[governance] Fall ICANN meeting in Cairo - Rights discussion

[Bret Fausett]

I believe in the power of making statements. I believe that making  
statements about what is right and just is both good in and of itself  
and sometimes has the power to create change for the better in the  
world.

The participants in ICANN ought to know that the presence of an ICANN  
meeting in a host country is used by many inside that country as a  
sign that they are doing something right. If Egypt, or any host  
country for that matter, is filtering Internet access or otherwise  
abusing its gateways to prevent or impair end-to-end communications  
between users of the world, that is something that, in my view, ought  
to be publicized and condemned. We ought not let the presence of an  
ICANN meeting be misused, by those who would deny Internet access to  
others, as a symbol that they are doing the right thing.

I don't know what the Internet in Egypt looks like, but I will  
certainly investigate that before the Cairo meeting. Certainly  
filtering is not an ICANN issue, but the celebration of the local  
Internet community always accompanies an ICANN meeting. While I  
wouldn't necessarily expect ICANN, as a corporation, to make any  
statements about the host community's Internet policies and practices  
on filtering, I would applaud ICANN _as a community_ for making a  
statement about what is right and just.

       -- Bret



  
     
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