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China says no to endless IGF

Thursday, May 14. 2009

At the Internet Governance Forum consultations currently going on in Geneva, the Chinese delegation has voiced its opposition to a 5 year extension of the IGF.

"When it comes to Internet governance, developing country points of view are not sufficiently reflected in the discussions," China's representative is quoted as saying by Milton Mueller on the IGP website. "This is why we don't agree that the IGF should continue its mandate after the 5 years are up. So we repeat that the delegation of China does not agree with extending the mission of the IGF beyond the 5 years. We feel that after the 5 years are up, we would need to look at the results that have been achieved. And we need, then, to launch into an intergovernmental discussion."

I have to admit to being in full agreement with the Chinese on this. Their approach seems both pragmatic and logical. The UN tends to have a natural tendency to produce entities that have no clear endgame in sight and where no-one really questions the fact that no goals are being reached (or have even been set for that matter).

But the flip side of this coin is China's insistence that an "intergovernmental discussion" replace the IGF. Is that a way of throwing the UN wrench back into the ICANN slash Internet governance works?

Posted by Stephane Van Gelder in Governance at 16:48 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

EU to US government: let go of ICANN by the end of the year!

Monday, May 4. 2009

In a video message posted on her website this morning, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding asks the US government to cut ICANN loose at the end of the current JPA.

This Joint Project Agreement between ICANN to the US Department of Commerce is set to expire on September 30th. "This opens the door for the full privatisation of ICANN," said Reding, "and it also raises the question of to whom ICANN should be accountable, as from 1 October."

Answering her own question, Commissioner Reding suggested that ICANN become fully privatised and completely independent from the US government. She also suggested a "G12 for Internet Governance" as a novel body allowing governments to submit recommendations to ICANN.

ICANN itself, through its Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush, has been pushing for an end to direct US oversight once the current JPA is over and will undoubtedly be happy to see the EU come out in favour of an independent ICANN. A hearing will be held by the European Commission in Brussels on May 6th to further discuss the future of Internet Governance.

Posted by Stephane Van Gelder in Governance at 17:27 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

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