Community Corner
Should There Be Concerns About a UN Takeover of Internet Regulation?
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations Agency, is meeting in Dubai next week and there are reports that global regulation of the Internet is on the agenda.
According to ITBusiness, regulation of the Internet is on the agenda of a meeting by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Dubai next week. Some companies, including Google, AOL and Wikipedia, reportedly are fearful that there is an attempt for ITU to take over global control of the Internet.
The fear by Google and some other Internet companies is that it would open up avenues for censorship of the Internet. There have been reports that some countries want the Internet and Internet Service Providers to be regulated at a global level.
InformationWeek is reporting that Google has launched a campaign to ensure that any global takeover by the ITU doesn’t happen. At the moment, regulatory authority rests with the U.S. Department of Commerce. In its awareness campaign, Google warns that regulatory changes could allow governments to cut off Internet access and could even have users of YouTube, Facebook, Skye and other services paying tolls before transferring information across borders.
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What do you think? Are Google’s concerns legitimate?
