[governance] Government oversight (was Vixie ...)

[Avri Doria]

On 10 okt 2005, at 20.45, Laina Raveendran Greene wrote:

> When I attended the CS orientation the Sunday before PrepCom 3  
> started, the
> IG Caucus had a panel and one of their speakers specifically told  
> the CS
> audience that CS had to be worried about IG because the US gov  
> could take
> their TLD or that of their country off the Internet at their whim  
> and fancy,
> for any reason.

The point is they could.  Other then world disapproval, there is no  
process or law that could stop them.  And we see how well world  
disapproval works to stop the US, or any other country, from doing  
the things they want to do.

Now some people believe that the US is always and forever a  
reasonable country that would never ever abuse its power.  These  
people can rest assured that the US would never do something like this.

For the rest of us it remains a possibility with varying degrees of  
likelihood.

And for some of us it is part of the motivation for not wanting any  
government, or governments, to have oversight control. I.e.  
governments, singly or jointly, sometimes do strange and dangerous  
things for strange reasons and can't be trusted with control of  
internet resources.

> I was very concerned about this kind of baseless rumour
> mongering to raise people;s emotions that was being done both on  
> the gov
> side as well as on CS side.


I don't think that mentioning a possibility is baseless rumor  
mongering.  Now you may argue it is impossible, while others may  
believe it is inevitable, but that is a matter of opinion and a  
matter for discussion.  Putting down another persons argument as  
baseless rumor mongering doesn't seem particularly helpful.

a.

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