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

[Carlos A. Afonso]

Parm, good points, certainly, reviewing the "imperfections" of certain 
convenient positions by the big players.

We should note that the telcos' juggernaut just wants a (large, of 
course) piece of the pie of the business held by the likes of Google. 
They are not worried about who coordinates IP and DNS worldwide (and 
they of course have sizable representation in the RIRs for what matters 
to them) -- it seems the only "enemies" of the current IP/DNS governance 
schema are a small bunch of governments.

The telcos only want the same "freedom" to profit from packet traffic 
(and its embedded information) as the application/content providers do. 
If this means running mercilessly over net neutrality, responsibility of 
intermediaries and so on, well, so be it.

So this is also a "fight of titans" open to all kinds of big money 
compromises which we ought to be aware of in defense of the principles 
we care for. In other words: treat certain big "allies" like you were 
stepping on (sometimes rotten) eggs. :)

frt rgds

--c.a.

On 11/21/2012 05:49 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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