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US House Votes 397-0 To Oppose UN Control of the Internet
An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. House of Representatives voted 397-0 today on a resolution to oppose U.N. control of the internet. 'The 397-0 vote is meant to send a signal to countries meeting at a U.N. conference on telecommunications this week. Participants are meeting to update an international telecom treaty, but critics warn that many countries' proposals could allow U.N. regulation of the Internet.' The European Parliament passed a similar resolution a couple weeks ago, and the U.N. telecom chief has gone on record saying that freedom on the internet won't be curbed. However, that wasn't enough for U.S. lawmakers, who were quite proud of themselves for actually getting bipartisan support for the resolution (PDF). Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said, 'We need to send a strong message to the world that the Internet has thrived under a decentralized, bottom-up, multi-stakeholder governance model.'"
I can't see how handing over control of the internet to the UN could in anyway be classified as progress.
We need to send a strong message to the world that the Internet has thrived under a decentralized, bottom-up, multi-stakeholder governance model
Isnt that what the UN is ?
No. The UN is the centralization of power. Decisions made by the UN are enforced on member nations. The UN is top down. It is staffed by elites selected by the excecutive branchs of nations. It is multi-national but it is not multi-stakeholder. It excludes stakeholders that are not goverments.
Really? Last time I've looked I could have sworn that domain names have been seized without proper justification and oversight.
Should be politely noted too that the EU also passed something similar, so at very least, you should expand this from a mere American conspiracy to a larger Western attempt at maintaining global hegemony. :P
UN works on consensus. Any country can veto anything.
China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United
States can veto anything, The UN is a place where all countries are equal, but as usual some are more equal than others.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
No, they can't veto anything. Only on matters related to world security. The UN General Assembly has passed thousands of resolutions and majority of them were never debated by UN Security Council.
*cough*CERN*cough*
As a non-American, allow me to agree. Try living in these parts for a change (not a vacation -- tourists never get to see the civil rights picture). You folks have a lot more freedom than you think you have (the DHS notwithstanding). I'd rather have Internet policy be influenced by American concepts of civil rights rather than the world average.