Update | By Martin Michaels
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a Senate resolution Wednesday calling upon the U.S. to oppose any U.N. efforts to control and regulate the Internet. The resounding 397-0 House vote sends a clear message to 1,900 delegates attending the 11-day conference in Dubai discussing possible Internet regulation by the International Telecommunications Union, the U.N. technical body.
“The United States of America is totally unified on this issue of an open structure, a multi-stakeholder approach that has guided the Internet over the last two decades,» said Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) following the vote.
(MintPress) – More than 1,900 delegates from 193 countries gathered in Dubai this week to discuss possible Internet regulation by the United Nations (U.N.). Delegates and leaders in the information technology sector will discuss 900 possible regulatory changes that could bring an end to the relatively unrestricted “open Internet” that billions across the globe have come to enjoy.
The 11-day conference marks the first attempt to centralize Internet regulation under the International Telecommunications Union, the United Nations’ technical body responsible for partial regulation of international communication, including cellular communication.
Despite the best laid efforts to assuage fears, major coalitions opposing U.N. centralization and regulation have formed in response to the conference.
Warnings from tech giants
Google and other tech companies represent voices of dissent at the conference, proposing that the Internet remain relatively unregulated for citizens to enjoy. «Love the free and open Internet? Tell the world’s governments to keep it that way,» said a message on the main search page of Google.com
While most countries in North America, Europe and parts of East Asia enjoy relatively unencumbered access to the Internet, there is a fear among activists and human rights groups that oppressive regimes already monitoring and censoring Internet content could use U.N. control as a pretext for further crackdowns.
More than 900 regulatory changes have been proposed regarding the Internet regulations and telecommunications. Although the details of these regulations have not been made public, potential regulations include new rules for Internet, mobile roaming fees and amendments to existing laws governing satellite and fixed-line communications.
Despite vociferous opposition to Internet regulation from activists and tech companies, the secretary general of the U.N. International Telecommunications Union, Hamadoun Toure, tried to dismiss public fears of undue regulation.
Toure predicted that the Dubai conference would result in only «light-touch» regulations.
«Many countries will come to reaffirm their desire to see freedom of expression embedded in this conference,» said Toure.
Broad international support from delegates is required for the passage of any new regulation. The first matter for discussion will reportedly be a review of the U.N.’s 1988 telecommunications protocols, adopted long before the widespread proliferation of the Internet.
Despite the best assurances of Toure and many international delegations to keep the Internet relatively free and unregulated, the conference has drawn considerable condemnation and opposition from free speech advocates, tech companies and labor unions.
International outrage
The TUC union representing 6.2 million workers in Britain launched a petition last month to prevent the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union (ITU) from assuming control of the Internet and social media, marking one of the largest single protests to the possible regulation and censorship.
Other U.S. national legislation, including the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), was roundly condemned in the U.S. for potentially limiting Americans’ Internet freedoms.
The petition, titled, “Stop the Net Grab,” has gathered more than 37,000 signatures since its launch last month. However, the opposition to Internet restrictions is growing ever more powerful as Arab Spring uprisings, Occupy Wall Street and other protest movements increasingly rely upon social media as a means to mobilize popular revolution.
The wild, wild west of cyberspace appears to have become the new battleground as authoritarian dictatorships — Russia, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia among others — have expressed support for vetting Internet control to the U.N., an institution dominated largely by the permanent members of the security council.
Round two of SOPA?
Legislation aimed at regulating the Internet in the U.S. stirred outrage last year when SOPA was introduced in Congress. The proposed bill was supported by the Motion Picture Association of America and other mainstream media organizations because the bill empowered law enforcement to monitor and eventually shut down websites with pirated material.
Wikipedia, Google and a bevy of activist organizations gathered more than 7 million signatures in opposition to the bill because the ambiguous wording could have led to censorship in areas containing non-pirated material.
The strong response from citizens from the political left, right and center demonstrates the will of citizens to have unrestricted access to the Internet. Activists’ experiences in Egypt, Tunisia and the U.S. have demonstrated to citizens across the world that free Internet is a civil right that cannot be stifled by governments or international institutions.