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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On Tuesday 11 March 2014 05:33 PM, S
Moonesamy wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:6.2.5.6.2.20140311045420.0eaf21f8@resistor.net"
type="cite">Hi Parminder,
<br>
At 02:29 11-03-2014, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:parminder@itforchange.net">parminder@itforchange.net</a> wrote:
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">The preamble is the same, however the
operative part is different. It
<br>
provided a roadmap for institutional reform in global
governance. The
<br>
earlier document was about principles for Internet governance.
<br>
<br>
Happy to provide any further clarification.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
If one of the aims of the proposal is to help developing
countries, could you please explain how it would help such a
country?
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Dear Moonesamy,<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">I am happy to explain...</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">To understand how the <a
href="http://content.netmundial.br/contribution/democratising-global-governance-of-the-internet/164%20">proposal</a>
from Just Net Coalition helps developing
countries one needs to first understand 'what and who' shapes the
evolution of the Internet today, as the Internet itself shapes our
larger social structures, whereby the impact of this 'what and
who'
goes rather far and deep...</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">To keep it brief, it is my
understanding that the following key political and economic forces
shape the Internet today, in the decreasing order of impact;</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Extravagant profit motives of a
few global corporation, almost all US based;</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The laws and policies of the US,
which are enforced, overtly and subtly, on these global
corporation; and,<br>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Policy framework of some clubs of
rich countries, like the OECD and CoE (for instance, OCED's
principles for Internet policy making).</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">There is huge nexus between 1 and 2,
which together constitute the most powerful, in fact, quite
overwhelming, force shaping the Internet today. Meanwhile, the US
is
largely able to bull-dodge its way with regard to 3 above as
well. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Apart from the above, Internet
technical standards and critical resource management bodies, also
have a strong impact. These bodies have swung between doing
extremely
good work to frequent capture by the above corporate interests. In
my
view, their public policy oversight while important is relatively
the
lesser problem right now as compared to other issues listed above.
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Now, before we move forward to frame a
response to the basic question you asked, 'how does the Just Net
Coalition's (JNC) <a
href="http://content.netmundial.br/contribution/democratising-global-governance-of-the-internet/164%20">proposal</a>
help developing countries', we need to form some level of
agreement
on two propositions.</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The above is largely the right
picture of the forces that are shaping the Internet today.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Things are not going in the right
directions with the evolution of the Internet vis a vis canons
of equity and social justice (for instance, 10 top websites
had respectively 25, 50 and 75 percent of the total page views
in the US in 2000, 2005 and 2010, and things have gone
considerably worse since).</p>
</li>
</ol>
If you strongly disagree with
either of the above two propositions, JNC's proposal will make no
sense to you. But if you do agree, there is a lot of ground for us
to
look at remedial political solutions. And I am ready to take up such
a
discussion, admitting that our proposed solution may only be one
among many possible, and even perhaps not the best one. Our group,
in its collective wisdom, thought that what is needed in the current
context is an counter-magnetic field to the highly dominant forces
today, that would be created by
developing an anchor point inside the UN system which begins
to undertake normative discussions on issues of Internet policies,
and where needed
comes up with higher norms and principles (as OECD has come up
with), policy frameworks, and as and when
needed, binding conventions and treaties.As happens with every
sector in the UN, it will be much more about developing higher norms
and principles, much fewer policy frameworks and rather infrequent
conventions or treaties.... <br>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Such a counter magnetic field alone
can
even begin balancing the lopsidedness of the current political and
economic model around the Internet, and it goes to reason that
such a
balancing will serve the interests of developing countries, in
fact
of all marginalized groups everywhere in the world.I hope you
agree. <br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Regards</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">parminder</p>
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<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:6.2.5.6.2.20140311045420.0eaf21f8@resistor.net"
type="cite">
<br>
Regards,
<br>
S. Moonesamy <br>
<br>
</blockquote>
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