[governance] RE: WSIS Forum 2011

[Milton L Mueller]

Ah, the ITU bogeyman again. A bit of history for those who forgot it: ITU in 1997 lost their attempt to gain control of domain names (when ISOC was their co-conspirator); from 2003-2005 it failed to get any recognition of their role out of WGIG or WSIS; in 2009-10 they are rebuffed in the quest to form a competing, alternative ipv6 address registry. And now we are supposed to be paralytically afraid of having a meeting in NYC because that is what the ITU wants?

There were those who, in 2003, said that Internet governance should be insulated from WSIS for the same reason. But we took the battle into it and we pretty much won. Better to engage win than to avoid.

More seriously, we need to stop obsessing about "ITU" as an actor and focus instead on the nation-states who drive its agenda, and the conflict between the intergovernmental system and the nongovernmental or uni-governmental system behind ICANN. That is the real issue. Note also that the USA, Europe and the business interests become very "governmental" and "intergovernmental" when it suits their interests (ACTA, anyone? Cybersecurity?)

--MM

From: Sivasubramanian M [mailto:isolatedn at gmail.com]

This is not a trivial issue of a choice in a tourism destination, but a question of participation in a summit that sets the next course of Internet Governance. The strategic implications of this move (to UN, NY) relates to ITU's business ambitions for an enhanced role in Internet Governance.

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