[governance] Internet blackout in Egypt
Avri Doria
avri at acm.org
Fri Jan 28 12:30:47 EST 2011
Hi,
Some interspersed comments.
On 28 Jan 2011, at 12:17, parminder wrote:
>
> Avri Doria wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> This is all one reason while, though I think policy and Internet Governance moves are critical, we need to support the continuing development of technology that stays ahead of any government's ability to shut if off or block it.
>>
> Or any corporate's ability to take illegitimate rent by squatting over a commons - and also to choose what political development - including revolutions - it will support or not .
>
> What is the way to support the continuing development of 'such technology' that prevents such inappropriate controls?
One way is to make sure that any technology we develop is available as FOSS. There may be other design constraints that would be useful i consideration of how one se to it that for all proprietary services, there are also non proprietary service providers. Very much like the TOR project model is built on a volunteer base of relays.
>> This is one reason also for protecting the notion of non centralized services and furthering their development.
>>
>>
> The question as to how do we support the development of non centralized services is really one of the most important IG issues, because all empirical evidence today points to the fact that we are moving towards more and more centralized and monopolistic Internet services.
I think moving toward centralization/monopoly is always the predominant motion that needs to be resisted.
>
> I suggest policy interventions that ensure that there is no concentration of market power towards monopolisation in any application area (google. facebook, twitter etc) and there is adequate policy measures to ensure a decentralized architecture of the Internet - ensuing against vertical integration across content, application and infrastructure layers (net neutrality), search engine algorithms are open, and social networking sites can cross access data to ensure there are no lock-ins,
sure. and one way to do this is to offer other alternatives beyond those that have become concentrators. all of the network services you mentioned, were once the open independent innovators. and everything that is successful will get co-opted into the profit making schemes, hence the need to always be developing something new. and the need for there to be policies that support the creation of something new at all times.
>
> Who would take these required policy measures? Not the US where most of these big companies are registered, because the social costs of these monopolies to its citizens are weighed against the money that these companies earn for the US economy. Then, who can take the required measures ?
whether it is the US or Europe, of any other nation or group of nations that sponsor research, I think you find that they do fund the technology and they will even often fund FOSS research.
I am not looking for any country to do the policy work, though countries will ally themselves and help when it is in their interest or part of their national identity. I think civil society has to find its allies where it can and should not close any doors. and sometimes the allies are nations, and sometimes the allies are corporate entities. and frequently the allies are found in the internet technical community.
>
> I once again suggest, this can only be some by appropriate global governance systems for the Internet, Thus my interest in this area, and my stated positions on various IG issues, But I am open to be persuaded to alternative possibilities of ensuring what we all seem to want. parminder
and there we diverge. I see no way for global centralized governance systems to motivate non centralized services or the policies that enable them.
>
>
>> a.
>>
>>
>> On 28 Jan 2011, at 06:16, Carlos A. Afonso wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Sorry, McTim, this can happen in any sector in any country in which a
>>> government decides to do so in a crisis situation, be it right, just,
>>> democratic or, as in this case, dictatorial. When the USA invaded Iraq
>>> all communications were cut except for the US military and the "embedded
>>> media", just to quote a somewhat more extreme example. The USA
>>> government has already explicitly mentioned moves to "shut down" the
>>> Internet in a crisis.
>>>
>>> So, it demonstrates nothing of this sort... We need other arguments to
>>> keep our struggle for multiskaholder governance of the Net. Our major
>>> worry regarding the "influence" or control of the State over the
>>> Internet is what is happening on a day-to-day basis in major countries
>>> (like the USA, with the COICA proposal, in France, in England etc) which
>>> can in practice draw dozens of other countries' governments to the same
>>> trend.
>>>
>>> --c.a.
>>>
>>> On 01/28/2011 08:55 AM, McTim wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> This is why its madness to comtenplate giving govts MORE control over
>>>> things Internety. Rgds, McTim
>>>>
>>>> On 1/28/11, parminder
>>>> <parminder at itforchange.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Today may turn out to be a historic day for Egypt...
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Pl read below.
>>>>>
>>>>> AP: "The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark
>>>>> "
>>>>>
>>>>> http://bit.ly/gCJFHt (AP / MSN)
>>>>>
>>>>> "
>>>>> The Internet blackout in Egypt shows that a country with strong
>>>>> control over its Internet providers apparently can force all of
>>>>> them to pull their plugs at once, something that Cowie called
>>>>> 'almost entirely unprecedented in Internet history.'"
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>
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>
> --
> PK
>
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