EU Wants Shared Control of Internet - to possibly pan porn sites

[Squirt]

The European Union insisted Friday that governments and the private sector must share the responsibility of overseeing the Internet, setting the stage for a showdown with the United States on the future of Internet governance.

A senior U.S. official reiterated Thursday that the country wants to remain the Internet's ultimate authority, rejecting calls in a United Nations meeting in Geneva for a U.N. body to take over.

EU spokesman Martin Selmayr said a new cooperation model was important "because the Internet is a global resource."

"The EU ... is very firm on this position," he added.

The Geneva talks were the last preparatory meeting before November's World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia.

A stalemate over who should serve as the principal traffic cops for Internet routing and addressing could derail the summit, which aims to ensure a fair sharing of the Internet for the benefit of the whole world.

At issue is who would have ultimate authority over the Internet's master directories, which tell Web browsers and e-mail programs how to direct traffic.

That role has historically gone to the United States, which created the Internet as a Pentagon project and funded much of its early development. The U.S. Commerce Department has delegated much of that responsibility to a U.S.-based private organization with international board members, but Commerce ultimately retains veto power.

Some countries have been frustrated that the United States and European countries that got on the Internet first gobbled up most of the available addresses required for computers to connect, leaving developing nations with a limited supply to share.

They also want greater assurance that as they come to rely on the Internet more for governmental and other services, their plans won't get derailed by some future U.S. policy.

Policy decisions could at a stroke make all Web sites ending in a specific suffix essentially unreachable. Other decisions could affect the availability of domain names in non-English characters or ones dedicated to special interests such as pornography. FULL STORY

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How do you guys feel about this? Do you think this is a possibility in the future or a bunch of hot air? What's your take on this?

[Hamilton Steele]

Fuck em!

It isn't all that difficult to set up some networked computers.

I say "screw em" and create a "Euro-net" and a "Japan-net" and a "Turkey-net."

That way everyone is responsible for their own shit, can give out their own addresses and if people want to interface with American websites they can. Or Not! if that's their choice.

[Squirt]

Fuck em!

It isn't all that difficult to set up some networked computers.

I say "screw em" and create a "Euro-net" and a "Japan-net" and a "Turkey-net."

That way everyone is responsible for their own shit, can give out their own addresses and if people want to interface with American websites they can. Or Not! if that's their choice.

I agree.

America created the internet. We put the billions of dollars into the initial infrastructure, hardware, developement, technology. It doesn't belong to any Tom Dick & Harry who thinks they have a right to it. We should have put a copyright on the internet to avoid this kind of bullshit. It's their problem they didn't realize the value of the internet... typical.. we thought forward and created something that changed the world now everyone thinks they deserve to control it, it belongs to the world, not us, bullshit.

It started on our land, our satellites, our infrastructure, our people made it, it was our project, our idea, it's ours, not anyone elses. If we want to let them tap into it, we will. If they don't like the way we do things, make your own internet with your own naming authority. Anyone can do it, right?

This mentality is EXACTLY why pirating is so popular around the world. People think they deserve to get for free what all of us work our asses off for.

[Hamilton Steele]

I agree.

America created the internet. We put the billions of dollars into the initial infrastructure, hardware, developement, technology. It doesn't belong to any Tom Dick & Harry who thinks they have a right to it. We should have put a copyright on the internet to avoid this kind of bullshit. It's their problem they didn't realize the value of the internet... typical.. we thought forward and created something that changed the world now everyone thinks they deserve to control it, it belongs to the world, not us, bullshit.

It started on our land, our satellites, our infrastructure, our people made it, it was our project, our idea, it's ours, not anyone elses. If we want to let them tap into it, we will. If they don't like the way we do things, make your own internet with your own naming authority. Anyone can do it, right?

This mentality is EXACTLY why pirating is so popular around the world. People think they deserve to get for free what all of us work our asses off for.

It is amazing at how we can share the same opinion but have completely different reasons for it.

I don't care about the Internet being a U.S.A invention. Protecting America isn't a priority for me.

My comment is "If they don't want to fucking share" SCREW EM!

Personally I'm sick and friggin tired of living in one country and still having to worry about if an American politician has a bad gas of farts.

IE: In Canada we have to strengthen our borders to safe guard America. Or Alberta can't possible sell beef to any other nation in the world. Because of the damn Free-Trade agreement. (Which Canada does it's best to honour but American views it only as a suggestion.)

But this isn't a slam against just the good old U.S.A.

I'm now living in France, the land of the bureaucrat and baguette.

Too much paperwork.
Too much regulation.
Too many Tabous with talent.

So my corporation is registered in Italy and my bank accounts are in England. And I go to Russia to film.

[Matt 26z]

Just wait until the EU puts sanctions on the US for not handing it over.

US developed and deployed it, and the world jumped on.

Nothing is stopping the EU from creating their own internet and keeping 100% control over it.

[jIgG]

actually it will be possible since decisions will be made by governments as opposed to having the ICANN board members do it, who for the most part are independant of government influences

[jIgG]

something else to mention - a lot of international web traffic goes over Level3's global network. I think UUNet/WorldCom/MCI are another one who have a global network as well

[Squirt]

something else to mention - a lot of international web traffic goes over Level3's global network. I think UUNet/WorldCom/MCI are another one who have a global network as well

I'm really starting to wonder about America giving it's inventions to the world at this point.

Need I mention the telephone was an American invention?

Imagine if America was like China in the way it closes the doors to the outside world. Imagine only America having phones, cars, computers, internet. Where would the rest of the world be?

America is a land of immigrants.. we all come from somewhere else in the world, but we come to America to work towards common goals and ideals. What we create belongs to us. Like what the British create belong to them, the Irish, Japanese, etc. etc. Pretty simple really.

[Axel]

Well, when reading your posts, I noticed the information is quite false, it's not EU who tries to get shared Internet control, it is THE REST OF THE WORLD. Eu simply changed his position, not supporting US anymore.
If you need true information about it, just search for "EU Icann" in google news.
And the "shared control" means control under UN which gets most countries, not US-EU control:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index...ge=1&pagePos=3

I think this is quite legitimate, since it is, for one country, the control of the network inside this country (computers, cables, infrastructures, etc).

When I read some reactions, that makes me think some people forgot how humankind grew and is developping.

Examples:

I'm really starting to wonder about America giving it's inventions to the world at this point.
Need I mention the telephone was an American invention?

So to your opinion, US should not have the right to use paper because Chinese invented it?
What about TV? Don't u think also that EU should control US TV networks, since it was invented by them?

It started on our land, our satellites, our infrastructure, our people made it, it was our project, our idea, it's ours, not anyone elses.

Or for a closer example of communication networks: postal networks. You're ot happy that US take it from someone else? You think it should have been controled by the government from who it started first? (probably UK?)
With what u said, British people could say exactly the same: "our people made it, it was our project, our idea, it's ours, not anyone elses" no?
Personaly, it seems to me so selfish!

I think that intenet network will have the same organisation: each country will be regulating its own network, but there will be an international harmonization for it to work well between countries.

So point is not to change anything on how US deal with US web, but how one country can deal with his own web, so the US shouldn't care about it.

[Squirt]

Just wait until the EU puts sanctions on the US for not handing it over.

Yeah exactly it's like a carjacker fining you for not handing over your car LOL

They can build their own internet... the structure is there.. but by closing themselves off from the American dollar online, it wouldn't be worth it to them.

One thing that sucks about being American.. people hate you, until they want something from you, they get it, then hate you again. It's real hard for me to understand. Living overseas over 3 years now and I still don't understand this mentality completely.

It's like people want to be dependant on you, but independent.

I think countries should be independent, do their own thing, have their own identity, culture, etc. and not depend on other nations for so much. But when they do this they fall behind technologically, etc.

Being Americans we opened the internet to the world without condition, restrictions, fees, tariffs, etc. That wasn't good enough... now they want to take it from us.. ridiculous.