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

[Riaz K Tayob]

Are you crazy Parminder?

Rule no. 1 The "free market" is always right

Rule no. 2 If not, consult rule number 1.

Rule no. 3 If you feel let down by rule no. 1 consult rule no. 2

Apologies if this seems self-referential... but that is how it IS



On 2012/11/21 09:49 AM, parminder wrote:
>
>             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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