Framing the ITU conference
What we are presenting is a quick overview, also sourced from the Internet, of the way the media in different parts of the world is framing the issue.
A HOOT ready reckoner. Pix: www.guardian.co.uk
The World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) which opened in Dubai on Monday has been getting sustained coverage well ahead of its opening. A conference with a heavy technical agenda has been simplified in media framing as a faceoff between two sets of countries. North America, Europe, Australia, Japan and the East African countries, versus Russia, China, Arab States and some African Nations. On the issue of who will set the rules for the Internet.
The conference opened in Dubai on December 3rd. Its deliberations, which go on till Dec 14, 2012, will review the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), which lay down guidelines over how we communicate with one another over phones and computers, using a myriad tools, with voice, visual or data.
The story in most media is being framed as a struggle for control between the US-based corporations which dominate the Internet and the governments who want to resist US control via the United Nations. The third framing is that of free speech versus government control.
The coverage of the ITU conference in India brings a third element into the broader ‘face-off between the two groups of interests’ coverage that has been running in the international press and blogs for a few months now in the run-up to the Dubai meet.
The framing in the Indian press has been partly decided by the extensive use of AP (Hindustan Times and Reuters (Indian Express) and partly by the Indian government’s stand on the issue as articulated by Kapil Sibal. Which is, protecting content and free speech from inter-governmental regulation but pushing for cyber security as well. Also by edit page writers spelling out what the UN stand means.
Two edit page comments, one in the Indian Express and another in the Hindu are good examples of how the exercise in reframing international telecommunication rules after they were last set 24 years ago in 1988, is being presented. The internet did not figure then. It looms large in the discourse now. The Express editorial Battle for the Internet and the Hindu’s lead opinion piece Hyping one threat to hide another give both sides of the argument.
Parminder Jeet Singh in the Hindu writes,
The U.S. and the dominant global Internet companies, which are at the forefront of the anti-ITU campaign, know their game and objectives quite well. It is important that others do so too. This is about the new paradigm of global governance/regulation of the communication realm. Most hype around the WCIT seems to be missing this point, largely because it is to a considerable extent orchestrated and misled by the dominant powers.
The paradigmatic issue here is whether the Internet, as the centrepiece of the new global communication realm, should be regulated at all. Freedom of expression is just one side of the story. The other, rather well disguised side is about the political economy of the global communication realm. It is about the division of resources within the communication realm, and, even more importantly, the larger global and sub-global division of resources — economic, social, and political — which is fundamentally impacted by the nature of regimes that govern the global communication realm.
The Express writes,
Though fears that the UN is plotting an internet coup are probably exaggerated, some are afraid that the negotiations could become an occasion for governments, authoritarian and otherwise, to wrest more decision-making powers on internet surveillance, censorship and data retention norms. The proposals are also perceived to have been crafted behind closed doors, with the private sector and civil society excluded from voting. It is easy to see why internet freedom advocates might be concerned. On the table are proposals to monitor and filter spam; to block computers that “harm” technical facilities or personnel; to have “transit centres” that could shut off traffic to particular places; and to update international user data retention laws. If approved, these could all potentially throttle internet freedom. Still, the ITU operates on a consensus-driven approach, and given the US government’s oft-stated opposition, these proposals are unlikely to be accepted.
The revised ITRs could, however, still create new barriers to access. Several telecom companies, particularly the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), see the WCIT as an opportunity to open up a revenue stream, given that new technologies are eroding the value of voice calls. The key question is, should the internet be treated like regular phone services when it comes to regulation and pricing? The ETNO wants to eliminate net neutrality — the idea that all operators give equal priority to all forms of data — and introduce a “sender pay” model, which would require the originator of the content to pay for data transmission, creating enormous costs for content providers like Google. It could lead to companies offloading this extra cost to consumers, or to a new digital divide where large content providers will stop sending data to countries where the returns from sending traffic are small compared to the costs of transmission.
The ITR deliberations began in Melbourne, Australiain 1988 and were enforced in 1990, when the world of communication was smaller and far less complicated. India’s internet journey (not counting the first computers in 1956 and ERnet in academia in the 1980s), really began five years later when personal computers came into India.
Today, the Indian government is jockeying for a greater say in the international governance of the Internet. And the debate has been fierce. Should governments have a greater say in internet governance? Should governments have a free hand in regulating content, in surveillance and in collection of personal data? Should the U.N and the ITU have the last word in internet governance?
The ITU deals with three sectors - Radiocommunication, Telecommunication Standardization, and Telecommunication Development. The proposed changes to the to the ITRs deal with
· fundamental right of access to communications
· security in the use of ICT
· protection of critical national resources
· international frameworks; charging and accounting, including taxation
· interconnection and interoperability
· quality of service
· convergence
In this Hoot ready reckoner, we list the main issues the conference will cover, and provide links for a set of articles that provide different viewpoints.
Thus, on the US companies and US government and European governments’ stance:
Google's Media Campaign Against the UN Slapped Down - Forbes
Google has been a forerunner and one of the most outspoken companies in protecting the right to freedom of information and expression. That is laudable and earned the company respect around the globe. What is less admirable is the hyperbole that..
Net Neutrality? Google Prods Users to Fight Copyright Law - SPIEGEL ONLINE
From www.spiegel.de - December 4, 4:30 PM
Google is increasingly throwing around its power to improve its bottom line. The latest incident is a draft law in Germany that would force the company to share some revenues with newspaper publishers.
Internet freedom tops Dubai summit agenda
From www.aljazeera.com - December 3, 6:13 PM
Government regulators set to debate amid divisions on how best to govern the internet at UN agency-hosted conference.
The plot against the Internet - Eliza Krigman
From www.politico.com - December 2, 6:09 PM
Bureaucrats from around the world will gather behind closed doors in Dubai next week to plot an end to the Internet as we know it — or so Washington would have you believe. Hill lawmakers warn that the 120-plus U.S.
Australia fights net rules as threat to free speech
From www.smh.com.au - December 3, 10:57 AM
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy arrives in Dubai on Monday to lobby against proposed changes to internet regulation that web giants such as Google warn "could permit governments to censor legitimate speech – or even cut off internet access...
A quick guide to the ITU's 'Internet takeover' conference, WCIT | Digital Trends
From www.digitaltrends.com - December 3, 11:35 AM
On Monday, 193 United Nations member states will gather in Dubai to decide the future of the Internet. The details are messy, confusing, and sometimes secret. And nobody knows what's going to happen.
On the fact that the ITU has no dark plot to curb Internet speech:
Nations Gather to Discuss Web Rules
From online.wsj.com - December 4, 5:16 PM
Despite the political saber-rattling, observers don't expect drastic changes to the way the Internet is run will be agreed on at the Dubai conference. ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré has said any changes must be agreed upon by all countries involved.
Political Nuts: Why Google should keep its business out of the ITU.
From politicalnuts.blogspot.ch - December 4, 1:33 PM
The first thing the user is presented with is very vague facts about what the ITU is and Google's stance about it. Then Google wants you to part with your: First and Last name; E-mail address; Locatio; Stance on Internet infrastructure you likely don't understand. That form is a privacy violation in and of itself. Google is outright collecting information.
ITU Lashes Back At Critics As Worldwide Conference Gets Underway
From www.techweekeurope.co.uk - December 4, 10:26 AM
The ITU has responded to critics such as Google who accuse it of seeking to gain control of the Internet, accusing such groups of scare-mongering...
ITU chief offers hand of friendship to ICANN
From domainincite.com - December 3, 11:08 PM
Are ICANN and the International Telecommunications Union going to start playing nicely? That’s the message coming out of the ITU’s World Conference on International Telecommunicationsi...
ITU goes on the defensive ahead of WCIT meeting
From www.pcadvisor.co.uk - December 1, 4:03 AM
Companies and organizations that are convinced the International Telecommunication Union will try to take over the Internet during next week's World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) don't understand what the meeting can decide...
News and views on WCIT and the ITU
Media coverage of the WCIT, the ITU, and efforts to impose government control over the Internet. Backgrounders are selected feature reports that provide good overviews of the issues at stake at WCIT and future ITU conferences. The latest headlines are recent stories about WCIT, curated by the good people at the Internet Society.
Backgrounders
The U.N.'s Internet Power Grab Wall Street Journal
Leaked documents show a real threat to the international flow of information
Keep the Internet Open New York Times
More and more governments are trying to take away the Internet as we know it.
Why is the UN Trying to Take over the Internet? Forbes
The International Telecommunications Union, an agency of the UN, is trying to take over the Internet. Yes, really.
World War 3.0 Vanity Fair
Privacy, piracy, security, sovereignty—the divisions on these issues reflect an even deeper split between those who want tight control and those who want unfettered freedom.
Latest Headlines from the Internet Society's Scoop.it news feed
Nations Gather to Discuss Web Rules 4 Dec 2012
The question of who rules the Internet and how is being debated at a 12-day conference in Dubai.
The dirty truth about WCIT | .Nxt | Internet policy and governance 4 Dec 2012
At the end of it, what does WCIT boil down to? An effort by old telecoms operators to make more money. An effort that, by the way, is likely to fail.But among the back-and-forth, a dirty truth exists: the campaign waged by the United States to bring WCIT, the ITRs and the ITU into the open has worked.
The Road to Dubai 4 Dec 2012
The coming year will be a telling time for the Internet and its Community – and by that I mean everyone that uses or is touched by it. Decisions will be made that will impact the world that we and future generations live in. Will history be kind to us? Time will tell.
Internet Users Shouldn’t Have to Pay the Price of this International Treaty | Wired Opinion | Wired.com 3 Dec 2012
Requiring content providers to establish bilateral relationships with all of the network operators that comprise the global Internet simply cannot be made to scale … because every Internet user is a potential content provider.
Report on the eve of WCIT 3 Dec 2012
Hello from Dubai where the WCIT – World Conference on International Telecommunications #WCIT12 – under the auspice of the United Nations agency the International Telecommunications Union (I...
UN net regulation talks kick off 3 Dec 2012
A UN agency, hosting a meeting of 193 government regulators in Dubai, tries to calm fears that they could threaten the freedom of the internet.
A quick guide to the ITU's 'Internet takeover' conference, WCIT | Digital Trends 2 Dec 2012
On Monday, 193 United Nations member states will gather in Dubai to decide the future of the Internet. The details are messy, confusing, and sometimes secret. And nobody knows what's going to happen.Here's a quick-and-dirty guide to filthy chaos that is the 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications.
U.N. WCIT-12 makes Syrian Internet blackout 'trivial' everywhere | ZDNet 2 Dec 2012
If the ITU's treaty is signed into law at WCIT-12 in Dubai this month, its new Internet governance rules will make Syria's Internet blackout a "trivial" and legally supported maneuver for every country in the world.
Shutdowns Raise Issue Of Who Controls The Internet : NPR 1 Dec 2012
The uprisings in Syria and Egypt have shown how activists can mobilize and promote their cause via the Internet.
ITU’s Touré Urges Syria To Restore Internet Access 1 Dec 2012
UN International Telecommunication Union Secretary General Hamadoun Touré used a press conference on the eve of the much-anticipated World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT) which starts in Dubai next week to call on the Syrian government to investigate problems of access to the mobile network and internet in Syria and do “anything necessary to restore the access.”
The U.N. Shouldn't Make Decisions About an Open Internet Behind Closed Doors | Wired Opinion | Wired.com 30 Nov 2012
Behind closed doors, decisions will be made next week that could threaten the global, open internet. This isn’t a sky-is-falling cry: There could be very real consequences both in how we use the internet and how it’s governed.
Canada opposes governments having broad control of Internet, documents show 30 Nov 2012
OTTAWA — Canada will look to prevent governments from taking more power over the Internet when governments sit down for 12 days of negotiations on the future of the Internet next week, but the government didn’t say Thursday where it...
'Father of the internet': Why we must fight for its freedom - CNN.com 30 Nov 2012
"Let us be clear: We do not advocate for an end to the ITU. The UN agency has helped the world manage radio spectrum and wired and wireless telephone networks, bringing much needed investment to the developing world.But this inter-governmental agency is the wrong place to make decisions about the future of the internet. Only governments have a vote at the ITU. This includes governments that do not support a free and open internet. Engineers, companies, and people that build and use the web have no vote.
What every developing country delegation needs to know before voting in Dubai » LIRNEasia - 30 Nov 2012
We’ve been looking at various aspects of the WCIT proposals over the past few months. Here’s a summary for those who have the right to vote.LIRNEasia’s analysis breaks down some of the most controversial positions expressed by Member States in recent weeks and their potential impact to the continued proliferation of global Internet access.
System error 30 Nov 2012
Governments squabble over new rules for the internetFears of an anti-Western putsch in Dubai, handing control of the internet to authoritarian governments, are overblown. Though in theory the ITU works by majority vote, in practice agreements are almost always reached by consensus. Moreover, the ITU has no power to foist rules on governments that refuse to bargain. A bigger danger is therefore deadlock. That might encourage a large pack of nations to set up their own internet regime, making communication with the rest of the world more costly and more complicated.
US Ambassador: “ITU Is Not The Problem” | Intellectual Property Watch 29 Nov 2012
United States Ambassador Terry Kramer, head of the US delegation to the upcoming UN-led World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT) in Dubai, in a press call today warned against proposals that would invite the UN International...
Kenya opposes internet rules review 29 Nov 2012
Kenya will oppose a planned review of the internet’s governing rules and economic model, which were agreed on in Melbourne 25 years ago.
The Slow, Ineffectual ICANN Is Still the Best Option for Internet Governance 29 Nov 2012
This article arises from Future Tense, a joint effort of Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate that looks at emerging technologies and their implications for policy and for society.
Sibal snowed in with issues of free speech 28 Nov 2012
"...Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday committed that he would reconsider the language used in the proposal to ensure a match with the government’s genuine intent that neither the Internet, Internet traffic nor the content falls under ITU control."
Groundbreaking Report Illustrates Dangers to World Trade Rules, Internet Economy of Upcoming Diplomatic Conference 28 Nov 2012
The report is the first time that proposals by governments to amend current international telecommunications obligations at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai December 3-14 have been reconciled with binding rules on trade developed at the World Trade Organisation.
Should UN regulate the Internet? Summit courts controversy 28 Nov 2012
International Telecommunications Union poised to assert authority over Internet; debate pits revenue-seeking nations and authoritarian regimes against open Internet champions...
Dark Warnings About Future of Internet Access 28 Nov 2012
With envoys from more than 100 nations convening in Dubai to discuss telecommunications, diverse groups are warning of plans to censor the Internet. But analysts say the real debate is about business.
As the WCIT Nears, US Resists Global Internet Regulation | Broadband for America 28 Nov 2012
Don’t fix what isn’t broken: an important mantra delegates would do well to remember as they gather in Dubai in December for the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT).
US Internet Stakeholders United on ITU Treaty Negotiations | USTelecom 28 Nov 2012
With member countries of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) set to renegotiate a 24-year-old treaty on international telecommunication regulations at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai in early December, U.S. industry and government officials agree that provisions of the treaty need to remain high-level and promote commercial agreements on traffic exchanges between countries, Mindel De La Torre, Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission said at the Broadband Breakfast Club’s November meeting on Tuesday.
Crovitz: The U.N.'s Internet Sneak Attack 26 Nov 2012
In The Wall Street Journal, Information Age columnist Gordon Crovitz writes that letting the Internet be rewired by bureaucrats would be like handing a Stradivarius to a gorilla.
Civil society & industry oppose India’s plans to modify ITRs 26 Nov 2012
"India’s proposal on International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs), submitted last month to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the U.N. agency responsible for information and communication technologies, has drawn opposition from, and fears of content control among, civil society and the industry alike."
A free and open world depends on a free and open web. | Google 26 Nov 2012
A free and open world depends on a free and open Internet. Governments alone, working behind closed doors, should not direct its future. The billions of people around the globe who use the Internet should have a voice.
The Google Campaign - an ITU View 26 Nov 2012
ITU notes the recent comments made by Google in relation to the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai.Google has erroneously claimed that WCIT-12, which will take place in Dubai from 3-14 December, will be used as a forum to increase censorship and regulate the Internet.
A simple guide to the ITU's World Conference on International Telecommunications (Wired UK) 26 Nov 2012
What is the ITU? Is it trying to control the internet? Why are Google and other web freedom evangelists concerned?
Should UN take control of internet? NZ govt takes stand | The National Business Review 26 Nov 2012
Global conference next month will see push to hand global administration of the internet over to goverments, via the UN's International Telecommunications
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