By Marietje Schaake – China, Iran and Cuba are notorious for building electronic walls that cut off Internet users. These de facto ‘intranets‘ are governed by strict terms of use that regulate access to information and monitor all Internet traffic. The balkanization of the Internet is looming.
At the UN level there’s the “Internet Governance Forum,” which co-exists with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) which was established in 1865. It is in these forums that governments and businesses are waging an ongoing battle to regain influence and power online.
In the ITU, for example, authoritarian regimes are gaining ground by ‘buying’ the votes of developing countries. Draft regulations and proposals that aim for centralized control to fight cybercrime or to regulate information services are submitted and discussed. These measures would seriously hamper the online freedom of Internet users. more> http://tinyurl.com/84wmokj
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- U.N. Telecom Agency Releases Secret Treaty, Critics Unswayed (theneteconomy.wordpress.com)
- Groups Say ITU’s Transparency Efforts Aren’t Enough (pcworld.com)
- Marietje Schaake: Stop Balkanizing the Internet (huffingtonpost.com)
- ITU Gives a Nod Towards Transparency; Still a Long Road to Full Civil Society Participation, Cynthia Wong, Center for Democracy & Technology
