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Contributions from
the Column
Monitor
Africa policy: Europe on the wrong track
World Investment Report 2005
Aid pledges for Africa to be monitored
Information summit to discuss control of internet
UN convention against corruption
Disappointing OECD guidelines
Bertelsmann Foundation rates progress
A new definition for the wealth of nations
Trade: disruptive chicken wings
IMF and World Bank endorse debt relief
Development and security: more cooperation needed
11/2005
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Information summit to discuss control
of internet
Shortly before the UN Summit on the Information Society to be held in Tunis this month, debate is raging over the control of the internet. At the last preparatory meeting for the summit in Geneva in September, delegates were unable to reach agreement on who should be responsible for the central governance of the global data network in future. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is working not for profit but is run like a private sector company and supervised by the US telecommunication authority, currently decides on the allocation of new Internet Protocol addresses. The US administration and most internet experts want to keep the status quo. However, countries such as China, Brazil, Cuba and Iran are demanding more influence. There was no majority for the proposal to move the so-called root control to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). At the recent meeting in Geneva, the European Union moved closer to the position of critics of the US and showed understanding for the wish to “democratise” internet governance. Supporters of the current practice, however, suspect that this wish is simply a thinly-veiled attempt by certain countries to censor websites. (ell)
On the internet:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/
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