by
Mark Ollig
A
two-day meeting about the Internet recently took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
This
gathering was hosted by the government of Brazil, and was convened in order to
focus on the expansion, direction, and governance of the Internet.
This
year’s meeting, titled The Future of Internet Governance, or NETmundial; was
organized in partnership with the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee.
This
committee coordinates and integrates all Internet service initiatives in the
country, and is located at: http://www.cgi.br.
The
other partner is made up of a group of Internet technical organizations called
/1net, found at: http://1net.org.
The
meeting focused on several ideologies of how the Internet should be governed
globally, and suggestions were presented for its future development.
The
end-goal was to try and consolidate the many proposals which were presented by
the speakers.
These
speakers represented the private sector, civil society, universities, business,
government representatives, and experts from the technical community.
The
meeting was open to everyone, and was well-attended, by a large number of
individuals representing various organizations from all over the world.
Conclusions
included recognizing how the Internet has developed from an experiment, and
into a crucial network used by society.
In
fact, some compared the World Wide Web, now commonly called the Web, to an
“essential public utility.”
The
Internet is seen as being the backbone of the world’s economy.
Discussion
of the potential use of the Internet included how it could help exterminate
poverty, by dealing with economic inequality.
Global
cooperation in the Internet’s use was noted as an important factor in meeting
its potential.
Agreement
on the kind of Internet desired included its affordability and accessibility;
it was noted almost two-thirds of the world’s population is not yet connected
to it.
It
was agreed the Internet should allow online users the right to privacy, and
freedom of expression.
These
rights more or less should reflect the same rights individuals have when
offline.
Freedom
to create, share, distribute, and access information over the Internet by
everyone, along with authors and creators of content having certain rights, was
also agreed to.
A
road map of how to nurture the Internet’s environment was also talked about.
It
was agreed the expanded participation of developing countries was warranted;
all governments should have an equal say in the Internet’s governance.
The
free flow of information, its creativity and growth, need to be protected in
order to promote economic, and social development.
ICANN
(the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which administers
and coordinates the Internet’s global domain name system, and its numbering
system for IP addresses, should be allowed to continue to manage and coordinate
Internet numbering databases.
It’s
the management of these numbering databases which ensures the security and
stability of the Internet.
ICANN
began as an independent organization in 1998, and is located in Los Angeles,
CA.
Recently,
the US announced it was relinquishing oversight of ICANN, and handing it over
to a non-government entity.
The
NETmundial meeting also discussed the Internet’s flexibility, and how policies
for Internet access should be future-oriented.
It
should also be technology neutral, in order for it to accommodate the fast-pace
of today’s quickly developing new technologies, and adapt to other uses.
Vinton
Cerf, who many of us consider as one of the Internet’s founding fathers, spoke
during the first day of NETmundial.
He
acknowledged the dialogue being held at NETmundial about the Internet was
timely, as it was occurring during the 40th year of its public unveiling, and
the 31st year of its operation.
“Some
3 billion people already are online working together towards continued growth
of a powerful economic engine, and positive social force,” said Cerf.
He
stated how the openness of the Internet has been the key to its growth and
value.
“Our
work is not nearly done until the Internet is accessible to everyone, and IPv6
is accessible everywhere,” Cerf emphasized.
There
was a moment of levity encountered when Cerf frowned, and abruptly stopped
talking.
While
looking down at the printed papers of his prepared speech he quipped, “Well . .
. I have a very interesting problem here . . . my speech ends because the rest
of it wasn’t printed out.”
Laughter
erupted among the audience.
Cerf
also laughed; he then quickly composed himself and smiled while looking out at
the people in attendance.
The
people applauded him, as he ended his speech by thanking everyone for the time
he was given to speak at the podium.
The
next speaker who took the podium was the creator of the Web, Tim Berners-Lee,
who looked over at a now- seated Vinton Cerf and joked, “So, no technology is
perfect, Vint.”
I
noticed Berners-Lee was reading his prepared remarks from a laptop computer.
He
went on to talk to the audience about his creation of the Web, and how it was
introduced to the public 25 years ago.
Berners-Lee
also said he was thankful the US had released its oversight of ICANN.
Vinton
Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee’s presentations, including the NETmundial’s first- day
morning sessions, can be viewed on YouTube at: http://tinyurl.com/bits-NET1.
Vinton Cerf, at the end of his
speech during NETmundial 2014 
