United Nations Quest to Take Over The Internet

Lazlow 07/28/2005 12:01 am

The Internet, in theory, is politically neutral. Lunatics of all political types can post whatever they want online. Somehow, rather than enjoying life, political bloggers sit in musty dens and living rooms nationwide and spew viciously about the state of the nation. Politicians have volunteer armies now; thousands of bloggers who defend them vigorously, pitting red vs. blue, North vs. South, left vs. right. It's abso-lutely comical that any voters trust politicians farther than they can throw them, but the blind allegiance is staggering. Yet, as the Internet becomes an infinite horizon of political spew, propaganda and spam, it's easy to forget that this unregulated medium of free-flowing ideas is one of the core components of a free society. And now, a few societies that aren't free are looking to take over the Internet. 
The situation involves an organization that people tend to have strong feelings about; an argument is growing about whether the United Nations should take over the regulatory body that controls the Internet. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) sets rules for Internet domains and registration and controls the root servers that keep the Internet going. According to journalist Declan McCullagh, U.N. bureaucrats and telecommunications ministers from many less-developed nations are claiming the U.S. government has undue influence over how things are run online. ICANN, you see, was set up by the United States, since we, gee, I don't know, invented the Internet. Syria, Brazil and China are calling for the United Nations to take over ICANN so they can make some changes. This free flow of information is upsetting to places like China. The idea of countries that throw citizens in jail for practicing the wrong religion taking over the Internet is one that has many deeply concerned. 
The Bush administration, to its credit, says ICANN will not be handed over to the United Nations. ICANN's board of directors contains tech-savvy representatives from many different countries. If it were ever to be taken over by the United Nations, countries with less-than-stellar records on human rights and democracy would have massive influence. They could end up creating a situation where the international standards of the Web are changed, and governments like China decide who can view what websites. It's called a fragmented root. 
As McCullagh recently said, That means a new top-level domain would not be approved by ICANN—but would be recognized and used by large portions of the rest of the world. The downside, of course, is that the nuclear option could create a Balkanized Internet where two computers find different websites at the same address. 
Controlling the Internet is tough. Censoring and blocking out sites to an entire country is a difficult task for regimes like China, which is precisely why the idea of controlling ICANN and root-level access is so enticing for them. Politicians worldwide have made attempts to control and censor the Internet, but it's a pointless crusade. When the Internet was invented, the United States unleashed a global form of electronic democracy, and once you've had a taste of electronic freedom, you don't want to go back. 

Lazlow hosts the nationally syndicated radio program Technofile and wrote and produced audio for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Contact him at lazlow@lazlow.com.