In anticipation of the upcoming World Conference on
International Telecommunications ("WCIT") in Dubai this December, the
House Energy and Commerce Committee today approved by voice vote a resolution to
“preserve and advance the multistakeholder governance model under which the
Internet has thrived." The WCIT conference is conducted under the auspices
of the UN's International Telecommunications Union.
The House of Representatives is expected to consider the resolution, H. Con. Res. 127,
in fairly short order.
Introduced
by Rep. Mary Bono Mack of California, the resolution states that the U.S.
Government "should continue working to implement the position of the United
States on Internet governance that clearly articulates the consistent and
unequivocal policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from
government control and preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder
model that governs the Internet today."
The vote
commendably was entirely bipartisan, with the leaders of both parties speaking
in favor of the resolution in the Commerce Committee.
It is
very important for the future of the Internet and its multistakeholder governance
model that the U.S. continues to fight hard at the WCIT conference and beyond for
the position stated the resolution.
And
it bears pointing out that if the U.S. truly is going to be effective in
asserting leadership in this area on a long-term basis – because the threats to
the Net will not likely end with the WCIT conference – the U.S. government must
lead by its own example. Thus, when the concern is to maintain the Internet
"free from government control," the U.S. government must be mindful
of its own actions. For instance, the FCC's adoption of net neutrality mandates
and data roaming regulations are problematic in this respect in that each action
asserts government control over aspects of Internet services.
Perhaps
one salutary byproduct from the bipartisan effort to ensure the U.S. leads the
fight abroad to keep the Internet free from government control will be to make the
FCC more aware than it heretofore has been that it should refrain from taking
actions that denigrate the same freedom from control here at home.
This
is an issue that ought to engage all U.S. citizens. If you want to learn more, please
watch the C-SPAN
video of the Free State Foundation's May 30 seminar at the National Press
Club. The program features an outstanding panel including, FCC
Commissioner Robert McDowell and Richard Beaird, the U. S. State Department's
Senior Deputy Coordinator for International Communications and Information
Policy.
And my recent blog, "Free
Speech on the Internet, Except in Cases…" explains how some of the
proposals put forward for consideration at the WCIT conference would directly
threaten the free speech that today largely characterizes the Internet.
Another venue for keeping up
with developments is the newly-established WCITLEAKS.ORG
site.
Stay tuned for more on this as preparations
continue for the WCIT conference.
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