NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Other Developments at ICANN
The Internet: A Web for the World http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/20/internet-web-for-world-editorial Snippet: "It must be a web not for the consumer, but for the citizen" The contrast in this op-ed between "corporations seeking to corral users into marketable segments" vs "state power in pursuit of control and censorship" really misses the most important point, and just reflects the same old "corporate power vs regulations" frame we constantly rehash. In the balance we see various parties pursuing the governance of the Internet as a "borderless" medium. The most important point at this juncture is to address the relationship the stewardship of the Net has to the rights of the people. To put this in context, note that this was the week the White House lauded the rationalizing of ICANN's role under the rubric of "multi-stakeholderism," where all who have an interest in the Internet can "have a voice" in it: > http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/02/ensuring-open-internet And to get to a practical matter in this connection: at this moment the At-Large folks at ICANN are considering the following text, developed at the recent 43rd gathering in Costa Rica, for a "Vision Statement": "The ALAC and At-Large community catalyzes and facilitates inclusive, meaningful participation of Internet end-users world-wide, aggregates their input and brings their voice to bear in all ICANN matters." Which might sound great . . . right? Whereas the following is a bit of text (developed on the basis of the premise of ICANN's present role), that might far better reflect and address the real implications here: "The ALAC and At-Large community assures the stewardship of the Internet by joining ICANN with a concurrent body constituted of representatives of end users whose rights are implicated in the establishment of universally connected communications, and who have secured their rights by the constitutions and political structures to which they have consented worldwide." The point is, we're not making anything better -- until we acknowledge effectively the relationship that stewardship of the Internet has to our rights. If you're going to oversee a medium that transcends borders, you can't let an entity like ICANN become the model of "borderlessness" -- you have to recognize how rights are assured in the world, despite the fact that in the natural course of history people have acted to do that within borders. This assures that our role as "stakeholders" isn't simply used as a way to accommodate "governance" by entities that see borderlessness in a very different way. It isn't as if the ALAC structures are well rooted in the people, or that their functions, or those of ICANN, stack up as anything like what we would traditionally recognize as a true organ of democratic government as such. But it is important to position the ALAC constituencies appropriately such that any claims they may make for various interests and for the rights of the people have a standing in the structure that lets those claims be taken seriously; and such that the rights of the people are represented with reference to the existing means by which they are secured. Seth _______________________________________________ nnsquad mailing list http://lists.nnsquad.org/mailman/listinfo/nnsquad