WCIT2012: China and Russia Called for New Internet Rules

The Shanghai based newspaper Dongfang Daily recently published a report on the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT2012), which started on December 4 in Dubai and will last 12 days. Government representatives from over 193 countries attended the event. During the event, the Internet governance issue once again became a big topic. China and Russia called for a new UN-based governance structure for the Internet instead of the current system managed by the US-based non-profit organization ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). China and Russia expressed the belief that all Internet member countries should have equal rights to Internet management. The United States and some other countries in the West took a strong position against any measure that would allow governments to monitor what people read and say online. Large Internet companies such as Google also stood against the new proposal. The WCIT2012 host, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU – a UN branch), suggested that everybody should focus on the fact that there are still 4.5 billion people who couldn’t even connect to the Internet.

[Editor’s Note: Media later reported that, on the afternoon of December 10, China, Russia, and other countries with poor records on freedom of expression withdrew their proposals.]

Source: Dongfang Daily, December 4, 2012