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ICANN's Ex CEO Fronts Chinese Initiative On Running the Internet (theregister.co.uk)
Earthquake Retrofit points out this story at the Register which discusses what could be some big changes for the future of the internet. "On the last day of the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, the conference organizers unexpectedly announced they had set up a new 'high-level advisory committee' that would guide the agenda of future conferences and 'contribute ideas for the development of the Internet.' The committee has already had its first meeting, the organizers stated, naming ICANN's Fadi Chehade and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma as its founders and noting that it had 'invited 31 leading Internet figures from governments, enterprises, academic institutions, and technological communities to be members of the first high-level advisory committee.' Those 'figures' have not been named but we understand they include government representatives from a number of authoritarian governments, including Russia, and do not include lead names from the internet community."
If Paul Vixie and Vint Cerf weren't there... I pass.
But it was a good run while it lasted.
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Governments are accustomed to taking control of things. Authoritative governments even more so.
The Internet is now in a proxy war for ownership according to the "land-grab" rules of authoritative regimes --- if you can grab it, it is yours.
I am wondering what the elders of the internet think about all this. First of all what do the Chinese have to do with the internet, when they are so far from the Big Ben?
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They're right from the Victorian era... it looks like I'm hearing the members of the Reform Club.
But we need a Phileas Fogg, who believes in a world out there -- just like many great Americans did, BTW, only the mediocre thinks "America über alles" -- to travel abroad, to make the impossible happen, to save a non-white beauty -- and marry her!
Sometimes even I think I'm hoping for too much...
Anyway, you think China is wanting too much? I think the Internet is a kind of World Heritage and should be managed by the UN, not by one country, no matter how well-intentioned. That simply is not right.
If we fail at doing that, I guess some sort of organization like the one used for telephone and mail will have to do.
Here's the thing. There are three forces conspiring to centralize control of the internet:
(1) Major governments, who don't like that anyone could say anything on it.
(2) Major corporations.
(3) The general public, who has been complicit in moving all their communications away from decentralized, open, and uncensored protocols onto proprietary, centralized, and censored ones.
Arrayed against that are a motley crew of mostly old timers who remember what the net was like when it was free and open. But those people are dying off, giving up, or just plain deciding the fight isn't worth it when most people are working against them by using FB and the like.
This is a fight that can only be lost. It might be different if the general public would stand up and act against centralization of control, but they do just the opposite. They prefer Facebook to email. Closed IM services to open ones where anyone can run a node.
What was once the freest global means of communication ever invented by humans, something that might have given freedom to the world, will become the most Orwellian. Oh, it'll all be fine if you want Facebook-style control of everything you do, see, say, and read on your locked down tablet. That kind of "freedom" will never be taken away.
It's already under way. Another 25 years and we should be almost all the way there, with the people who want a free internet shoved to the fringes when nothing works for them any more.
No really... THANKS...
Is that the ex-CEO of ICANN was likely less corrupt than the current goons running the show. Imagine what would happen if they had their say...
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
We have a global ruling class who forms powerful international organizations to protect their interests. Who knew? Can we working class shlubs _please_ stop fighting among ourselves long enough to notice?
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on what basis are some "authoritarian governments"? on the basis of propaganda coming from western governments that self style themselves as 'liberal democratic"?
in fact, in past and now, their actual actions show western governments are same(if not worse) in terms of unjust use of authority as any other government that exist at present. at present, in terms of their actions, in the past british empire and usa were much worse than present day china, and currently there is no significant difference between russia or usa.
actions should be the criteria not propaganda.
That if they F*** up the Internet we'll just build another one.
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
They start out with flowery talk of peace, love, and justice.... then they staff-up with amoral globalist idealists who immediately proclaim that everyone from everywhere should have equal involvement..... but this means evil tyrants get power because most nations on Earth are led by supremely distasteful people with a penchant for murder, deceit, and theft. This is how the UN puts nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran in charge of Human Rights.
Once the Progressive Mr Obama got his hands on the net, it was inevitable he would give it away, like Jimmy Carter giving away the Panama Canal, in some grand act intended to buy him the goodwill of the world. Sadly, this meant giving it to the sort of globalist morons who would immediately invite in all the most evil people on the planet to help decide how to control it. It's not my fault. I was never stupid enough or jacked-up on enough drugs, to vote for the Obamanation in the White House.
if anything the U.S has clearly shown it wants to control the Internet, and insist on calling it "free" as long as everything is run the way they want. This is a step in the right direction.
you hit nail on head. It's not so much about racism as it is about having an underclass to look down on. I remember finding this out in a college history course. Slavery was important to the south because poor white southerners were kept in check by comparing their living conditions to black slaves. It's something every culture does: People don't measure your quality of life objectively. For most people it's subjective. This is also why India has a cast system and Britain a Class system. I'm sure I could find other examples without too much effort.
It's not some grand conspiracy per se, it's just that if you're a member of the 1% you need strategies to control the other 99%. This is one of the most effective. If a ruling class didn't come up with stuff like this it doesn't stay a ruling class for very long. Survival bias sets in and you start seeing the same patterns emerging. It's all pretty well known to Historians but it's not as cool or sexy as talking about wars so you're lucky if you get a paragraph devoted to it. Plus these days talking about it gets you shouted down as a politically correct feminazi or some such. Another thing the ruling class is good at is recognizing threats...
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If the Chinese want to dictate how the worldwide Internet should be ran, they can go pound sand.
You're messin' with my Zen Thing, man.....