I'm back from Brazil, where I appeared on several panels at the IGF. A podcast version of my remarks at the plenary openness panel is here.
Openness at the IGF
One Comment
Recent Posts
Government Says There Are No Plans for National Digital ID To Access Services 
Government Reveals Digital Policy Priorities in Trio of Responses to Canadian Heritage Committee Reports 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 255: Grappling with Grok – Heidi Tworek on the Limits of Canadian Law 
Canadian TikTok Ban Called Off as the Government Hits the Digital Policy Reset Button Once Again 
The Year in Review: Top Ten Michael Geist Substacks
NetChoice
Governments who want to stomp-out dissidents or just stick a finger in the American eye are attempting to hijack the “Critical Internet Resources (CIR)” debate. For them, the term “Protecting Critical Internet Resources” has become a euphemism for “killing ICANN.” Those who see ICANN as a mechanism for American imperialism over the Internet are grossly overestimating the power of ICANN.
The technology industry spent a trillion dollars to bring the Internet to a billion people, with little help from governments. We are investing even more to help fulfill IGF’s mandate to reach the next billion people – and that is what the world’s repressive regimes fear. We cannot shove the private sector out of room, leaving governments–including some notoriously repressive regimes–in control of a vital Internet resource.
[ link ]