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

Walubengo J jwalu at yahoo.com
Tue Jun 5 18:05:18 EAT 2012


Ali,

Milton Mueller, a Prof at Syracuse Univ in the US keeps tabs on these developments.  I dont always agree with him but I found this piece a good intro to the International Politics of the Internet..and a balanced opinion on the recent ITU moves.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/crbvqzh

or

http://www.internetgovernance.org/2012/05/24/threat-analysis-of-tus-wcit-part-1-historical-context/

walu.
nb: Obviously he applies less fuzzy logic than the PS :-).

--- On Tue, 6/5/12, 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: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 2:30 PM

Daktari 

Well put. I'm sure as we move along that will be clearer...

Thanks 

Ali Hussein

+254 773/713 601113

Sent from my iPhone®

On Jun 5, 2012, at 1:58 PM, bitange at jambo.co.ke wrote:

> 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 iPhone®
>> 
>> 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 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
>>>>> 
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> 

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