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ICANN Troubles At UN Summit On Internet

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the kofi-and-elmo-presiding dept.

Internet Ninja writes "The UN/ITU-organized World Summit on the Information Society currently happening in Geneva, and in attendance is Paul Twomey from ICANN, who has been ejected from a preparatory meeting, along with all other non-governmental observers. Obviously Twomey wasn't happy about that, saying: 'At ICANN, anybody can attend meetings, appeal decisions or go to ombudsmen. And here I am outside a UN meeting room where diplomats, most of whom know little about the technical aspects, are deciding in a closed forum how 750 million people should reach the Internet. I am not amused.'" We've previously reported on this meeting, which may help decide governance of the Internet, albeit in the longer-term.

4 of 610 comments (clear)

  1. Can't blame them... by falxx · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't remember where I read it, but MIT actually has more IP's than the whole of China... If you still don't catch the drift, well, then I don't really know...

    Seems futile anyways, weren't they(UN) going to only appoint some group that was going to watch ICANN, and their motives? (:

    --
    falxx
  2. Behind the scenes by cluge · · Score: 4, Interesting
    One of the top countries pushing for UN control over the Internet is China. You know the country that has it's own firewall to help them government sniff out subversives. I guess actually having someone in a prepatory meeting that believes in free speech and open elections was a problem.


    Finally there are a few EU countries (France) that really like the idea as well. They want to protect their innocent youngsters from "American Culture which is so pervasive on the Internet". The gentleman from ICANN wasn't a native French speaker, he definitely shouldn't be allowed to participate.


    The Internet is a wonderful experiment, but it is almost entirely dominated by the US, and the english language. That rubs many the wrong way. I'd am VERY suspicious of such meetings, the motives behind them dont seem very "egalitarian". They are self serving, and mostly trying to prevent the free exchange of ideas IMHO.

    Angry People Rule

    --
    "Science is about ego as much as it is about discovery and truth " - I said it, so sue me.
  3. Re:Typical... by Performer+Guy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Are you talking about ICANN or the UN. This is just ICANN getting a taste of what they've been dishing out to the rest of us. Yes it stinks but so does the way ICANN has behaved in the past.

  4. Don't forget what the Internet is... by km790816 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's an agreement, it's not a thing.

    What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else. - Must read for any person that cares about technology.

    If they don't like the DNS system, they don't have to use it. Same for HTTP. Same for TCP. Whatever.

    ICANN can continue to define the standards and American companies will continue to implement them. Do you think people in France will be thrilled when France decides to do something different? That they can no longer access all the other sites.

    Who needs global standards when you have defacto standards.

    --
    A speech...