Global government now seeks total control over the internet

Global government now seeks total control over the internet

(NaturalNews) What is arguably the very last bastion of totally free
speech is once again under assault by the world's tyrants, as the United
Nations is now eying regulation of the Internet - as though it was in
need of being regulated.

Why? It's an age-old story.

Leaders
of authoritarian regimes the world over hate the free flow of
information that is disseminated via the Internet. They hate the fact
that they no longer have a monopoly on ideas and opinion within their
own country. They see notions of freedom and liberty as a threat. They
despise any medium that undermines their grip on power. And their
regimes are heavily represented in the U.N., of which the United States
(once considered the bastion of liberty and freedom) is the largest
contributor.

"Who runs the Internet? For now, the answer remains
no one, or at least no government, which explains the Web's success as a
new technology. But as of next week, unless the U.S. gets serious, the
answer could be the United Nations," reports The Wall Street Journal.

Authoritarians seek ways to control free expression, free speech, and individual liberty

A
sizable number of the world body's 193 members simply oppose the open
and very uncontrolled nature of the Internet, the paper said, noting the
World Wide Web's interconnected global networks that defy international
boundaries and, as such, make it extremely difficult for governments to
tax or censor.

For over a year, these authoritarian regimes have lobbied a UN agency known as the International Telecommunications Union to grab the reins of the Internet and take over its management. The organization, which was originally created in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union,
last wrote a treaty on communications in 1988, years before the
commercial Internet developed into a popular communications and commerce
medium, and back when telecommunications referred to voice telephone
calls routed through national telephone monopolies.

In the coming
days, the ITU plans to hold a "negotiating conference" in the emirate
of Dubai, say reports. In the past months, rumors have surfaced that a
new treaty could be in the offing - one that will no doubt prove
disastrous to a free and open Internet.

Most U.S. resolutions, as well as free-market commentary in publications such as the Journal,
"have focused on proposals by authoritarian governments to censor the
Internet," the paper reported. "Just as objectionable are proposals that
ignore how the Internet works, threatening its smooth and open
operations."

What would be the effect of having the Internet
"reviewed" and "regulated" by global bureaucrats, most of whom are
sympathetic to, or beholden to, authoritarian regimes bent on stifling
free speech, free expression and individual liberty.

The Internet
consists of 40,000 networks, interconnected among 425,000 global routes
that cheaply and inefficiently deliver messages and digital content to
about two billion people around the world every day - with a
half-million signing on each day.

Up to now, the Internet has
been self-regulating, which has obviously been working just fine (hence
the growth figures in the previous paragraph). As it stands, no one has
to ask for permission to put up their own blog or website. No government has the ability or right to tell network operators how they should do their jobs.

'Technology moves faster than any treaty process'

What has transpired is an extremely rare, if virtual, place for innovation that requires no prior permission from a regulatory or government agency or bureaucrat or governing body.

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman
William Kennard pointed out that 90 percent of cooperative "peering"
agreements among co-existing networks are "made on a handshake,"
adjusting as needs change.

"The Internet is highly complex and
highly technical, yet governments are the only ones making decisions at
the ITU, putting the Internet at their mercy," Sally Wentworth of the Internet Society told the Journal recently.
She went on to say that Web developers and engineers who make the
Internet work have said it's "mind boggling" that any government - even a
so-called world government - would ever claim the universal right to regulate or manage the Internet.

"Technology moves faster than any treaty process ever can," Internet Society warned.

Even
if the Obama administration hasn't yet publicly stated its position,
liberty-minded officials and lawmakers in Europe (believe it or not)
have stepped up to the plate.

The European Parliament has passed a resolution that protests plans by the ITU to seize control of the Internet.

"[The
European Parliament] believes that the ITU, or any other single,
centralized international institution, is not the appropriate body to
assert regulatory authority over either Internet governance of Internet
traffic flows," says the resolution, which was passed by a majority of
EP representatives, reports said.

Biggest backers of regulation include Russia, China

According to Britain's The Guardian newspaper:

What's
worrying the EP, along with an unlikely coalition of Google, the U.S.
Republican party, organized labor, and Greenpeace, is that the meeting
might try and take over regulatory oversight for Internet communications
in a closed-door coup. The U.S. government has said it will oppose
serious moves to change the current regulatory order, but how effective
that will be remains to be seen.

"The resolution of the Parliament is a big success for internet
users. This sends a clear and positive signal to the European
Commission and the Member States", said Amelia Andersdotter, MEP for the
Pirate Party and co-submitter of the resolution, The Register reported.

Some
of the biggest backers of unmitigated Internet regulation include, not
surprisingly, the authoritarian regimes of Russia and China.

As
we've said, the Internet is truly the last bastion of genuinely free
speech and expression, not to mention a tremendous creator of commerce
and wealth. Regulating the Internet will have exactly the same effect as
regulations on industry have had - it will stifle creativity, curb
freedoms, kill jobs and destroy economic growth.

We'll be keeping an eye on this very important issue.

Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/038125_United_Nations_internet_global_government.html