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Are you crazy Parminder?<br>
<br>
Rule no. 1 The "free market" is always right<br>
<br>
Rule no. 2 If not, consult rule number 1.<br>
<br>
Rule no. 3 If you feel let down by rule no. 1 consult rule no. 2<br>
<br>
Apologies if this seems self-referential... but that is how it IS<br>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2012/11/21 09:49 AM, parminder
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote><font face="Verdana">From Google's sign-on
campaign </font><br>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-variant: normal;
line-height: 100%; widows: 2; orphans: 2" align="LEFT"> <font
color="#444444">“<font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font
style="font-size: 13pt" size="3"><span
style="font-style: normal"><span
style="font-weight: normal">A free and open
world depends on a free and open Internet.
Governments alone, working behind closed doors,
should not direct its future. The billions of
people around the globe who use the Internet
should have a voice.”</span></span></font></font></font></p>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.google.com/takeaction/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=112012freeandopen#make-your-voice-heard">https://www.google.com/takeaction/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=112012freeandopen#make-your-voice-heard</a>
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<font face="Verdana"><br>
Dear Google; Yes, the world indeed needs an open Internet, for
which reason it is rather awful to note that you, meaning,
Google;<br>
<br>
1) Sold the entire net neutrality campaign </font><font
face="Verdana">down the drain </font><font face="Verdana">in
the US, by first assuming its leadership and then entering into
a self-serving agreement with Verizon, whereby the main means of
accessing the Internet in the future - mobiles - are exempted
from net neutrality provisions. <br>
<br>
2) Have recently entered into exclusive arrangements with
telecos to provide Gmail, Google + and Google Search for free in
some developing countries (Philippines) , and as a special low
cost package exclusively of a few Internet services (and not the
full, public Internet) in others (India), which makes a mockery
of an open and net neutral Internet.<br>
<br>
3) Tweak your search results, which is increasingly the main way
of accessing </font><font face="Verdana">locations on the </font><font
face="Verdana">Internet, in non-transparent ways, with
increasing evidence that this is done in a manner that merely
serves your own commercial interests and goes against consumer/
public interest, and for which reasons Google is currently
subject to regulatory investigations in the US and EU. <br>
<br>
( There are hundreds of other outrages, big and small, including
the fact that </font><font face="Verdana">today I </font><font
face="Verdana">suddenly see my default browser getting set for
"Chrome' when I prefer and have always used Mozilla Firefox and
never asked for the </font><font face="Verdana">change of </font><font
face="Verdana">default.)<br>
<br>
I cannot see anything other than effective regulation of the
Internet to be able to check such excesses by Internet companies
that are deeply compromising the openness of the Internet
(sticking here to only to the subject of openness of the
Internet, used in above appeal by Google). <br>
<br>
So, lets be honest, it is not about people versus ITU, not even,
Google versus ITU, or even Google versus content regulation; it
is Google versus any regulation of the Internet space so that
Google, and similarly positioned dominant players, can have a
free run over the economic, social and political resources of
the world. <br>
<br>
It is very important to wage the needed struggles to keep
Internet's content free from undue statist controls. But one
needs to be careful about whom one chooses as partners, nay,
leaders of the campaign. Remember, the lessons from the net
neutrality campaign in the US which was sold cheap by those who
assumed its leadership. Also, have no doubt whatsoever that
ACTAs and PIPAs will come back in new forms, accommodating the
interests of the big Internet companies that led the opposition
in the first round. (Anyone wanting to take a bet on this! :) )
And. when the second round happens, since 'our leaders' would
have crossed over, there wouldnt be much fight left to give. <br>
<br>
For sure, make opportunistic, tactical, alliances, but civil
society needs to be careful not to abandon leadership of public
interest causes to players who cannot but become turncoat and,
well, betray, - sooner or later getting into bed with whoever is
economically and politically powerful around to help their
business prosper. Such is the structural logic of big business.
Let them stick to what they do best - organise productive forces
of the world. Leave public interest causes to public interest
players - civil society and governments. However, if the
sentiment is simply overflowing, maybe just donate some money to
such causes, in an arms- lenght /hands-off approach vis a vis
managing the precise activities involved. I simply dont fancy
corporate-led 'public interest' campaigns. <br>
<br>
One was stuck by the number of Google organised panels at the
Baku IGF, where they openly took part and gave their policy
pitch. As a participant from Pakistan said at a workshop ' I
find a Google representative at every panel that I am at'. Such
brash presence at policy forums and taking strong policy
positions by corporates is a relatively new game, and to my mind
not a welcome thing for our democracies. I keep hoping that
civil society would give this phenomenon a deeper thought and
analysis, rather than just riding the bandwagon. <br>
<br>
parminder <br>
<br>
</font>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On Wednesday 21 November 2012 04:47
AM, Fouad Bajwa wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CAHuaJtO5ugg_92d=vV4m9Q0ehAJXu4RkS7gTN55GzvAF4e+ARQ@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Just saw Google's Fight the ITU/WCIT website
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.google.com/intl/en/takeaction/">https://www.google.com/intl/en/takeaction/</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.google.com/intl/fr/takeaction/">https://www.google.com/intl/fr/takeaction/</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.google.com/intl/es/takeaction/">https://www.google.com/intl/es/takeaction/</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.google.com/intl/ar/takeaction/">https://www.google.com/intl/ar/takeaction/</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/takeaction/">https://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/takeaction/</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.google.com/intl/pt-BR/takeaction/">https://www.google.com/intl/pt-BR/takeaction/</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.google.com/intl/ru/takeaction/">https://www.google.com/intl/ru/takeaction/</a>
(thanks to a colleague for sharing!)
</pre>
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