February 4, 2004

Who Will Govern the Net?

Internet "guru" Ester Dyson says the Internet needs less regulation, and more accountability. Interesting comments in an article in The Guardian, which I found via Free2Innovate, a tech blog. Your privacy is at stake.

The debate about how much information should be held on users within the Internet infrastructure is raging within the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the non-profit organisation that ensures machines connected to the Internet can speak to each other. Pressure is growing for ICANN, which Esther still advises, to be given a regulatory role, something she vehemently opposes.

"ICANN should have as little power as possible, and it certainly should not be setting global standards that governments can then use to go after people. The less power it has, the less likelihood that it is going to taken over and become an arm of control. ICANN should be limited to setting policy for the technical infrastructure."