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

Tue Jun 5 13:58:48 EAT 2012

The World is not black and white only.  Having no position is in itself a
position.

Ndemo.

> Walu
>
> Thank you for putting words in the mouth of Government!  :) Now if only
> someone in Government can agree/disagree with Walu's thoughts..
>
> CCK you there?
>
> Ali Hussein
>
> +254 773/713 601113
>
> Sent from my iPhoneÂ®
>
> On Jun 4, 2012, at 8:00 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> @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 iPhoneÂ®
>>
>> 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 Internetâ€”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 â€œfathers of the
>> >> Internet,â€ 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
>> >>
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>> 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.
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> 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.