[governance] Report Public Hearing

[Jeremy Malcolm]

On 05/05/2009, at 5:50 AM, Ian Peter wrote:
>>
>> Commissioner Reding today outlined a new governance model for the  
>> internet. This would include ... A multilateral forum where   
>> governments can discuss general internet governance policy issues,  
>> such as a  "G12 for Internet Governance" ˆ an informal group of  
>> government  representatives that meets at least twice a year and  
>> can make, by majority,  recommendations to ICANN where appropriate.
>
> This is an interesting if predictable development. One concern I  
> would have if it developed is that a fully privatised ICANN taking  
> recommendations from a G12 (with or without the end of the JPA)  
> leaves civil society input to the unpredictable channels of NCUC and  
> ALAC, both of which could disappear in any future review that views  
> ICANN as an industry regulator.

Welcome back to the 20th century, Commissioner Reding.  It may be  
quaint to think so now, but the IGF was meant to be exactly such an  
informal group of governments *and other stakeholders* that could make  
recommendations to ICANN *and other bodies* where appropriate.  Whilst  
the IGF was never meant to be the be-all and end-all of Internet  
governance, paragraph 48 of the WSIS Declaration of Principles  
underlined the need for any future Internet governance mechanisms to  
be structured along similar multi-stakeholder lines.

I realise that I am beating a dead horse here, but what annoys me (if  
you will excuse me belabouring the metaphor) is the revisionist  
attitude of some that the horse was *always* dead.  In fact it was  
alive and well in 2005, then rapidly fell ill as the powerful worked  
on damage control to design an IGF that allowed civil society no real  
input into global IG policy, and has laboured on its death bed since  
then, until this proposal came along in various shapes (IG20, G12)  
with the final nail for its coffin.

-- 
JEREMY MALCOLM
Project Coordinator
CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL-KL OFFICE
for Asia Pacific and the Middle East	

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7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg
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Fax: +60 3 7726 8599
www.consumersinternational.org

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