[kictanet] Is the UN (Read Governments) the Next Big Threat to Internet Freedom?

[Walubengo J]

@Ali,

am not in government but I can deduce "their" position...Most African Government Positions in international  ICT matters is as spelled out by ITU.  It has worked well in some areas - such as enforcing international standards in telephony and radio frequencies.

Am not sure the same approach would achieve similar success in matters purely Internet.  But that does not mean that ITU will or should stop trying - particularly because telephony and other traditional telco-issues have indeed moved onto the internet platform and we dont want the ITU ecosystem stranded in the 20th Century...we got to move with them.

So until when we pass the Freedom of Information Bill , we shall continue to read the ITU lips/position in order to know what Kenya and the other big girls in Africa are thinking.  However, Brasil, Rep S.A, India and China (BRIC countries ) were honest enough to state this (ITU) position loudly enough for everyone to hear during the last IGF meeting held in Nairobi 2011...

On another related but domestic issue, our laws expect the National Communication Secretariate to be the conveyor of our National Position, but in practice (I stand to be corrected) it appears the Regulator through ITU gets to have the last say.

walu.

--- On Mon, 6/4/12, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:

From: Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Is the UN (Read Governments) the Next Big Threat to Internet Freedom?
To: jwalu at yahoo.com
Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Date: Monday, June 4, 2012, 7:15 PM

Indeed. I'm abit surprised by the silence from CCK and other Governmental Agencies on this issue. Does it mean we as a country do not have a position on this?  

Ali Hussein

+254 773/713 601113

Sent from my iPhone®

On Jun 4, 2012, at 5:04 PM, McTim <dogwallah at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> This is not just about ICANN, the ITRs that will are being negotiated
> in this process cover a whole gamut of Internet related things (such
> as peering and interconnection), not just names and numbers (a la
> ICANN).
> 
> We should have something to say in the formulation of the Kenyan
> position, certainly.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> McTim
> 
> On Mon, Jun 4, 2012 at 12:31 AM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>> Listers
>> 
>> Interesting article. A few weeks ago I raised the issue on Internet Freedom
>> and Governance and asked whether our government has a position on this?
>> 
>> http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-01/is-the-un-the-next-big-threat-to-internet-freedom
>> 
>> This article brings to the fore the different voices that are advocating for
>> two key positions:-
>> 
>> 1. Should the status quo remain? Where the key player ICANN (the Internet
>> Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers), which is a private, U.S.-based
>> nonprofit organization) exerts control over the fundamental levers and gears
>> that underlie the Internet—including the domain-name system.  Although ICANN
>> says it operates on a multistakeholder model that involves such groups as
>> the Internet Engineering Task Force and the World Wide Web Consortium, there
>> has been a lot of criticism of the organization over the years, from
>> allegations of conflicts of interest to moves such as the recent expansion
>> of the top-level domain system.
>> 
>> 2. Should the UN, through the ITU (international Telecommunications Union
>> take over from ICANN? Critics including one of the “fathers of the
>> Internet,” TCP/IP developer Vinton Cerf say putting control of the Net under
>> the UN body would subject the Internet to the whims of many nations whose
>> commitment to democracy and free speech is questionable at best, including
>> China and Russia. Cerf, who is currently the chief Internet evangelist at
>> Google, said the move would threaten the free and open nature of the
>> Internet:
>> 
>> As the Internet Community in Kenya do we have a position on this? The Kenya
>> Government? CCK?
>> 
>> Regards
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Ali Hussein|Managing Partner
>> 
>> 
>> Telemedia Africa
>> Azania Technology Group
>> 
>> Chaka Court, Argwings Kodhek Road
>> 
>> P O Box  14556-00100
>> 
>> Office: +254 737 751409
>> 
>> Cell:     +254 773/713 601113
>> 
>> Nairobi, Kenya
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>> 
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "You generally hear that what a man doesn't know doesn't hurt him, but in
>> business what a man doesn't know does hurt.". - E. St. Elmo Lewis, member,
>> Advertising Hall of Fame
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> kictanet mailing list
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>> 
>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dogwallah%40gmail.com
>> 
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for
>> people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>> 
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet

Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com

The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.

KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20120604/cd6aca35/attachment.htm>