[governance] Internet blackout in Egypt

[Anriette Esterhuysen]

We will always need subversive technologies, in the way that we will
always need social activism. Even good policy environments can change,
or policies can simply be overruled or disregarded by those who have the
power to do so.

Anriette


On 28/01/11 19:17, 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?
>>   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 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,
> 
> 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 ?
> 
> 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
> 
> 
>> 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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>>   
> 

-- 
------------------------------------------------------
anriette esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
executive director
association for progressive communications
www.apc.org
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