Liz Klimas
The Blaze
12/13/2012
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (TheBlaze/AP) — A U.N. conference weighing possible Internet rules shifted into a high-stakes showdown on Thursday after advancing a proposal for greater government oversight. The proposal was a blow to U.S.-led efforts to keep new regulations from touching the Net.
The move frames the ideological divide at the 193-nation gathering in Dubai, which is scheduled to wrap up Friday with its first revisions of global telecom rules since 1988 – years before the dawn of the Internet age.
“It’s not a crime to talk about Internet inside the ITU,” said the group’s secretary-general, Hamadoun Toure, suggesting high-level support to keep debate going on Internet issues.
In response, the head of the U.S. delegation, Ambassador Terry Kramer, said: “We do not believe the focus of this conference should be on the Internet and we did not come to this conference in anticipation of a discussion on the Internet.”
A Western bloc led by a powerhouse U.S. delegation seeks to block any U.N. rules on cyberspace, fearing they could squeeze Web commerce and open the door for more restrictions and monitoring by authoritarian regimes…
The article continues at The Blaze.
