” Bureaucrats from around the world will gather behind closed doors in Dubai next week to plot an end to the Internet as we know it — or so Washington would have you believe.
Hill lawmakers warn that the 120-plus U.S. delegation needs to fend off efforts by China, Russia and developing nations to use a United Nations branch organization to censor or tax the Net. Google is orchestrating an online petition drive, and even Grover Norquist is involved. “
Does Anyone Believe That Freedom Will Be Advanced By The Likes Of Russia , China Or The Muslim World ?
Of Course We Here At Youviewed Never Believed That Obama Could Persuade A Majority Of The Voters That He Was Best For Our Country Either .
” In a consensus-driven process, member states of the International Telecommunications Union, a branch of the U.N., will negotiate a new treaty on international telecommunication regulations. It’s only one vote per country, and, by definition, that will weed out extreme proposals, experts say.
At the end of the day, the U.S. doesn’t have to sign the treaty — it’s all voluntary.
So why all the hysteria about the Dubai confab?
“The concern over WCIT was never that it would be the killing blow but rather the latest, and by no means the last, effort by repressive governments to kill the Internet any way they can,” said Larry Downes, a tech consultant and one of the preeminent rabble-rousers of doom surrounding the treaty negotiations. “
