Re: War of Internet Governance: 1995 -????

[Bob Allisat <tor@wtv.net>]

Dave wrote:
> As has been stated many times, IANA derives its authority for more than 10
> years of community consent.  That consent continues.
> 
> This is one of those situations in which it is important to distinguish
> authority (right) versus power.
> 
> The US government has a degree of power by virtue of its having legal
> jurisdiction over a number of the major participants and their resources.
> The US government might choose to exercise that power, but it will then be
> interesting to watch the reaction of other governments around the world
> which have the view that the Internet is a global resource, not the
> plaything of the United States.
 
 The Internet is not a plaything of any
 government, corporation, organization,
 association, group or individual. For
 it's own good governance must not reside 
 in the US. But it must not be flipped
 from the US domination to Swiss or EU
 domination which is exactly what is
 occuring.

 In the rush to evade the pinscers of
 American corporate or governemental
 supression of the Internet the whole
 process has been allowed to slip
 dangerously close to being similarly
 consumed by the European Union and
 other corporate dominators. I was among 
 the most vociferous advocates of basing
 the regualtory body *outside* the US.
 That does not mean installing some other
 government and corporate power structure
 as net_hegemonists is the answer. 

 Both the existing US/Internic/NSI/SAIC
 monopoly and the proposed CORE/EU/ITU
 monopoly are hazardous to the survival
 of the Net as we know it. We must offer
 another path to future generations... one
 that sides with no faction and is allowed
 to be dominated be no one player in this
 wildly diverse crowd of on-lookers. You,
 Mr. Postel and all participants here must
 truely understand that both authority and
 power slipped away from IANA the moment
 it passed this whole matter on  to others.
 And now it is danger of slipping entirely
 out of the hands of individuals entirely.

 We are at a crossroads in this long march.
 Which way will you choose Mr. Crocker?

 TeleVirtually Yours,

 Bob Allisat

 Director, World TeleVirtual Network             http://www.wtv.net
 PO Box 191 St E Toronto Canada M6H 4E2                 tor@wtv.net
 (416) 534-1999                   http://www.wtv.net/portfolio.html