My issues with the United Nations are far too numerous to deal with in a single posting. One issue, however, which continues to be of major concern is the UN's attempt to take control of and regulate the internet.
Consider just three of the many proposals presented by UN agencies and member states:
Use international mandates to charge certain Web destinations on a 'per-click' basis to fund the build-out of broadband infrastructure across the globe. Google, iTunes, Facebook, and Netflix are mentioned most often as prime sources of funding.
Define methods of tracing the original source of Internet communications, potentially curbing the ability of users to remain anonymous.
Creation of a forum entirely controlled by the U.N.'s member states to develop internet policies, oversee all internet standards bodies and policy organizations, negotiate internet-related treaties and sit in judgment when internet-related disputes come up.
Putting the internet under the control of the UN would put political dealmakers, rather than innovators and experts, in charge of the future of the internet. Productivity and rising living standards, especially in the developing world, would grind to a halt as engineering and business decisions became politically paralyzed within a global regulatory body. As for freedom of speech and human rights, consider that China, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are four major players advocating UN control and regulation.
Thus far UN attempts to establish goverance over the internet have met with little success. However, at a December 2012 World Conference the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an arm of the United Nations, will consider expanding its purview to the Internet.
This is a very, very scary thing. Should you doubt this do an internet search on "united nations internet regulation". Better do it quickly, however, while the search results remain uncensored.
May, 2012