permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Act now to stop unaccountable, censor-friendly UN agency from
hijacking control of the Internet! - Boing Boing
http://boingboing.net/2012/11/15/act-now-to-stop-unaccountable.html

Act now to stop unaccountable, censor-friendly UN agency from
hijacking control of the Internet!

Evan from Fight for the Future, "The open internet is in danger. In
just a few weeks, governments from around the world are getting
together, and they could decide the future of our internet. Watch the
video to find out why a government-dominated agency as old as the
telegraph is trying to get its hands on the net we love. Then take
action by using the platform to contact your government and tell them
to stand up for an open internet."

There’s a meeting between the world’s governments in a just a few
weeks, and it could very well decide the future of the internet
through a binding international treaty. It’s called the World
Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), and it’s being
organized by a government-controlled UN agency called the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

If some proposals at WCIT are approved, decisions about the internet
would be made by a top-down, old-school government-centric agency
behind closed doors. Some proposals allow for access to be cut off
more easily, threaten privacy, legitimize monitoring and blocking
online traffic. Others seek to impose new fees for accessing content,
not to mention slowing down connection speeds. If the delicate balance
of the internet is upset, it could have grave consequences for
businesses and human rights.

The ITU could put the Internet behind closed doors. (Thanks, Evan!)


The ITU could put the Internet behind closed doors.
Watch the video to find out how
http://www.whatistheitu.org/

We love the internet.

And we’re guessing you do too. Think about all the awesome things it
gives us: A vast communication network; innovative businesses; a
platform to freely speak or challenge powerful governments; and
hundreds and hundreds of hours of cat videos.

All this great stuff is available because the internet was designed in
an open and inclusive way, with a multitude of voices being able to
get a say on how it’s governed.

But the internet is in danger.

There’s a meeting between the world’s governments in a just a few
weeks, and it could very well decide the future of the internet
through a binding international treaty. It’s called the World
Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), and it’s being
organized by a government-controlled UN agency called the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

If some proposals at WCIT are approved, decisions about the internet
would be made by a top-down, old-school government-centric agency
behind closed doors. Some proposals allow for access to be cut off
more easily, threaten privacy, legitimize monitoring and blocking
online traffic. Others seek to impose new fees for accessing content,
not to mention slowing down connection speeds. If the delicate balance
of the internet is upset, it could have grave consequences for
businesses and human rights.
This must be stopped.

Only governments get a vote at WCIT, so we need people from all around
the world to demand that our leaders keep the internet open.

Watch the video, and take action above to tell your governments to
oppose handing over key decisions about the internet to the ITU. Let’s
use the internet’s global reach to save it.