For all the talk of SOPA/PIPA/ACTA/TPP, there’s another much bigger threat to « the internet as we know it. » It’s a bunch of countries who are seeking to use the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to create a top-down regulatory scheme for the internet. This process began a few months back, but FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell has a pretty good summary of the situation in the WSJ, and why those who believe in internet freedom should be afraid. It is worth noting, of course, that things like ICANN and IETF are far from perfect today, but handing many of their functions over to the ITU with the goal of a pretty broad top-down regulatory plan for the internet is not the solution. McDowell highlights a few of the key points in the plan […]
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120221/02544717824/be-afraid-russia-china-seek-to-put-place-top-down-regulation-internet.shtml