Friday, September 30, 2011

The Bombshell that Could Detonate Your Internet




Robert McGarvey

The Bombshell That Could Detonate Your Internet

Written by Robert McGarvey
9/30/2011


 The question does not get more savagely blunt: Do you want government running your Internet -- deciding what is permissible content, or what could land you in jail?

That debate is not academic. It is happening in real time, as you read this, in Nairobi, Kenya, at this year’s Internet Governance Forum.

Haven’t heard of the IGF? Join the club. Created out of an initiative by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2006, the IGF is an attempt to impose some UN-style supervision on the Internet Wild West. A lot of what it covers is the expected: how to stop spam, how to protect children, how to bring the Internet to rural communities... Hard to get much friction on those topics.

But if you want real friction, the IGF indeed is the place to be, because while some are discussing the harmless (how to insure linguistic diversity online), others are zeroing in on the very issues that will shape our Internet experience.

Read the entire article here.

11 comments:

Kay L. Davies said...

I shudder to think what life would be like in Canada with the Harper government in charge of the internet. First, anyone who is anti-Harper will have all service discontinued. The list goes on from there.

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

Joyful said...

Thanks for commenting Kay. Most people don't seem to be aware of this kind of potential until it happens to them. Let us all be praying about this.

My Castle in Spain said...

ouch...i cringe at the word censorship.We would all want Internet to be synonymous of freedom and boundless communication...Unfortunately, Big brother is never far..
Thank you for this post Penny....
Have a great week end !
xo
Lala

Barbara Rosenzweig said...

This is a very important issue everywhere!

So glad that you stopped by and enjoyed my paintings.

Hope that you are having a great weekend!

Kilauea Poetry said...

Thanks Penny..I just read a little bit about this yesterday.
At least Harper was the lone voice calling for Israel to defend itself at the G8, while Obama insisted that Israel return to the 1949 armistice lines. Same as with the OIC-(Organization of islamic conference)- attempting to push through its anti-free speech resolution at the UN-designed to stifle criticism of its brutal idiology (sharia compliance) It's vital we stay informed.

Joyful said...

Indeed that is true, dear Lala!

I hope you had a great weekend too, xx.

Joyful said...

You're very welcome, Barbara.

I always enjoy your paintings. It seems though that so many of my comments were not getting through.
Perhaps the issues are fixed now ;-)

Joyful said...

Thanks, Regina.

Yes for sure Canada has been up front and centre about support for Israel.

I'm glad you got a chance to follow some of the happenings on the internet governance issues.

Well weekend is more or less over, lol. I trust you had a good one!

Kilauea Poetry said...

Hi Penny..ya, was just responding to the poster above..(I left an explaination on my post)I appreciate being able to dialog here anyway.

Desiree said...

Firstly, thank you for visiting my blog earlier and for your lovely comments. Secondly, thank you for highlighting an issue that has international relevance.

Jenny Woolf said...

The problem is that there are so many people who want to take over the internet. If it is not government, it's Google. I sometimes wonder what would happen if Google was taken over

Yes, it's a matter of great concern.

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