultural subsidies in industrialized nations. The US and the EU preach free trade and dropping barriers to trade, but they are just as guiltly of not doing this as are the less developed nations. They put up numerous obstacles so that developing nations cannot sell their agricultural products in the industrialized world. Yet this is the one product that those poorer nations are actually capable of competing with the richer nations on.