How the ITU is threatening Internet freedom and access

Learn more and join us in speaking out at http://ProtectInternetFreedom.net.

The world's governments are currently meeting to update a key treaty of a UN agency called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Some governments are proposing to extend ITU authority to Internet governance in ways that could threaten Internet openness and innovation, increase access costs, and erode human rights online.

Original video viewable at The Stream: http://youtu.be/d8fTgTrb3CQ

WARNING: these are the automatic YouTube subtitles: don't translate them before they've been edited and this warning is deleted.

(Openmedia - the Stream)

[Josh Rushing] ...International Telecommunications and Union, and it's an agency of the United Nations.

They're meeting next week to negotiate a treaty on internet regulations

and discuss policies ranging from cybersecurity to online fraud

but digital rights groups have criticized the push for so-called internet central government.

and insist that an international treaty that includes the influence of countries

like China, Russia and others could lead to greater
online censorship

and ITU says

its main objective is to increase internet access to underserved communities.

But should this goal be achieved through international regulations?

And can it be done without harming internet freedoms?

[Ellery Biddle] We've seen leaked proposals that clearly
implicate the internet that would -

you know, with the goal of the improving cybersecurity, whatever that may mean

- it means different things different countries -

could limit people's privacy by, you know, being able to identify

a communication anywhere in the network

another proposal would limit free expression

would limit free expression by authorizing governments

to shut down communication networks for, you know - in the name of national security.

[Rushing] From your view as someone who fights to protect civil liberties online,

how much of a realistic threat do you see in cyber security and cyberwar,

and how much do you see that being used as kind of useful boogey man?

[Biddle] I think cybersecurity is such a subjective concept that it's almost -

- I don't think it's useful to really use the term very much ////

that issue transparency that's coming up
soon she says

there's no transparency and all
individual governments have tried and

failed and now they want to use the you
win

to push for their big another from
muhammad who says governments will

basically use censorship to their
advantage crushing and suppressing all

voices in well how do you respond to the
critics who say that there's been a lack

of transparency in your process

will we have that on skype outside city
in a way to you at the hospital

initially

to have national consultations in many
countries have done so and hated the

press that item to send delegations that
to continue to explain what data about

and some conditioned on done so

if the country for once anyone who once
information can conduct his national

uh... government to get the information

and that the idea of trying to get

all one hundred ninety six inches
together

to agree

by consensus on

policies related to anything anything
related to content really

that alone

it's very difficult to imagine how you
could come to consensus that

would be acceptable to all players

general question about how much should
government's be able to watch what users

are doing online and what are their
motives there visit in

you know pursuing real criminals

in some normative sense or is it trying
to control people who might the engaged

in some kind of activism the government
doesn't like

seen reports that the internet has been
shut down inferior

and decode facts to say that there isn't
jamming today a look at what syria has

done to their internet it uses the
control arty exist

and there's a peaceful comments from now
means that is in fact dozens of

countries including china russia and
some arab states already restrict

internet access within their own borders
if these governments have greater

leverage over internet content service
providers if changes are made