[governance] BBC: May setting out plans to monitor internet use in UK

[parminder]

I agree that there is much that could happen at the ITU which poses 
danger to the Internet as we know. And we need to be careful, vigilant 
and active. I also agree with Avri's hierarchy of concerns, in this regard.

What I dont like is

(1) One sidedness of the hugely dominant discourse that can rent all 
public spaces and avenues to cry hoarse over the minutest, actual or 
imagined, activity that hurts the nicely settled status quo, which is 
largely a Northern take on things, while it so completely ignores or 
pooh poohs real and legitimate concerns of many actors from the South, 
vis a vis the status quo. This onesidedness is the problem

(2) A somewhat related onesided-ness of the hugely dominant and shrill 
discourse vis a vis the claimed gov-control and civil-political human 
rights issues, and complete ignoring of the very real dangers of 
corporate control and economic and social rights issues. For instance, 
everyone seems to be happily ignoring the fact that the recently 
released background brief on WCIT has the following as perhaps the only 
para describing a substantive issue

        "Meanwhile, some companies offer web-based services that are
    growing in popularity, but which use increasing amounts of network
    capacity without necessarily generating larger revenues for the
    companies that provide the infrastructure. The market is evolving
    fast, just as demand is booming worldwide. How is new infrastructure
    to be expanded to cope with demand (especially in developing
    countries), and who should pay for its expansion and its use?"


A solid global network neutrality related alarm bell if they ever could 
be one. Also shows the domination of telecom firms over ITU and how this 
could be a such big problem - destroying the basis of the Internet as we 
know.

Other substantive issue that is mentioned is a right to communicate, 
something I look to with much positive anticipation. Again, it is the 
hegemony of certain powers and their discourse that even a 'rights based 
framing' gets exclusively seen in suspicious terms, completely ignoring 
its good potential. I do think that the ICT space should be constructed 
from a rights based perspective, and a right to communicate is a solid 
basis to start such a construction.

parminder





On Friday 15 June 2012 01:46 AM, Avri Doria wrote:
> I thought WCIT was a vote, not consensus.
>
> If it was consensus I would have little concern, but with a vote I have more. And as I say I am much more concerned about the protocol issues than numbering issues and these more than any naming issues.
>
> I know that you and the NYT have told me I need have no concern, but for now I just don't see it that way.
>
> avri
>
>
> Milton L Mueller<mueller at syr.edu>  wrote:
>
>    
>>      
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>
>>> Whilst experts discuss Internet freedom, democracy and governance in
>>>        
>> a
>>      
>>> multi-stakeholder environment in Stockholm, politicians work on
>>>        
>> another
>>      
>>> agenda...
>>>        
>> Right. Right. Right. This is why the ITU conspiracy talk irritates me
>> so much. National govts - of all types and stripes - are objectively a
>> far greater threat to Internet freedom. Not that the ITU is no threat
>> at all, but it can't do much without a fairly wide consensus among
>> national govt members, and the inordinate amount of attention devoted
>> to it has certain features of a diversionary tactic.
>>
>>      
>>> Personal comment: if democratic countries do this, what message does
>>> this send to undemocratic countries?
>>>        
>> Exactly.
>>      
>
>    
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