Internet Regulations/ ITU meetings - Here we go again

[Tyrath]

I'm kinda surprised I haven't heard a peep anywhere about this. Had to go actively search to even find articles on it, but google has launched a new campaign against the secretive government meetings about putting more shackles on the internet.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/takeaction/

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1071...n-begins-today

International campaign to keep the Internet free and open begins today

OTTAWA, Nov. 14, 2012 /CNW/ - An international campaign to preserve the free and open Internet is launching in Canada this week.

This new campaign, which includes representatives from the global Internet community, opposes proposals that are expected to be tabled at an upcoming international conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the body that regulates telecommunications traffic globally. These proposals would see certain key elements of the Internet placed under control of the ITU, a United Nations co-ordinated, multi-national body. The widely held view of many in the Internet community is that proposals to improve Internet security are nothing more than veiled attempts by some countries with less than fully functioning democratic institutions to have a pretext to increase Internet surveillance and restrict the freedoms of global Internet users.

Canadians are asked to join in support of the free and open Internet by signing a global petition opposing these proposals to clamp down on the digital rights of the global online community. This petition can be found here: http://www.change.org/netgrab.

"As a supporter of the free and open Internet, we oppose any attempts to put restrictions on the online activities of Canadian citizens," said Byron Holland, president and CEO of Canadian Internet Registration Authority. "The current model for governing the Internet, called the multi-stakeholder model, is responsible for the Internet's success, for its role in both elevating the global economy and the spread of democratic free speech."

The multi-stakeholder governance model allows a myriad of stakeholders - such as engineers, marketers, coders, civil society, academics, and security experts - to have a voice equal to that of nations, non-governmental organizations or corporations. In short, the people and organizations that have a stake in the Internet's success are the people and organizations that make the decisions about its development.

At a recent meeting of the International Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable Tony Clement, also reaffirmed the government of Canada's support for the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance: http://www.cira.ca/news/news-releases/governance-model/.

The ITU was first established in 1865 to regulate telegrams, and later telephones and faxes. At the World Conference on Information Technology (WCIT) in Dubai in December, the ITU will conduct the first review of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) in 25 years, including proposal to potentially regulate elements of the global Internet. One example of concern is a proposal to treat Internet traffic like regular telephone calls for international billing purposes have been found to risk the future of the Internet as we know it.

"The bottom-up, light handed approach enabled by the multi-stakeholder model and used by ICANN has allowed the Internet to become an incredible economic and democratizing force and the greatest driver of social change since the printing press," said Holland. "This is a governance model that reflects the uniqueness of the Internet itself which we must work to preserve and evolve."

"CIRA is pleased by the Canadian government's unqualified support for the Internet's multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance," says Holland. "I now also call on Canadians to take action to ensure the Internet remains innovative, secure, inter-operable and, most importantly, free and open."

http://mashable.com/2012/11/14/what-is-the-itu/

Internet Activists on Red Alert Ahead of United Nations Conference
Internet activists are warning that next month’s meeting of the International Telecommunications Union, a United Nations body charged with overseeing global communications, may have significant and potentially disastrous consequences for everyday Internet users.

Called the World Conference on International Telecommunications, the meeting is intended to update some of the aging international law that governs the flow of information online. The meeting is mostly closed to the public, so the few details we do know about various proposals are largely thanks to leaks, many of which are published on WCITleaks.

What we do know is that at least some of the proposals could allow governments more power to clamp down on Internet access or tax international traffic, either of which are anathema to the idea of a free, open and international Internet. Other proposals would move some responsibility for Internet governance to the United Nations.

While many experts agree the current Internet governance setup isn’t perfect — some argue the United States has outsized influence, for instance — Internet advocates are warning that proposals expected to arise at WCIT could be dangerous to the Internet as we know it.

The likelihood of any of these proposals passing is questionable — WCIT is one country, one vote, and most proposals require a consensus to pass. However, Fight For the Future and Access, two Internet advocacy groups, aren’t taking any chances: They’re joining forces to launch an informational campaign and petition urging citizens to oppose letting the ITU handle decisions about Internet governance.

“It’s a global effort to mobilize Internet users everywhere to call their governments to oppose handing over key decisions about the Internet to ITU,” said Mike Rispoli of Access. “Some of the proposals, the way we see it, really could change the Internet as we know it.”

The two groups created the above video, a four-minute overview of the ITU, WCIT and the major Internet governance issues surrounding the conference. For more information about their campaign, check out WhatIsTheITU.org.

So are we looking at a losing battle here with governments intent on controlling the internet? It doesn't help that things like this dont get mainstream coverage until right before the event and that public awareness is at a minimum. Is it just a matter of time before we start remembering this as the golden age of the internet?

Or is everyone just overreacting?

[ronin sparthos]

Welcome to Bluegartrls.com, please insert your timecard for 30mins of access or pay $1.99 for 60mins of access.

Access to the premium Spam region will require an additional .50 surcharge.

[Grey Jorildyn]

What's the number for technical support? I stuck my debit card into my cd-rom drive to pay but it got stuck and I need help.

For reals though, I dunno. Sounds like the same lame crap they try and keep failing at. Too many people 'at the top' don't really understand the nature of the internet. They treat it like something they want to police but can't really be arsed to actually learn anything about it. Who knows though.

[quannum]

they understand that it's bad for some older business/power models.

[kuronosan]

Pretty much best summarized by saying that the internet offers an immediate threat to what quannum said, so they are attempting to regulate it in the hopes that they can continue on with business as usual. Instead of changing and progressing with the world they want to stifle it and continue to control progress. This is nothing new. Go check out the dichloroacetic acid fiasco if you want a good indicator. Actually, check out Apple's lawsuits. Practically any entity that uses law to progress itself while stifling someone else is doing this.

[Cantih]

While you're paying attention to the ITU, you should also consider looking into this
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57...hout-warrants/
and calling your Senators about it if you're in the US. The vote on the bill is NEXT WEEK, so not much time.

A Senate proposal touted as protecting Americans' e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law.

CNET has learned that Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans' e-mail, is scheduled for next week.

Leahy's rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies -- including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission -- to access Americans' e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge. (CNET obtained the revised draft from a source involved in the negotiations with Leahy.)

He's also responsible for these

On September 20, 2010, Leahy introduced the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, Senate Bill S. 3804, which would allow the court to issue a restraining order or injunction against Internet domain names which infringe upon copyright.[16]

In May 2011, Leahy introduced the Protect IP Act (PIPA) to the Senate. The bill was drafted to give the US government and copyright holders additional tools to fight copyright piracy and counterfeit goods trafficking by foreign rogue websites. Critics of the bill say that it would be ineffective, impede free expression on the internet, and interfere with its infrastructure. Leahy subsequently indicated that he would favor further research into provisions that raised objections.

I guess he's planning this to be his last term, cause the internet is going to be outright against him in 2014 when he's up again.

[Churchill]

inc anonymous

[Waraji]

When's the Pirate internet coming online?

[hey]

When's the Pirate internet coming online?

It's been online for a long time.

[Cantih]

Good news!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...et-unregulated

A proposed global telecoms treaty that would give national governments control of the internet has been blocked by the US and key western and African nations. They said they are "not able to sign the agreement in its current form" at the end of a International Telecoms Union (ITU) conference in Dubai.

However, in a more local US matter
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/1...ss-spying-bill

We could be celebrating the New Year by ripping out the fiber optic cables that are sending copies of all our emails to the National Security Agency. But instead, Congress is planning on ringing in 2013 by re-authorizing parts of the FISA Amendments Act, the controversial 2008 bill that allows Americans speaking to people overseas to be surveilled without warrants.

The House of Representatives has already passed a five-year extension on the Act with no reforms. Now the Senate has only a few days left to consider the matter, and our contacts in DC say the Senate is planning on reauthorizing the bill for 5 years without any meaningful amendments to protect privacy or increase transparency, much less allow Senators to debate its merits.

It's very short notice, there's not enough groundswell, and it's unlikely anything significant can be done due to the debt issue being first and foremost, it'll probably be passed right trough.
Still though, even if it can't be full out stopped, call your pair of senators, tell them your opinion on the matter, convince them to support altering the bill for more civil liberty protections, or at least reduce the reauthorization to one year, etc.