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Ceding Control of the Internet to Foreign Governments
Freedomworks ^ | September 24, 2014 | Logan Albright

Posted on 09/24/2014 8:03:16 AM PDT by yoe

Back in March, the U.S. government announced that it would relinquish control over ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

[snip] One group, seizing on the Commerce Department’s assurances that ICANN would be moving towards a model of private management, were hopeful that the lack of government involvement could lead to a better, more efficient internet. Just as a government run post office will never outperform a privately run one, they reasoned, it was right for government to relax its hold on internet domains.

[snip]The second group, while still recognizing the benefits of privatization, smelled a rat. They viewed the ICANN decision as way to allow foreign government to exercise more control over the internet. Government abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of U.S. control, it was realistic to assume that countries like China and Russia would be eager to establish a powerful presence in internet regulation.

Both these points of view had their merits, but in the intervening six months it has become clear that the second, realist reaction was the correct one. We are indeed about to see more foreign control over how the internet is run.

(Excerpt) Read more at freedomworks.org ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: control; foreigngovernment; icann; internet
(ICANN)

"Obviously, the proposed change would enhance the power of governments, many of which are hostile to an open and free Internet, within ICANN. Therefore, it poses a threat to Internet security, stability, and openness. Here are three more specific reasons to reject it.

1 posted on 09/24/2014 8:03:16 AM PDT by yoe
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To: yoe

What are the chances of some sort of parallel internet happening that would be free of ICANN and governments?


2 posted on 09/24/2014 8:27:41 AM PDT by arthurus (Read Hazlitt's Economics In One Lesson ONLINE http://steshaw.org/economics-in-one-lesson/)
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To: arthurus
What are the chances of some sort of parallel internet happening that would be free of ICANN and governments?

None. The government wishes to control/monitor all private(?) electronic communications.

3 posted on 09/24/2014 10:26:52 AM PDT by BipolarBob (You can't fix stupid but you can vote them out.)
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To: ShadowAce; Nachum; SunkenCiv

FYI ping

We are indeed about to see more foreign control over how the internet is run.

Under new guidelines, ICANN will be required to adopt the advice of a “Government Advisory Committee,” unless the members of ICANN’s board of directors hold a two-thirds majority vote to the contrary. The board can currently override these recommendation with a simple majority.

See article Sept 14, 2014
Should Governments Control the Internet?
http://www.realclearpolicy.com/blog/2014/09/16/should_governments_control_the_internet_1074.html


4 posted on 09/24/2014 12:13:01 PM PDT by Whenifhow
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To: rdb3; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; JosephW; Only1choice____Freedom; amigatec; Ernest_at_the_Beach; ...

5 posted on 09/24/2014 12:15:35 PM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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