A meeting of the United Nations' ITU (InternationalTelecommunication Union) in December could lead to broad newregulations of the Internet, including per-click taxes, if U.S. andother delegations don't work hard to oppose proposals, U.S.officials and Internet governance experts told lawmakers Thursday. A December ITU treaty-writing meeting in Dubai, the WorldConference On International Telecommunications, could includeefforts from Russia, China and other countries to impose newregulations on the Internet, witnesses told the communicationssubcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy andCommerce Committee. [ Get your websites up to speed with HTML5 today using thetechniques in InfoWorld's HTML5 Deep Dive PDF how-to report. Learn how to secure your Web browsers inInfoWorld's " Web Browser Security Deep Dive " PDF guide. ] "The open Internet has never been at higher risk than it is now,"said Vinton Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist atGoogle. "A new international battle is brewing -- a battle thatwill determine the future of the Internet." Cerf, co-developer of the TCP/IP standard, urged U.S. policymakersto resist attempts at the ITU meeting to regulate the Internetthrough the U.N. and to give dictatorial countries more "top-down"control over Internet content. "If all of us -- from Capitol Hillto corporate headquarters to Internet caf s in far-off villages --don't pay attention to what's going on, users worldwide will be atrisk of losing the open and free Internet that has brought so muchto so many," he said. Officials from Russia and other countries have pushed in the pastfor the ITU to take Internet governance away from the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and other organizations, but there are no current proposals tooverhaul Internet governance during the December meeting, saidPhilip Verveer, deputy assistant secretary of state and coordinatorfor international communications and information policy at the U.S.Department of State. More of the focus for the December meeting seems to be on countriesgenerating new revenue from Internet services, including per-clickor traffic transmission taxes and roaming fees, Verveer said.Challenges to the current multistakeholder model of Internetgovernance could still come up, but are unlikely to pass, he said. Other hearing participants were less optimistic. The ITU meeting,"if we're not vigilant, just might break the Internet," saidRepresentative Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican and subcommitteechairman. Verveer noted that the U.S. government would not be bound bydecisions at the ITU meeting, but delegates there could set theexpectations for international regulation of the Internet. Subcommittee members said they are united in opposition to anyproposals to give the U.N. or individual countries more controlover the Internet or to tax Internet traffic. On Wednesday, abipartisan group of subcommittee members, led by RepresentativeMary Bono Mack, a California Republican, introduced a House resolution (PDF) saying it is the "consistent and unequivocal policy of theUnited States to promote a global Internet free from governmentcontrol." Some proposals for the December conference would "fundamentallyalter the governance and operation of the Internet," the resolutionsaid. Russia, China and other countries will likely continue to push forexpanded U.N. control of the Internet that could lead to censorshipand a balkanization of the Web, Robert McDowell, a Republicanmember of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, told thesubcommittee. "The threats are real and not imagined, although they admittedlysound like works of fiction sometimes," McDowell said. With few details about ITU proposals available, witnesses calledfor more transparency in the process. A lack of transparency tonon-governmental groups results in "insufficient accountability,"Cerf said. "It is important for parties to fully understand aprocess that affects all Internet users," he said. Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S.government for The IDG News Service . Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address isgrant_gross@idg.com. I am an expert from laminating-pouch-film.com, while we provides the quality product, such as PVC Binding Cover , Frosted Plastic Film Manufacturer, Roll Laminating Film,and more.
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