U.S. Softens Stand on Internet Control
An administration official has indicated the United States may loosen its control over the Internet. The statement comes as something of a surprise after last year?s announcement by the Bush administration that the U.S. has no intention of relinquishing authority over its own invention.An administration official has indicated the United States may loosen its control over the Internet. The statement comes as something of a surprise after last year?s announcement by the Bush administration that the U.S. has no intention of relinquishing authority over its own invention. World leaders and the UN had attempted to pressure the U.S. to do just that, and a conference was held in Tunisia to address the standstill.
This week John Kneuer, the acting assistant secretary for communications and information, made the surprise statement to an audience at the Commerce Department.
“I think the fact that we’re all gathered here today and we’ve undertaken this process is a clear indication that we are committed to this transition.”
Kneuer made reference to ICANN, the semi-autonomous nonprofit corporation that oversees domain names and Internet protocol addresses. ICANN is essentially the Internet?s governing body, and operates under an understanding with the U.S. government. Though the United States has rarely interfered with the organization, its ability to do so has been viewed as dangerous by people and governments around the world. As a form letter sent to the Commerce Department put it, “No single government should have a pre-eminent role in Internet governance.”
It remains unclear how sincerely the Bush administration plans this shift in policy, or even how it intends to implement it.
Your support matters…Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
The topic of the day is authority figures: police, teachers, parents and correctional officers.
Critical theorist Bernard Harcourt coined the term to describe our present culture, in which authorities consolidate their power by exploiting our eagerness to volunteer personal information through technology and social media.
Those who fight against neoliberalism must not settle for reforming a system that is as broken as it is dangerous. Any viable, transformative struggle will need a boldly democratic vision; durable, longstanding organizations; and strategies that make politics meaningful.
People in power and bureaucrats seem exceptionally obtuse when it comes to recognizing that the world has changed and the old rules no longer apply.
Some 50 years after the infamous Milgram experiments, Australian psychologist Gina Perry writes, "The standard account suggests that ordinary people can be manipulated into behaving in ways that contradict their morals and values -- that you or I could be talked into torturing a man But could we?"Can "you or I be talked into torturing a man"? author Gina Perry wonders .
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.