As regular readers of this
space know, since its founding in 2006, the Free State Foundation has played a
leading role advocating for an Internet environment here in the United States
free from government control and regulation. Thus, we have opposed imposition
of "net neutrality" mandates by the FCC and other forms of government
regulation that have the effect of restricting the freedom of Internet service
providers to respond to the needs of consumers and the demands of a constantly
evolving Internet ecosystem.
While most of our focus
has been on U.S. domestic policies, the Internet, of course, is an
interconnected "network of networks" that spans the globe. The Mona
Lisa in the Louvre is just a click away. And you can easily have a video
conversation via Skype with your third cousin halfway around the world, or with
political dissidents fighting for freedom, and perhaps their lives, in a
faraway repressive regime. No one today needs any more examples of the
international nature of the Internet. You can quickly come up with hundreds on
your own.
But there are challenges
looming from abroad that could impact the functioning of the Internet as we
know it today, including the communication of the free flow of ideas that
generally prevails across the Net. Most immediately, proposals may be put
forward by several countries at the World Conference on International
Communications (WCIT) 2012, to be held this December in Dubai. These proposals,
if adopted, would fundamentally alter the existing privatized, multi-stakeholder
governance model that characterizes the Internet and under which the Net has
flourished.
The WCIT conference will
be convened by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which itself
is an organization operated under the auspices of the United Nations. This
December's WCIT conference will be considering changes to international
telecommunications regulations that were adopted by the ITU in 1988 - well
before the development of the Internet as we know it today.
The 1988 ITU regulations
represented a liberalization in some respects of prior international
regulations. But they nevertheless generally treated telecommunications
services, consistent with the then-prevailing generally monopolistic telecom
environment, as subject to government regulation or outright government
control. Fortunately, as the Internet grew in the 1990s, it did so outside of
this framework of international inter-government control. Instead, the modern
Internet has been "governed" by a "bottoms up" multi-stakeholder
approach under which interested parties from various industry sectors, public
interest groups, engineering societies, and the like collaborate in various
private forums and associations to adopt the technical standards and other
policies that keep the Internet functioning well.
The Clinton Administration
deserves credit for playing a central role in implementing this
multi-stakeholder privatization model that became the existing Internet
governance model. Its "Framework for Global Electronic Commerce,"
issued in 1997, declared:
"Though
government played a role in financing the initial development of the Internet,
its expansion has been driven primarily by the private sector. For electronic
commerce to flourish, the private sector must continue to lead. Innovation,
expanded services, broader participation, and lower prices will arise in a
market-driven arena, not in an environment that operates as a regulated
industry. Accordingly, governments should encourage industry self-regulation
wherever appropriate and support the efforts of private sector organizations to
develop mechanisms to facilitate the successful operation of the
Internet."
This self-regulatory,
multi-stakeholder model has worked - marvelously.
Internet statistics are
dizzying, of course, and one could go on and on. Just this much here: There are
now 2.2 billion Internet users across the globe, an increase of over 500% over
the past decade. At the end of March 2012, there were 900 million Facebook
users, over 80% of whom are outside of the U.S. and Canada.
But now there are some
countries around the world, especially less developed ones, which are likely to
try to use the upcoming WCIT conference to adopt new regulations that would
give the ITU and their governments control over elements of the Internet. This
control might include regulation of rates, supervision of the assignment of
Internet domain names, and even adoption of policies concerning the types of
speech that would be deemed "acceptable" on the Net.
FCC Commissioner Robert
McDowell has performed a service in sounding early warnings about the threats
that may arise at the WCIT conference. Here is his op-ed, "The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom,"
published on February 21 in the Wall Street Journal. His piece, which
discusses the issues in more detail, should be widely read.
And you'll be able to hear
Commissioner McDowell discuss the challenges to Internet freedom posed by the
WCIT conference at the Free State Foundation's lunch seminar next Wednesday, May 30, at the
National Press Club. As you can see from the sidebar at the right, we have an
outstanding lineup of speakers, including the State Department's international
communications expert, Richard Beaird.
Sure, the Internet is not
a panacea for solving all the world's problems. And I understand that,
depending on circumstances, the Net may even make it easier for those who wish
to cause trouble or commit crimes to do so. But there is no doubt that,
overall, the continued development of the Internet, and the continued increase
in the number of people who are "online," connected with people
around the corner and around the world, contributes positively to the promotion
of human freedom and prosperity.
That's why it is important
the Internet not be given over to inter-governmental supervision or control
through action at the International Telecommunications Union, or through the
actions of any other international body.
If you wish to join us at
FSF's May 30 seminar addressing these issues, you must RSVP to Kathee Baker at kbaker@freestatefoundation.org
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