 GrepLaw |
|
|
|
This site is a production of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Please email if you have questions, contributions, or ideas about improving this site.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Information Society Moves in on ICANN
|
|
|
|
posted by mpawlo
on Monday December 15, @05:49AM
from the good-or-bad dept.
|
|
|
|
|
The World Summit on the Information Society is held in two phases. The first phase of WSIS took place in Geneva last week. It addressed the broad range of themes concerning the Information Society and adopted a Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action. The second phase will take place in Tunis hosted by the Government of Tunisia, from 16 to 18 November 2005. The WSIS raises one important question - that of ICANN's role.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In a draft statement following the conference in Geneva, the ITU states:
' The international management of the Internet
should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full
involvement of governments, the private sector, civil society and
international organizations.'
The ever-present Declan McCullagh states in one of his Politech postings:
'About the only concrete
proposal, as you can see in the links below, is a naked power grab to wrest
control of Internet governance (domain names, addresses) from ICANN. As
flawed as ICANN may be, it's probably a heck of a lot better than letting
the U.N. take over.'
Personally, I find it hard to defend ICANN on status quo merits. I find it more suitable to make as many nations as possible, offline or online, participate in ICANN or an organisation replacing ICANN. It can be achieved through the United Nations or a similar body. We have to bear with the risk of red-tape methods, as displayed by Declan McCullagh. However, even more bureaucracy would have users better off than with today's system. The only regulation that I consider sound is a global regulation based on the participation of nations. The work of ICANN affects mostly those who still have not found their way out on the Internet.
Mikael Pawlo
Mikael Pawlo is an associate of the Swedish law firm Advokatfirman Lindahl. On nights and weekends he works as an editor for the leading Swedish open source and free software publication Gnuheter. He is also contributing editor of the Harvard Berkman Center publication on Internet law issues, Greplaw.org and the Swedish editor of NIR.
|
|
|
|
< Liability of Cameraphones
| Madster Seeks Supreme Court Trial >
| |
|
|
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
|
|
Information Society Moves in on ICANN
|
Login/Create an Account
| Top
| 1 comments
|
Search Discussion
|
|
|
|
The Fine Print:
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them.
We are not responsible for them in any way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
by
Anonymous Coward
on Tuesday December 16, @09:51AM (#1414)
|
|
|
|
|
I don't think either option is going to be viable. ICANN has proved itself incapable of managing "The Internet" for the greater good, so certainly something needs to change; but the UN isn't going to be able to manage it in that vein either. The UN has difficulty moving quickly on an enormously important issue such as Iraq, never mind something like the Internet; that it will view as (relatively) trivial.
I think the only way forward is to start afresh, with a new organisation made up of delegates from all parties that will be affected, i.e. equal numbers from the registries, businesses, political circles, and consumer organisations. It's unlikely those with vested interests will allow that to happen, but surely that's the model we should be aiming for?
adam
|
|
|
|
|
|
[ Parent
]
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be
lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.
- Isaac Asimov
|
 |
|
|
|
[
home |
contribute story |
older articles |
past polls |
faq |
authors |
preferences ]
|
