Canada turns away from new ITU telecom treaty

The two-week World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai concluded with a new global treaty on global interconnection and telecom communications, with 89 states supporting the treaty and others, including Canada, refusing to sign it. Mohamed al-Ghanim, chairman of the conference hosted by the International Telecommunication Union in Dubai, said 89 countries signed the treaty and 55 did not, according to a news report by AFP. Those that didn't sign included Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Norway, Costa Rica, Serbia, Greece and Finland. Their concerns stemmed largely from an extension of an ITU provision to the Internet and the lack of a multi-stakeholder approach to governance. According to reports by the Associated Press and Bloomberg, the U.S. and U.K. delegations walked out of treaty negotiations due to concerns about Internet regulation and censorship. Bloomberg reported Friday that after the final plenary session, the U.S. delegation said it could not support a treaty that is inconsistent with a multi-stakeholder model that should involve more than just governments. AFP reported Friday that a controversial resolution related to the Internet stated that "all governments should have an equal role and responsibility for international Internet governance and for ensuring the stability, security and continuity of the existing Internet and its future development and of the future Internet.” Terry Kramer, who led the U.S. delegation, told AFP that the United States would not sign the agreement because the text included wording "seeking to insert governmental control over Internet governance." Kramer also said that Internet policy “should not be determined by member states, but by citizens, communities and broader society ... the private sector and civil society,” according to the Associated Press. The Centre for Democracy and Technology (CDT), an American nonprofit that advocates for Internet freedom, said in a release Friday that the U.S. was primarily concerned about treaty provisions on cybersecurity and a resolution “explicitly committing to future ITU involvement in Internet policy.” CDT said several countries objected to a reference to spam “on the grounds that such a provision could open the door to limitations on content.” The group said that if the ITU aims to play a larger role in global Internet governance, it must evolve into a multistakeholder body with equal participation for advocates, users, and technical experts. “We believe that Internet governance models must begin with this structure if they wish to develop effective Internet policy solutions that promote development and protect the exercise of human rights online,” CDT said. In a press statement issued Thursday, Canadian Industry Minister Christian Paradis said the ITU's final treaty text could not be signed by Canada because it included provisions threatening an open and accessible Internet. “Canada believes in a secure, stable and resilient Internet that enables rapid innovation and delivers benefits for Canadians,” Paradis said. “The current multi-stakeholder, private sector-led model promotes innovation and the development of new digital industries.” Paradis said that, like many other countries, Canada wanted to reach a consensus on new ITU regulations that recognized advances in telecommunications but maintained an open Internet. “Our government will continue to support an open and accessible Internet that facilitates economic development and prosperity,” Paradis said. The ITU, an agency of the UN, hosted more than 1,500 delegates from 193 member states for the conference, from Dec. 3-14, to renegotiate the International Telecommunication Regulations, a global treaty on information and communication services last negotiated in 1988. Robert McDowell, a commissioner with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, issued a statement Thursday saying that the treaty supporters “chose to discard long-standing international consensus to keep the Internet insulated from intergovernmental regulation.” By agreeing to broaden the scope of the ITU’s rules to include the Internet, as well as its operations and content, McDowell said, “these nations have radically undermined the highly successful, private sector, non-governmental, multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance.” He said the United States should prepare for further ITU treaty negotiations taking place in 2014 in Korea, which could expand the ITU’s reach. In a release Friday, the ITU said new provisions in the treaty emphasize efforts to assist developing countries, promote access for people with disabilities and assert “all people’s right to freedom” over information and communications networks. The ITU said the treaty includes a resolution to create a single global number for access to emergency services as well as a provision mandating greater transparency for mobile roaming prices. Provisions seeking to improve the efficiency of telecom networks are also in the treaty, the ITU said. Hamadoun Touré, secretary-general of the ITU, said in a statement that the signing of the treaty was a “momentous occasion and historic opportunity to bring connectivity to the two thirds of the world’s people who are still offline.” According to the text of a closing speech on Friday, Touré reiterated that the conference was not about governing the Internet, and said the treaty does not cover content or related issues. “Indeed there are no treaty provisions on the Internet,” Touré said. “If the word ‘Internet’ was used frequently here in Dubai, it is simply a reflection of the reality of the modern world. Telecommunications networks are not just used for making voice calls. So, our two worlds are linked.” He added that, annexed to the treaty, “is a non-binding Resolution which aims at fostering the development and growth of the Internet.” Touré said in a separate statement Thursday that a resolution on land-locked developing nations and small-island developing states “will set the framework for increased investment and roll out of broadband and mobile broadband, bringing vital services to populations that are currently disconnected.” In an emailed statement to The Wire Report Friday, Google Inc. said it opposes the new treaty because it indicates governments want increased control over the Internet. “What is clear from the ITU meeting in Dubai is that many governments want to increase regulation and censorship of the Internet,” said the statement, from a Google official with the company's public relations team who asked not to be named. “We stand with the countries who refuse to sign this treaty and also with the millions of voices who have joined us to support a free and open web.” International nonprofit The Internet Society said in a press statement Friday that the treaty made progress in areas like transparency in international roaming fees, though “fundamental divides were exposed” that left countries unable to sign the agreement. “Statements made by a host of delegations today made it very clear that Internet issues did not belong in the ITRs and that they would not support a treaty that is inconsistent with the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance,” The Internet Society said. During the first week of the conference, Russia, China, and some Middle Eastern and developing countries proposed measures for more state control over telecom traffic. —With reporting by Danika Grenier at dgrenier@thewirereport.ca and editing by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca news@thewirereport.ca

Canada turns away from new ITU telecom treaty

News | 12/14/2012 9:34 pm EST

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