[governance] IGF relevance?

Fri Apr 15 18:57:38 EDT 2011

That may be a good analogy of the ferryman but within the current
context we cannot let down our hopes within the developing country
impetus. It is as important for us as we deal other critical Internet
resource issues. I was once asked this question that for how long will
the NN debate remain US centric and though I did not have an answer to
that question, what I did respond was by saying until we want to keep
it off of our shoulders. In today's technology infrastructure
environment and with the dropping costs of Internet access why can't
we assume that there will be power shifts and the balance may be able
to tilt soon. What if somewhere in the Asia-Pacific the internet
started coming under siege within the context of a localized language,
the Internet content will not always be English language would it,
lets say for China, for Bengal or Bangladesh............similarly tech
infrastructure could be initiated where the technical resourceful
would be abundant and as markets continue to define themselves in the
long run, the power to the Internet can also become very distributed
and then how would the NN debate take shape........lets say that
within the next 5 years, the idea of a global Internet council kicks
off between various parties that assemble at the IGF and take on a
cloud of their own within the Internet Policy Cloud ;oP how would the
debate look, who would be the players, will UN be the organizer or a
mere participant. For a world that changes at a rapid pace redefining
our understandings of traditional discussion mechanisms, I see debates
taking place in new regions beyond US and EU.....food for thought too,
the ferryman wasn't plugged into the network ;o)

-- FoO & fOo

On Sat, Apr 16, 2011 at 3:40 AM, Lee W McKnight <lmcknigh at syr.edu> wrote:
> Fouad,
>
> The good or bad news, depending upon one perspective, is that this issue will not really be 'settled' for years and years.
>
> So there is plenty of time for other nations to consider and weigh their interests, and views.  Especially since the moral imperative underlying the discussion, fairness in treating others, is I believe commonly held in all cultures since ancient times.
>
> That is, if there is a ferry which may take you across a river, everyone knows the ferry must let you board, if you pay the fee.
>
> Only problem is determining the moral equivalent on the Internet is subject to more interpretations.
>
> Whereas in ancient times, if the ferryman would not let you on board, even though you were prepared to pay just like anyone else, you would beat him.  People, and ferry operators, figured out thousands of years ago - it is best if anyone can get on.
>
> Giving ATT or anyone else the same kind of beat down for a violation of the Internet equivalent - is a bit harder.
>
> Lee
> ________________________________________
> From: governance at lists.cpsr.org [governance at lists.cpsr.org] On Behalf Of Fouad Bajwa [fouadbajwa at gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 3:33 PM
> To: governance at lists.cpsr.org; parminder
> Subject: Re: [governance] IGF relevance?
>
> That is my feeling too. Everything seems to stop with EU and US
> centric NN discussions and debates. The rest of the world can sit
> quietly and wait while everything is okay on that side and the rules
> are set for the rest to follow.
>
> NN seems to be a no go area or no discuss issue for the developing
> world and thats where the primary questions arises to how can
> developing regions take on this debate because the neutrality of the
> network is as important for them and their sustainability too.
>
> The developed perspective usually is that what they say is what is
> authority over any other discussion and I cannot buy that.
>
> -- FoO
>
> On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 6:33 PM, parminder <parminder at itforchange.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Thursday 14 April 2011 08:34 AM, Milton L Mueller wrote:
>>
>> I am going to raise some eyebrows and question the decision to do a Network
>> neutrality workshop. This is an issue that is being and will be handled by
>> national regulatory authorities.
>>
>> Can you tell me about some developing countries (other than Brazil, and
>> perhaps recently Chile) where anything is happening on Net Neutrality?
>>
>> The positions of the various actors and interest groups are well known and
>> well-aired. Nothing the IGF says or does will have much impact on what
>> happens in this space. The US Congress will probably negate the current FCC
>> rules and the US will have to either pass new legislation or find some other
>> way to pursue those policy goals; the IGF does not enter into the equation.
>> The same can be said for Europe: the EU and national regulatory authorities
>> are actively debating this, and it is the opinions of the nra's, DG INFO, DG
>> MARKT and its competition law that matter, not IGF.
>>
>> So that is where your world stops :). Yes, US and EU are doing fine at home
>> on NN, but can we, rest of us, not just wait till US and EU NN rules are
>> finalized and through their economic (also political and social) might
>> imposed on the rest of the world? By your permission, we are just seeking
>> democratic management of the medium that is touted as a great democratic
>> force. Do you agree to such an objective? do you want to contribute?
>>
>> parminder
>>
>>
>>
>> On the other hand, there are developments in IP addressing that cry out for
>> a global forum to work out a new policy. For some background, see this
>> recent IGP blog article:
>> http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2011/3/25/4778257.html
>> In facing a controversial issue that seemed to require global policy but go
>> beyond the mandate of ARIN, the head of ARIN recently asked on a public
>> list, sincerely, which venue could be used to discuss the issue?
>>
>> It is abundantly clear that on a few key internet governance issues, ranging
>> from Wikileaks
>>
>>  to IP addressing there are inadequate globalized institutions.
>>
>> One reason IGF is losing relevance, is that IGF's leadership seems to be
>> utterly blind when it comes to distinguishing between issues where it can be
>> entrepreneurial and fill gaps in the current institutional environment, and
>> issues where it has no real capacity to contribute anything.
>> It seems that IGF always falls prey to the disease of UN organizations,
>> which is to create opportunities for politicians and others who enjoy
>> publicity to intone pleasing platitudes on gigantic problems which it has no
>> capacity to solve, while completely avoiding the hard work of solving
>> smaller, less glamorous problems it can actually do something about.
>>
>> --MM
>>
>>
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-- 
Regards.
--------------------------
Fouad Bajwa
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