United Nations ponders Net's future

[sam7]

By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

UNITED NATIONS--The United Nations wants a big piece of the Internet.

At a summit here this week, delegates from around the world gathered to take a preliminary step toward U.N. involvement in some of the areas that are bedeviling Internet users and governments alike, including spam, network security, privacy and the regulation of the technical underpinnings that control the sprawling global network.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan set the tone in a speech Thursday, criticizing the current system through which Internet standards are set and domain names are handled, a process currently dominated by the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. Such structures "must be made accessible and responsive to the needs of all the world's people," Annan said.


hmmmm....I think I like the internet just like it is.

[Terry_M]

1. Very Troubling

Bureacratic organizations should be kept away from the internet, and probably other places too ;)

[MajorFlaw]

2. The Internet is one of the few truly free places left.

If we're not careful, the net will be censored and regulated to the point that it's as toothless as conventional media. This is an important issue for me.

[sam7]

4. Agreed.

This is all about regulating content and to a lesser degree money.

[keithyboy]

3. What the leaders of the world really want is to eliminate free exchange

of information and visibility of views that oppose their deeds of evil.

[hang a left]

5. I agree with you.

The internet saves us from disinformation. They don't want us talking to each other.

[Democat]

6. The United States has the first amendment of the constitution

The United Nations will not recognize free speech rights as much as the United States does if they take over the internet.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bush administration support turning the web over to the UN so it can be more easily censored.

[Sandpiper]

7. Governmental and Quasi Governmental entities

Need to keep their grimy paws off the internet.

Yes Kofi, that means you.