For over a year, the important work of
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been held hostage
by a group of countries who are using this tactic simply to gain leverage
on other matters, such as agriculture subsidies and other trade-related
issues.
"If we don't get what we care about in trade negotiations, we'll shut down the stuff that the West cares about," is essentially what is going on.
This is the kind of thing that happens at UN bodies.
Now, there are all sorts of other bad things that can happen at UN bodies.
This is why we don't want the UN controlling the Internet.
Can you imagine, for instance, that a UN body controlling the Internet would propose adding a tax on domain name applications in order to help fund the UN Millennium Development Goals? A special tax that would be directed toward bridging the "digital divide" in developing countries like Sudan?
Can you imagine that, in the future, heavy users of the Internet need some change made, and the UN body controlling the Internet refuses to do anything until the US and the EU change their agriculture policies?
Don't laugh. That is exactly what would happen. And worse. There would be new regulation on the Internet regarding content: Gender regulations, etc. There would be subsidies for developing and least-developed countries. And the US would always find itself standing alone, backed into a corner on every little issue, like we already are at WIPO, and UNESCO, and WTO, and WHO.
Believe me, the last thing anyone who truly cares about the Internet wants is for the UN to run it.
"If we don't get what we care about in trade negotiations, we'll shut down the stuff that the West cares about," is essentially what is going on.
This is the kind of thing that happens at UN bodies.
Now, there are all sorts of other bad things that can happen at UN bodies.
This is why we don't want the UN controlling the Internet.
Can you imagine, for instance, that a UN body controlling the Internet would propose adding a tax on domain name applications in order to help fund the UN Millennium Development Goals? A special tax that would be directed toward bridging the "digital divide" in developing countries like Sudan?
Can you imagine that, in the future, heavy users of the Internet need some change made, and the UN body controlling the Internet refuses to do anything until the US and the EU change their agriculture policies?
Don't laugh. That is exactly what would happen. And worse. There would be new regulation on the Internet regarding content: Gender regulations, etc. There would be subsidies for developing and least-developed countries. And the US would always find itself standing alone, backed into a corner on every little issue, like we already are at WIPO, and UNESCO, and WTO, and WHO.
Believe me, the last thing anyone who truly cares about the Internet wants is for the UN to run it.