For long, US government has been overlooking some of the most significant internet organizations which make policy decisions affecting the web. However, these organizations recently dished out a surprisingly unanimous statement, announcing their break from US oversight and seeking internationalization.
Organizations such as ICANN, World Web Consortium, The Internet Society, the Internet Architecture Board and the Internet Engineering Task Force have long been under the influence and control of the US authorities. These organizations typically decide what changes in the structure and architecture of the internet and the web should be done. They also decide the regulations which govern the internet globally.
In this way, these organizations are effectively the unelected government of the internet. The problem is that for long, US government has been the one controlling these organizations, much to the dismay of the international community. Now, in a very surprising move, these five organizations have unanimously decided to abandon the US government.
The joint statement issued by these organizations calls for “accelerating the globalization of ICANN and IANA functions, towards an environment in which all stakeholders, including all governments, participate on an equal footing.”
In other words, these organizations are now seeking the participation of not only the other countries in the process of policy-making, but also that of other stakeholders such as the users, privacy activists and technology experts. The fall-out between US government and these organizations is probably a result of Edward Snowden’s leaks about NSA, which clearly show how the US authorities doesn’t exactly respect users’ online privacy rights.
This is a very important step by the internet organizations and it aims to take internet where it is logically meant to be – in the hands of the international community so that all important web-related decisions are made through international consensus.
Source: ICANN
Courtesy: Internet Governance
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