[governance] US hearing on International Proposals to Regulate the Internet

[William Drake]

AE

"Needs" to cover is very much in the eye of the beholder.  If you read the submission from the protagonists of expansive ITRs, they "need" to cover everything that in any way involves IP-based networks whether operated by members' "administrations" or by other entities operating under the "special arrangements."  So everything from defining Internet as telecom under international law (so all provisions apply) to having accounting and settlements for interconnection (!) to security/spam to ITU being a global registry for IPV6 to bringing IXPs under transit provisions to preventing fraud using names and numbers to imposing data collection requirements on private suppliers to imposing supervision on all entities within a territory to prohibiting alternative calling arrangements (like VOIP) "needs" to be considered.  To the critics, they don't.

The direction of change in the ITR's over the past fifty years has been toward deformalization, with provisions being moved to the voluntary Recommendations.  To the extent they can still serve a useful purpose, they should adapt to world as it is today and embody minimalist regulations for only those bits of international telecom needed to carry out ITU's existing mission, rather than seek to expand the mission and accompanying reach in ways that cannot possibly be consensual.  It's hard to see how revisiting the battles of 1988 with newly raised stakes will be good for anyone, including the ITU.

BD

On May 28, 2012, at 12:10 PM, Anriette Esterhuysen wrote:

> Thanks for the clarification Bill... the Wall Street journal was indeed
> not an official FCC reaction. Any reactions to my question on what
> internet issues the ITU needs to consider? Other than telecoms
> infrastructure, broadband and so on?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Anriette
> 
> 
> On 28/05/2012 11:20, William Drake wrote:
>> Hi
>> 
>> On May 28, 2012, at 9:21 AM, Anriette Esterhuysen wrote:
>> 
>>> The distorted FCC reaction to talk of the ITU taking over and
>>> 'regulating' the internet only sets serious discussion about
>>> international cooperation, and rooting internet policy in existing
>>> international agreements, back.
>> 
>> To be clear: the US House is under Republican control, so the selection
>> of speakers is part of a larger effort to portray things as "the Obama
>> administration is asleep at the wheel while the UN is moving to take
>> over the Internet."  Robert McDowell is one of two Republican
>> commissions on an FCC of five, and he is looking to make a name for
>> himself via Wall St. Journal etc. pumping up UN black helicopter
>> paranoias among the political "base".  When he's off the commission
>> he'll get a good job somewhere and nice speaking fees.  But I wouldn't
>> take his views as "the FCC reaction."  Dems on the commission may also
>> have concerns about some of the WCIT proposals, and for good reason, but
>> I've not seen them hyperventilating in the same manner.
>> 
>> David A. Gross is there because he was Bush's Ambassador at State.  Nice
>> smile, but also pretty far to the right, and no formal role in US policy
>> discussions.  Apparently the subcom chair saw no reason to hear from the
>> person who's actually ambassador now and could relate what's happening
>> both in the administration's planning process and in discussions with
>> ITU members.
>> 
>> Sally Shipman Wentworth will be able to reflect on all the work ISOC's
>> been doing deep diving into the proposed ITR revisions.  Her
>> presentation will be the one serious one to watch.
>> 
>> Best,
>> 
>> Bill
>> 
> 
> -- 
> ------------------------------------------------------
> anriette esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
> executive director, association for progressive communications
> www.apc.org
> po box 29755, melville 2109
> south africa
> tel/fax +27 11 726 1692
> 
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