[governance] Google's Fight the ITU/WCIT website

[parminder]

             From Google's sign-on campaign

            “A free and open world depends on a free and open Internet.
            Governments alone, working behind closed doors, should not
            direct its future. The billions of people around the globe
            who use the Internet should have a voice.”


            https://www.google.com/takeaction/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=112012freeandopen#make-your-voice-heard



Dear Google; Yes, the world indeed needs an open Internet, for which 
reason it is rather awful to note that you, meaning, Google;

1) Sold the entire net neutrality campaign down the drain in the US, by 
first assuming its leadership and then entering into a self-serving 
agreement with Verizon, whereby the main means of accessing the Internet 
in the future - mobiles - are exempted from net neutrality provisions.

2) Have recently entered into exclusive arrangements with telecos to 
provide Gmail, Google + and Google Search for free in some developing 
countries (Philippines) , and as a special low cost package exclusively 
of a few Internet services (and not the full, public Internet) in others 
(India), which makes a mockery of an open and net neutral Internet.

3) Tweak your search results, which is increasingly the main way of 
accessing locations on the Internet, in non-transparent ways, with 
increasing evidence that this is done in a manner that merely serves 
your own commercial interests and goes against consumer/ public 
interest, and for which reasons Google is currently subject to 
regulatory investigations in the US and EU.

( There are hundreds of other outrages, big and small, including the 
fact that today I suddenly  see my default browser getting set for 
"Chrome' when I prefer and have always used Mozilla Firefox and never 
asked for the change of default.)

I cannot see anything other than effective regulation of the Internet to 
be able to check such excesses by Internet companies that are deeply 
compromising the openness of the Internet (sticking here to only to the 
subject of openness of the Internet, used in above appeal by Google).

So, lets be honest, it is not about people versus ITU, not even, Google 
versus ITU, or even Google versus content regulation; it is Google 
versus any regulation of the Internet space so that Google, and 
similarly positioned dominant players, can have a free run over the 
economic, social and political resources of the world.

It is very important to wage the needed struggles to keep Internet's 
content free from undue statist controls. But one needs to be careful 
about whom one chooses as partners, nay, leaders of the campaign. 
Remember, the lessons from the net neutrality campaign in the US which 
was sold cheap by those who assumed its leadership. Also, have no doubt 
whatsoever that ACTAs and PIPAs will come back in new forms, 
accommodating the interests of the big Internet companies that led the 
opposition in the first round. (Anyone wanting to take a bet on this! :) 
) And. when the second round happens, since 'our leaders' would have 
crossed over, there wouldnt be much fight left to give.

For sure, make opportunistic, tactical, alliances, but civil society 
needs to be careful not to abandon leadership of public interest causes 
to players who cannot but become turncoat and, well, betray, - sooner or 
later getting into bed with whoever is economically and politically 
powerful around to help their business prosper. Such is the structural 
logic of big business. Let them stick to what they do best - organise 
productive forces of the world. Leave public interest causes to public 
interest players - civil society and governments. However, if the 
sentiment is simply overflowing, maybe just donate some money to such 
causes, in an arms- lenght /hands-off approach vis a vis managing the 
precise activities involved. I simply dont fancy corporate-led 'public 
interest' campaigns.

One was stuck by the number of Google organised panels at the Baku IGF, 
where they openly took part and gave their policy pitch. As a 
participant from Pakistan said at a workshop ' I find a Google 
representative at every panel that I am at'. Such brash presence at 
policy forums and taking strong policy positions by corporates is a 
relatively new game, and to my mind not a welcome thing for our 
democracies. I keep hoping that civil society would give this phenomenon 
a deeper thought and analysis, rather than just riding the bandwagon.

parminder

On Wednesday 21 November 2012 04:47 AM, Fouad Bajwa wrote:
> Just saw Google's Fight the ITU/WCIT website
>
> https://www.google.com/intl/en/takeaction/
> https://www.google.com/intl/fr/takeaction/
> https://www.google.com/intl/es/takeaction/
> https://www.google.com/intl/ar/takeaction/
> https://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/takeaction/
> https://www.google.com/intl/pt-BR/takeaction/
> https://www.google.com/intl/ru/takeaction/
>
> (thanks to a colleague for sharing!)
>

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