The Guadalajara Reporter

Maintaining the internet status quo

Last month there was an historical moment of unanimous agreement among parties that at other times never seem to agree on anything.  All the member states of the European Parliament voted unanimously 27-0.  The United States House of Representatives voted unanimously 397-0.  Mexico, Canada, Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand all stood together in agreement.  What is it that could cause all of these parties to so solidly agree on anything?  Answer: they are against the ITU taking over governance of the internet.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is a venerable 19th century organization, headquartered in Switzerland, and now a part of the United Nations.  Last month they hosted the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai to hear some 900 proposals from UN members and mostly to discuss their bid to assume control of the worldwide internet.

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