Communications of the ACM
A Plaything of Powerful Nations
Credit: Courtesy of Tim Marrs
The latest United Nations-sponsored Internet Governance Forum (IGF) provided insight on how the Internet is being handled on a global scale.
All stakeholders are given equal rights to take the floor at the forum and those involved in the IGF say decisions are made by rough consensus, but this model has recently come under attack from governments who want a more unilateral say in how Internet governance is handled.
For example, China, Russia, and several other countries have proposed the creation of an International Code of Conduct for Information Security, which is designed to strengthen the role of governments in the control of the Internet. Meanwhile, India, Brazil, and South Africa have called for the creation of a new global body to regulate the Internet.
However, the U.S. government is expected to put a lot of pressure on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to prevent criticism of the organization from jeopardizing the entire multi-stakeholder model. That pressure will be primarily exerted in early 2012 when the decision to determine whether ICANN remains in control of the Internet's address system is made.
From Economist
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