The question of who should control the Internet has been in the news lately. Earlier this week, several nations called for the creation of a U.N. body to control the Internet and yesterday, called for “shared” control of the Internet
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.
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.
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.
Given the general socialist tendancies of the European Union, this position is not entirely surprising. Considering recent developments such as China’s continued efforts to control its citizen’s access to the outside world, this is an important question. Put the internet in the hands of the government, especially foreign governments who have no history of freedom of speech, and the free flow of information will become more and more restricted.
The best solution would be to leave “regulation” of the Internet entirely in the hands of the private sector. The best solution is unlikely to occur, however, so for now, it appears that gridlock is the best we can hope for:
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.
When the alternative is more regulation, stalemate is a pretty good compromise.
