By Declan McCullagh, 19 October 2005 09:05
NEWS A new resolution introduced in the US Senate offers political backing to the Bush administration by slamming a United Nations effort to exert more influence over the internet.
Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican from Minnesota, said his non-binding resolution would protect the internet from a takeover by the UN that's scheduled to be discussed at a summit in Tunisia next month.
In a statement on Monday, Coleman said the internet "is likely to face a grave threat" at the summit: "If we fail to respond appropriately, we risk the freedom and enterprise fostered by this informational marvel and end up sacrificing access to information, privacy and protection of intellectual property we have all depended on."
If ratified, Coleman's resolution would assure the Bush administration and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) of political support on Capitol Hill during the negotiations at the World Summit on the Information Society. Similar support has already come from both senior Democrats and Republicans in the US House of Representatives.
At the heart of this international political spat is the unique influence that the US federal government enjoys over internet addresses and the master database of top-level domain names - a legacy of the internet's origins years ago.
The Bush administration recently raised objections to the proposed addition of dot-xxx as a red-light district for pornographers, for instance, a veto power that no other government is able to wield.
During a series of meetings organised by the UN, ministers from dozens of other countries have raised objections and demanded more influence. Suggestions that have been made include new mandates for "consumer protection", the power to levy taxes on domain names to pay for "universal access", and folding Icann into the International Telecommunications Union, a UN agency. As far back as 1999, UN agencies have mulled imposing taxes on internet email.
Coleman's resolution endorses the principles - effectively maintaining the status quo - that the Bush administration announced in June. But he ventured even further by warning that if governance functions were handed to bureaucrats from oppressive nations, the internet would become "an instrument of censorship and political suppression". Business groups have raised similar objections, warning of censorship from nations such as China, Iran and Syria.
In December 2004, Coleman called for the resignation of UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, saying that his subcommittee's investigations had unearthed evidence of far-ranging fraud inside the sprawling bureaucracy. A former chief prosecutor in Minnesota, Coleman is chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has been investigating the oil-for-food scandal.
Declan McCullagh writes for CNET News.com
Comments
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1. Constantine Ng
I think Senator Norm Coleman, the Republican Senator from Minnesota, ought to get his head examined.
If the ITU wants to tax internet email trafffic or any other traffic, why should it bother Sen Coleman ?
There have been taxes on various aspects of telecom usage all the time.
What makes the Internet so special that it has to be exempted from tax ?
What's all this reference to oppressive nations ?
Why must nations with different forms of government (read as "more strict than the US governments") be labelled as oppressive ?
Must all nations share the same values of freedom as the US ?
What makes Sen Coleman think that he impose his values on other nations ?
By definition, the values of the nations around the world are different from the US.
So what will Sen Coleman do ?
- Launch nuclear missiles and teach everyone an American lesson ??
- Or get the whole American nation to withdraw to their corner of the world and sulk ?
- so is this a "since everyone doesn't agree with me, I'll go away and not play with them anymore ??" temper tantrum ???
Wake up Sen Coleman, this is not a school yard for grade-school kids !!!
If the UN wants to tax the Internet - go ahead. In the absence of a world government, the UN is all we have - however little Sen Coleman thinks about it.
Sen Coleman needs to travel round the world and meet governments and people. Learn something about how the rest of the world live and think !!
Constantine Ng (mr)
Singapore
2. anonymous
So Senetor Coleman is concerned that, 'if governance functions were handed to bureaucrats from oppressive nations, the internet would become "an instrument of censorship and political suppression". Hm! Try looking in the mirror Mr Coleman you will then see one. Consider the Patriot Act and other current administration measures that have driven a 'coach and horses' through the US Constitution.
3. Brit Web Surfer
The Americans are fine one to talk about 'oppressive nations'. How many countries have they invaded for the sake of democracy only to get their behinds kicked?! Let go of the 'monopoly' USA, the net does not belong to you or anyone else, it's a free entity that welcomes all.....
4. anonymous
Regrettably, as someone living in the UK, I am fed up with being lied to, soon being forced to carry an ID card, having a conditional freedom of information act dependant on whether the government feels you should be allowed to have access to the information, and misusing the terrorism act as a blatent excuse for stifling freedom of speech.
If this prevents the government from taxing yet another aspect of living, then I will probably be in favour of it regardless.
5. Joe Whitehead
I would love to see the first tax evasion case! This will be very entertaining to watch. Imagine ISPs from everywhere from Canada to China getting letters asking for evidence - and then trying to collect the funds! It will also be funny seeing people use a different port to connect to foreign ISPs in countries like mine that didn't tax email.
They would probally just try to get taxes from people like the users of BT or other large providers.