Should America Control the Internet?
Published on October 20, 2005 By Larry Kuperman In Internet
If you browse the Internet (and if you don't you're not reading this!) the websites that you visit ultimately get their names from ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.) ICANN is a non-profit agency, based in California. Which means that they are regulated to one degree or another by the US Commerce Department, a part of the US Government.

Which means that the US Government controls the Internet. And some nations have a problem with that.

Countries such as Brazil and Iran have argued that the Internet is too important a resource for one country to control. Hence, the argument goes, an international body such as the UN should have the final say. In response, Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman has introduced a bill calling for the addressing system to remain under US control.

The first thought that occurs to me is the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The second, is that there is no body more capable of administering the naming conventions. The UN? With its glorious history of efficiency and expedient action? Ha! The only problem that would solve is finding a new job for some of Kofi Annan's unemployed relatives.

Perhaps Iran itself? Peace-loving, law-abiding Iran? You can visit Iran' s website at www.wearebuildinganuclearreactorforpeacefulpurposessniggersnigger.com (Not a real website in case you haven't gathered that. A little sarcasm.)

Or that model of efficient governance, the EU? Would it be "Le Internet" or "Das Internet?" Oh, and by the way, the Internet will be closed during August.

At the risk of invoking Al Gore jokes, the United States built the Internet and has done a remarkably good job of maintaining it. What is broken that needs fixing, one should ask, and who would be better at maintaining it? Internet-wide problems have been, with some exceptions, few and far between. Legislative interference has been almost unknown. There is no reason for change that I can see.

I do understand the concerns of countries that fear that, at some future time, the Internet could be politicized. But, until that happens, leave well enough alone.

Comments (Page 4)
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on Nov 01, 2005
Um, just because there is A major infrastructure here in the US, doesn't mean that a similar infrastructure could not be constructed elswhere. If the rest of the world wants to pioneer a new intercontinental distributed backbone - let them. eventually we will all end up being hooked up to it anyway. Besides, what you percieve as "who controls what" is an illusion anyway. I doubt that anybody here has any true visibility on who controls what and where. If we did, government dealings would not need grand juries to dissect who said what to whom when to cause what.
on Nov 02, 2005
We need to stop being so damned concerned about the stupid requests of other countries. We have control over the internet and others have a problem with that they can either attempt to take it by force, or just invent somthing better. The US basicaly created the internet, so until someone takes it from us we will keep it.
on Nov 02, 2005

We need to stop being so damned concerned about the stupid requests of other countries.

You might want to qualify the 'we'.  Not everyone here is from the US....

on Nov 02, 2005
You might want to qualify the 'we'. Not everyone here is from the US....


True. Not all are so lucky!

(Just kidding!)
on Nov 02, 2005
I am so glad I read this thread. I am an American. I grew up in Germany as my father was Air Force enlisted. The village we lived in was situated on the border of Holland. I traveled via bicycle from age 11-15 all over northwestern Europe. I think I got a good idea of the population in that hemisphere. I don't take kindly to the bashing that can and has happened when "discussing" the probably or feasibility of any other country besides the U.S. "controlling" the WWW. I don't particularly like the way the French treated me personally while I was in france, but I won't bash them (in this thread). However, I say if a country doesn't like the fact that the web addressing services are centralized in the US, cut them off. They can develop their own little web, if they can.

Throwing all Europeans into the Hitler/Franco National/Socialist/Dictatorship loving category is shameful, IMO. Most countries in Europe are as embarassed and humiliated about thier histories as we Americans SHOULD be about our own Imperialist style of policing other countries policies and structures. The people I knew in Germany would cringe and change the subject and ask you to change the subject if it even came close to a discussion of what happened from 1939 to 1944.

If anyone should worry it's China, not Iran, Brazil or some other near thrid world country with no economic or military strength.

Now, even though France has no military victories (do a google) and hates Americans and don't like to shave and smoke cigerettes funny, tend to be called frogs and all that; at least they have come together with thier neighbors to form some kind of cohesion. While the US, under the Bush admin, usurps a muslim country and forces them to rewrite thousand year old traditions to meet US need to make the world a Republic of Democratic Aristocracy under Imperialist Oppression. And I am AN AMERICAN. Living right here in the middle of the country.

In closing, I quote from Tao Te Ching:

"Banish the intellectual!
Discard the knowledge!
We will all benefit a hundredfold!

...the first is to embrace simplicity and integrity.
The second is to consume
only the need sof our body and souls.
the third is to allow our love and concern
for others to define our essentiality."

Thank you for reading my 2 cents.

on Nov 09, 2005
AND JUST WHEN YOU THINK THIS FORUM IS DEAD…………………


Link


THEY ARE WATCHING YOU!!!
on Nov 09, 2005
AHA_HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
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