[LINK] Tunis Internet Governance Outcomes

[Roger Clarke]

Further to this thread, here's SMH's take.

Two useful extracts:

Professor Michael Geist, of the University of Ottawa law school, says
the US played a very strong hand in the negotiations but the delegates
found a diplomatic way to leave the issue for a future fight.

"Notwithstanding the creation of a review clause after five years, there
is every reason to think that the governance forum will provide the
venue for continuing dialogue on possible internet governance reform,"
he says.

...

A lot of ignorance about ICANN's role and confusion over the term
"governance" contributed to the rift.

"The word only has a clear meaning in French and English," Mr Twomey
says. "Elsewhere it was translated as 'internet government'."

Governance is a term that refers to the processes under which government
is conducted, not the power to govern.

Many diplomats do not understand ICANN's role or how the internet
evolved, he says. Even some of the more savvy representatives, some of
whom had experience in the telecommunications industry, were thinking of
top-down management models.
_________________________________________________________________________


http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/11/21/1132421577725.html

Internet fights off a threatened split
Email Print Normal font Large font By Rob O'Neill
November 22, 2005
Page 1 of 2

UN chief Kofi Annan in Tunisia demonstrates the $130 windup notebook PC
during WSIS. Picture: AFP

It's business as usual for the internet after a last-minute agreement
was reached in the lead-up to the World Summit on the Information
Society in Tunisia last week.

More than 16,000 delegates from 176 countries discussed improving access
to information and communication technologies. In that cause, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's
Professor Nicholas Negroponte unveiled a $130 wind-up notebook PC that
could be given to children in poor countries.

But the main area of conflict was over the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which will continue to manage the
allocation of internet domains reporting to the US Department of
Commerce. A new international forum will be established so governments
can share information and discuss governance beyond the management of
domain names and IP addressing.

Peace broke out at the very last minute of negotiations in a dispute
that erupted in September and threatened to split the internet into
separate regional networks. Countries such as China, Iran, Saudi Arabia
and some European Union states tried to wrest greater control of
internet governance mechanisms from ICANN and the US. And governance
could re-emerge next September when ICANN becomes an independent
organisation.

Last month, President Bush's internet adviser - assistant secretary of
commerce for communications and information Michael Gallagher - said the
US would not allow ICANN to become bureaucratised and politicised.

"We will not agree to it in November and we will not do it in September
2006," he said.

ICANN's president, Australian Paul Twomey, can't forecast what will
happen after that but he says last week's deal was a good outcome for
the world and the internet.

Professor Michael Geist, of the University of Ottawa law school, says
the US played a very strong hand in the negotiations but the delegates
found a diplomatic way to leave the issue for a future fight.

"Notwithstanding the creation of a review clause after five years, there
is every reason to think that the governance forum will provide the
venue for continuing dialogue on possible internet governance reform,"
he says.

Mr Twomey says the dispute was a clash between those who want the
internet to evolve and those who want greater management of internet
issues from the top or through the UN. Mr Twomey says he was in awe that
ICANN has become the symbol for what was essentially a battle of ideas.

And although there will be increased government involvement in the
internet, it will be through domestic rather than international action,
he says.

A lot of ignorance about ICANN's role and confusion over the term
"governance" contributed to the rift.

"The word only has a clear meaning in French and English," Mr Twomey
says. "Elsewhere it was translated as 'internet government'."

Governance is a term that refers to the processes under which government
is conducted, not the power to govern.

Many diplomats do not understand ICANN's role or how the internet
evolved, he says. Even some of the more savvy representatives, some of
whom had experience in the telecommunications industry, were thinking of
top-down management models.

Mr Twomey thanks Mr Annan, saying the UN Secretary-General made it clear
the organisation has no designs to control internet policies. An opinion
piece from Mr Annan published 10 days before the summit eased the path
to an agreement, Mr Twomey says.

But the agreement addresses more than just governance, with sections
relating to cybercrime, spam, data protection, and e-commerce.

Intel chairman Craig Barrett spoke at the opening of the summit about a
new era in economic history marked by "ideas as the new source of
wealth".

"Technology empowers individuals, but it alone is not the solution," Mr
Barrett said. "Government and business must collaborate to create the
right environment for every economy to thrive."

Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication
Union - the UN agency that organised the summit - urged world leaders to
put ICT at the heart of national economic and social development
policies.

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

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Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW