Should we be worrying about the Internet?

In the news: US prepares to hand over power of the internet's naming system

My brain is currently in non-functioning mode, so I am not able at the moment to suss out all the possible repercussions or implications this news may or may not foretell. However, the words "privatization" and "Internet" in the same sentence makes me want to pay attention.

The US government's 20-year role in governing a crucial part of the internet is about to end.

Starting October 1, the US will no longer have power over the domain naming system (DNS), the US Department of Commerce said in a blog post Tuesday.

...

Proponents of the move, including the Obama administration, believe privatization will help maintain international support for the system and prevent governance of the internet from becoming a point of dispute.

...

"For the last 18 years, the United States has been working with the global Internet multi-stakeholder community to establish a stable and secure multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance that ensures that the private sector, not governments, takes the lead in setting the future direction of the Internet's domain name system," Strickland said.

For now, this appears to only involve the domain naming system, but the question is what is it leading to. While speculation could lead us into the territory of conspiracy theory (CT), currently I would not put anything past the US government in its effort to give corporations a greater hold over our lives.

There are a couple of agencies and legislation which could make further changes to Internet usage and availability, including price. How does this or does this effect the Internet standing with the FCC? How does the TPP effect future changes which this could just be the tip of? Who funds this non-profit that is taking over the naming? What ties does the non-profit have to the Clinton campaign? Couldn't resist that last. = )

Maybe, just maybe, this is all above board, but we are talking about the same people who are pushing the TPP on us, who steal elections, who conduct private wars, who are selling our country to the highest bidders, so it would be best to be forearmed as we are now forewarned.

Edited to add: This is information from another source, US ready to 'hand over' the internet's naming system, that has this:

In response to worries about abuse of the internet by foreign governments, the NTIA said it had consulted corporate governance experts who said its the prospect of government interference was “extremely remote”.

...
"This is more about who officially controls the foundations of the Internet/web addresses and domain names, without which the network wouldn't function."

That last has some chilling implications.

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

detroitmechworks's picture

Privatization of the internet will simply expand censorship under the grounds of "Private Property".

Google isn't liable for rigging search results because they're a private company. Now imagine that a private company gets to decide whether or not you can even make competition to google in order to get a free and open source of information.

The Demonrats and Rethugs are WELL aware of the power of the internet, and as long as it remains in public hands, they can't control it. It is only going to continue to chip away at the MSM narrative as they become more and more divorced from reality. But if suddenly the MSM gets to control the internet too...

Hence, Privatization, and thus removal from constitutional protections.

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

WindDancer13's picture

From October, the “new” Icann will become an organisation that answers to multiple stakeholders who want a say over the internet. Those stakeholders include countries, businesses and groups offering technical expertise.

The new article [I will add it to the esay]talks about how good this is for globalization. We have already seen the many effects of globalization and so far they have not been terrific for US workers and freedoms, and as I think this is a first step, we need to keep a careful eye on what is happening and maybe letting our legislators know that we want the Internet protected.

Many moons ago, I commented that if we valued the Internet, don't vote for HRC. Looks like Obama is stepping up to the plate for her once again.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

detroitmechworks's picture

Only they tried government regulation which was struck down by the SCOTUS.

Sorry, but I do not trust privatization any farther than I can throw a corporate office building.

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

WindDancer13's picture

privatization, which should be rename piratization. I seriously wonder who will be funding this non-profit. If it starts getting donations from the Koch brothers, we better get out the tin cans and strings.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Amanda Matthews's picture

How communities are banding together to create high-speed, affordable broadband access.

In the meantime, local communities are taking matters into their own hands and have created remarkable citywide fiber-to-the-home broadband networks. Many offer services directly to residents, providing a much-needed alternative to the cable and telephone companies. And by creating meaningful consumer choice among competitors, these networks are driving lower prices—spurring new investment and creating new jobs—and keeping more money circulating in the local economy.

Approaches vary from neighborhood wireless networks to the ubiquitous fiber-optic connections in Chattanooga, Tenn., the “gig city,” which has built the nation’s biggest municipally owned fiber-optic network.* North Dakota now has one of the largest next-generation networks in the world, wiring more than 10,000 square miles of some of the most rural areas of the United States with connectivity that is superior to what's available to the millions of people living in major nearby cities like Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Rural fiber-optic networks are often built by local co-ops, not big corporations, which have all but abandoned isolated communities. AT&T’s CEO was open on a call to investors in January when he stated, “We’ve all been trying to find a broadband solution that was economically viable to get out to rural America, and we’re not finding one, to be quite candid.” Verizon wants to go further, pulling copper wires off the poles in many rural areas so they can force households onto more expensive (and less regulated) cellular data plans.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance recently released case studies of three of the most advanced networks in the nation: Chattanooga; Lafayette, La.; and Bristol, Va. Chattanooga has gained fame for being the first community in the United States with universal access to a 1-gigabit connection—speeds that are 100 times faster than an ordinary cable connection and 500 times faster than typical DSL. Bristol’s network has helped create thousands of new jobs since launching in 2003 and has never raised prices for its telephone or broadband service packages even though available speeds have been doubled several times since its founding. The base package of 6 megabits per second downstream and 1 Mbps upstream (a speed comparable to most DSL connections) is $26.36 per month and a cable-comparable 12 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up or 16 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up runs $35.16 and $39.56 respectively, well below comparable tiers from national cable companies. In a few short years, Lafayette’s network has resulted in hundreds of new jobs, millions of dollars in aggregate savings for the community, and the economic boost that local college graduates will be able to take advantage of the digital economy without having to leave Cajun Country.

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/08/community_...

***

We need to start taking back our communities back from Corporate Amurika.

up
0 users have voted.

I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

WindDancer13's picture

tried to get those shut down even while admitting that they would never cover rural areas. While this is a wonderful idea, I am curious about the speed/pricing. Fiber optics can provide speeds up to 1 Gbps.

In my little town without fiber optics, I pay $70/mo inclusive for 75 Mbps (that includes Internet, something like 50 TV channels, Streampix and HBO), and even though I rarely ever watch TV--last time was six months ago, the package is less expensive than just Internet. The Internet speed is my one and only luxury, but also a necessity given as much stuff i download/upload.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Amanda Matthews's picture

up
0 users have voted.

I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

dance you monster's picture

. . . is DC/Wall street-speak for several companies vying to be the monopoly over something in the public realm that should stay in the public realm.

When you see those catch-phrases, you know the worst in the government/corporate sector are about to stick it to you, deeply.

up
0 users have voted.
WindDancer13's picture

but hadn't had a chance yet to boil it down to what it would mean in regards to this particular issue. Now I see that it means "Uh. Oh."

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

That's part of the 'conditioning' for totalitarian corporate rule over once-democracies - and of course they want total control over the internet and population. These are not trade bills; they are traitorous acts.

I've just grabbed a few of the handiest examples explaining some of what I've been reading about about since the leaks began.

https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp

Electronic Frontier Foundation
Defending your rights in the digital world

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-08/how-tpp-could-lead-worldwide-in...

How The TPP Could Lead To Worldwide Internet Censorship

by Tyler Durden
Oct 8, 2015

Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

On Monday, we learned that global “leaders” had come to an agreement on the infamous Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP. While discouraging, this doesn’t mean the game is over - far from it.

Although politicians have come to a secret agreement, this democracy killing, corporate monstrosity still has to pass the U.S. Congress. So it’s now up to all of us to create an insurmountable degree of opposition and make sure this thing is dead on arrival.

The more I learn about the TPP, the more horrified I become. In case you need to get up to speed, check out the following:

U.S. State Department Upgrades Serial Human Rights Abuser Malaysia to Include it in the TPP

Julian Assange on the TPP – “Deal Isn’t About Trade, It’s About Corporate Control”

Trade Expert and TPP Whistleblower – “We Should Be Very Concerned about What’s Hidden in This Trade Deal”

As the Senate Prepares to Vote on “Fast Track,” Here’s a Quick Primer on the Dangers of the TPP

If that wasn’t enough to concern you, here’s the latest revelation.

From Common Dreams:

The “disastrous” pro-corporate trade deal finalized Monday could kill the Internet as we know it, campaigners are warning, as they vow to keep up the fight against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between the U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim nations.

“Internet users around the world should be very concerned about this ultra-secret pact,” said OpenMedia’s digital rights specialist Meghan Sali. “What we’re talking about here is global Internet censorship. It will criminalize our online activities, censor the Web, and cost everyday users money. This deal would never pass with the whole world watching - that’s why they’ve negotiated it in total secrecy.”

If that part isn’t obvious by now, I don’t know what is.

TPP opponents have claimed that under the agreement, “Internet Service Providers could be required to ‘police’ user activity (i.e. police YOU), take down Internet content, and cut people off from Internet access for common user-generated content.”

Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Maira Sutton wrote on Monday, “We have no reason to believe that the TPP has improved much at all from the last leaked version released in August, and we won’t know until the U.S. Trade Representative releases the text. So as long as it contains a retroactive 20-year copyright term extension, bans on circumventing DRM, massively disproportionate punishments for copyright infringement, and rules that criminalize investigative journalists and whistleblowers, we have to do everything we can to stop this agreement from getting signed, ratified, and put into force.”

Furthermore, “The fact that close to 800 million Internet users’ rights to free expression, privacy, and access to knowledge online hinged upon the outcome of squabbles over trade rules on cars and milk is precisely why digital policy consideration[s] do not belong in trade agreements,” Sutton added, referring to the auto and dairy tariff provisions that reportedly held up the talks.

“Successive leaks of the TPP have demonstrated that unless you are a big business sector, the [U.S. Trade Representative, or USTR] simply doesn’t care what you have to say,” wrote EFF’s Jeremy Malcolm.

“If you like your freedom of speech, you can keep your freedom of speech.”

Brace yourselves for Obamatrade.

Bolding/itallics mine. Please, if possible, read this in full at source?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-ttp-and-ttip-trade-agreements-a-dystopi...

The TTP and TTIP Trade Agreements: “A Dystopian Future in which Corporations Rather Than Elected Governments Call the Shots”
By Eric Zuesse
Global Research, May 06, 2015

The Obama-proposed international-trade deals, if passed into law, will lead to “a dystopian future in which corporations and not democratically elected governments call the shots,” says Alfred De Zayas, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order.

These two mammoth trade-pacts, one (TTIP) for Atlantic nations, and the other (TTP) for Pacific nations excluding China (since Obama is against China), would transfer regulations of corporations to corporations themselves, and away from democratically elected governments. Regulation of working conditions and of the environment, as well as of product-safety including toxic foods and poisonous air and other consumer issues, would be placed into the hands of panels whose members will be appointed by large international corporations. Their decisions will remove the power of democratically elected governments to control these things. “Red tape” that’s imposed by elected national governments would be eliminated — replaced by the international mega-corporate version.

De Zayas was quoted in Britain’s Guardian on May 4th as saying also that, “The bottom line is that these agreements must be revised, modified or terminated,” because they would vastly harm publics everywhere, even though they would enormously benefit the top executives of corporations by giving them control as a sort of corporate-imposed world government, answerable to the people who control those corporations.

Obama is pushing for international cartels to replace important functions of today’s national governments, and De Zayas is saying that, “We don’t want an international order akin to post-democracy or post-law.”

De Zayas told the Guardian that the panels that are proposed to be at the very center of these trade-pacts

“constitute an attempt to escape the jurisdiction of national courts and bypass the obligation of all states to ensure that all legal cases are tried before independent tribunals that are public, transparent, accountable and appealable.”

That is, in fact, the motivation behind these deals. Costs get transferred from corporations onto consumers, workers, and the environment, while profits are increased for the corporation’s investors, and CEO pay will soar. In fact, the EU’s own study of the economic impact of the TTIP with America, calculated

“economic gains as a whole for the EU (€119 billion a year) and US (€95 billion a year). This translates to an extra €545 in disposable income each year for a family of 4 in the EU, on average, and €655 per family in the US. … Income gains are a result of increased trade. EU exports to the US would go up by 28%, equivalent to an additional €187 billion worth of exports of EU goods and services. Overall, total exports would increase 6% in the EU and 8% in the US.”

My interjection: not that any regular families are likely to see anything but unlimited pollution, a complete lack of any pretense of concern for their safety, health and survival, with starvation wages becoming universal among any not within the top echelon.)

According to the analysis, no one would lose anything. For example, tariffs would be reduced but income taxes and other taxes that the public pays wouldn’t be increased in order to make up for that loss of income to the state from reduced tariffs. Not at all. Instead:

“As much as 80% of the total potential gains come from cutting costs imposed by bureaucracy and regulations, as well as from liberalising trade in services and public procurement.”

In other words: government regulations of product-safety and the environment and workers’ rights are a terrible waste, which would be eliminated and handled more efficiently by letting international corporations themselves handle those things, according to the EU’s study. And “liberalising trade in services and public procurement” would cut “red tape” that has prevented government officials who are the purchasers in “public procurement” from getting high-paid corporate directorships, etc. under the existing regulatory structures in democratic nations where the public, the voters, can hold their own government accountable for such corruption.

If these functions become the domain of the international corporations themselves, then existing regulations and the government employees who enforce them can be eliminated. Accountability, in other words, is such a waste, for the inside investors in large corporations. They don’t need it; they fight against it. They are fighting against it. They don’t even want accountability to their own outside investors, who might want them removed from corporate management.

(My interjection: please note that President Clinton/Trump, whoever can do whatever they like to earn big bucks from corporations as what may or may not still be termed 'President', if accepted as management by the ruling corporate/billionaire interests.)

The EU simply doesn’t mention the downsides. And they also don’t mention that, “Obama’s TTIP Trade Deal w. Europe Would Be Disastrous for Europe, Says the First Independent Study.” That study wasn’t paid for by the EU, so they just ignore it. (They even ignore that it found that America’s international corporations would benefit even more from the deal than would Europe’s international corporations, which is the exact opposite result than the EU’s own study calculated. President Obama performs brilliantly for America’s billionaires, even though most of them are Republicans.) The economist who did that study wasn’t paid by anybody to do it. Occasionally, a study like that is performed by an economist. However, paid-for studies get far more publicity, because the findings are then heavily promoted by the sponsoring organization — after all, it’s propaganda. ...

...

Favoring local ownership is prohibited. …

Corporations must be paid to stop polluting. [Yes: Obama demands that corporations possess an actual right to pollute! It’s in the contract!! Ignore his mere rhetoric.] …

Three [corporate] lawyers will decide who’s right in secret tribunals. …

Speculative money must remain free [of governmental regulation] …

Corporate interests come before national ones.

Then, there’s a sixth basic provision: to “prohibit governments from requiring that a foreign investor be under any obligation to serve the host country’s people or national interest.” ...

(My interjection: They can do whatever they like to us under these 'trade bills' while we have no protections or recourse - as well as no freedom on the internet - and if we accept any such traitorous act as claimed - supposedly 'legal and binding', despite being unconstitutional in any free country - we're toast.)

... De Zayas is the chief UN official responsible for “reporting” on proposed international-trade treaties. As the likelihood of Obama’s proposed treaties passing has increased, he has become increasingly vocal about what their implications would be, for the UN’s founding vision of gradual evolution toward a democratic world-government — something comprehensive like what is now being suddenly rammed through, but democratic instead of fascist, and thus more the opposite of Obama’s vision instead of similar to it. ...

The power belongs to the people, not to whoever happens to be in public office - existing specifically to serve the public interest - at the time. Do not let anyone tell you differently.

up
0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

WindDancer13's picture

If the threat to the Internet is emphasized, maybe a few more people will pay attention.

This information highlights some of the worst of my fears about what will happen if the TPP is allowed to pass (which is guaranteed if HRC is elected). It also needs to be highlighted that there is no escape clause once this is passed.

I see the move of the government removing itself completely from the Internet naming as a way of letting corporations get their fingers on it and a springboard to other locks on Internet freedom. The TPP will speed up the process.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

elenacarlena's picture

businesses and independent bloggers will find it unaffordable.

Notice they've been working on this for 18 years, but give us a little over a month to respond. Where/when is the public comment period?

up
0 users have voted.

Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

WindDancer13's picture

The second article (I just added it to the essay) indicates that this move was worked out with corporate input which may be fine and dandy except it brings to mind, considering this has been ongoing, how quietly the TPP was snuck in on us. I am sure there are a lot of Internet experts who are not owned by corporations who could have been consulted.

The public comment period was probably 18 years ago before anyone knew how important the Internet would become.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

mimi's picture

I don't know who controls the internet so to speak.

up
0 users have voted.
mimi's picture

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN /ˈaɪkæn/ eye-kan) is an American private nonprofit organization that is responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces of the Internet - thereby ensuring the network's stable and secure operation.[1] ICANN performs the actual technical maintenance work of the central Internet address pools and DNS Root registries pursuant to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function contract.

Much of its work has concerned the Internet's global Domain Name System, including policy development for internationalization of the DNS system, introduction of new generic top-level domains (TLDs), and the operation of root name servers. The numbering facilities ICANN manages include the Internet Protocol address spaces for IPv4 and IPv6, and assignment of address blocks to regional Internet registries. ICANN also maintains registries of Internet protocol identifiers.

Or what does it all mean?

up
0 users have voted.
WindDancer13's picture

realized that I would have to write a book.

This is about the simplest explanation of DNS that I could find offhand:

[video:https://youtu.be/dE4rsNuG0aw]

Simply, what ICANN will be doing is assigning or disallowing names to those IP numbers. There is a cost for that, by the way.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

elenacarlena's picture

bad. But I don't know how much the government has been regulating prices or whatnot. The original article linked at the top says we won't notice any change. Promises, promises.

up
0 users have voted.

Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

WindDancer13's picture

the work, but becasue they were contracted by the government to do so, they had all the funding they needed. What happens now? Have any details been changed now that there will not be government oversight? What is the next step?

It said "most" would not notice differences. 49%, therefore, could, and would that smaller percentage be those who will see efforts to limit their Internet presence? Who knows? Obviously, i am not very trustful of the government's motives in this case (or any).

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

That 'privatization' of the publicly owned internet, beginning with control of the Domain Name System, doubtless makes it easy for various corporate/billionaire interests to ensure that the public cannot access sites/information they'd rather not be available to the relative poors. They can, at the least, simply deny such access to the public.

up
0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

WindDancer13's picture

I am sure it would be in the interest of public health to make sure that people cannot access that information or anything from whistleblowers. It is parental protection for errant children.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

WindDancer13's picture

perform database searches of domain names. The only real difference is that some have more access and other have less access to all the database information.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

SnappleBC's picture

Domain names are, after all, a global resource so there's something to be said for coming up with some consortium. Depending on how it's set up, it could either be just fine or a pricey mess.

up
0 users have voted.

A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

WindDancer13's picture

is this the tip of the iceberg? Are there more shoes to drop? Shoes that would stomp on our current Internet freedoms.

Just as a guess, I would go with pricey mess.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

mimi's picture

What it says is that the government will hand the control over to ICANN completely. What was the government control before? it said something like ICANN iw a non-for profit private organization. Will it be now a for profit private organization. So, what can they do, rise their prices for your DNS name? No, don't write a book. I have a couple ... in a box.... still it doesn't explain what exactly the government is doing. At least it doesn't explain it for the "little people".

up
0 users have voted.
WindDancer13's picture

does not mean that it cannot be influenced by donors. They have actually been ding the same work for quite some time. The difference now is that it will no longer be doing "contract" work for the government, but its own which also means that it will have to become self-funding. I am (pretty) sure that the government will continue to fund it, but the doors are open now for outside influence.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Pricknick's picture

are already controlled by the corporations.
Where the government needs to step in is the fairness of the controlling parties.
Good luck with that as the corporation already controls the government.
They'll do as they damn well please.

up
0 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

WindDancer13's picture

stepping out of the picture in case there are any "discrepancies" or issues that it will not look like the gov't itself was involved. Optics. Smoke and mirrors.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

riverlover's picture

"New and Improved" is cost reduced for the manufacturer, meaning price increases for the end-user. It's going to get like cell phone network competition? That is very opaque. And location-specific. But "they" never tell us that. Seems too like NSA would have power here. Ruh-Ro.

up
0 users have voted.

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

WindDancer13's picture

In an article in which this question,"Does the United States have an exceptional role in managing the Internet?" is asked, the response, in part, is:

Today, they do, yes. They have the exceptional role of approving changes to the root zone [part of the Internet's fundamental Web site naming system], which we do today. That's an important role. And it's a role that was always envisaged to go away. Ira Magaziner, who designed all this in the Clinton White House, told me, "Fadi, we designed it so that in 2000, this exceptional role would be gone." He told me, "You're 14 years late, but I'm glad you're finally there."

From a 2015 article about the upcoming transition, there is this word of warning:

Control over the DNS could also be used as leverage to broaden the scope of ICANN’s powers beyond its technical mandate, and there is already evidence of pressure to address broader Internet policy issues like copyright through ICANN. Freed from U.S. government oversight, what will prevent ICANN from becoming a global law enforcement or Internet governance body, a role for which the organization is not structured and that is far removed from its goal of keeping the DNS running smoothly?

The key to all of this is making sure that ICANN remains accountable after U.S. government oversight ends, which is being discussed as part of the broader transition effort.

Corporate accountability?

Then there is this interesting article about some of ICANN's previous decisions that includes this statement:

ICANN’s potentially momentous change seems to have been made in a top-down star chamber.

While ICANN has been in operation for a long time (1998) with little meddling from the US government, being associated with the Clintons just gives me a bad feeling. Many of the objections voiced regarding the transition were generally brushed aside in the white paper issued by the Clinton administration. I cannot help thinking that the timing of this has something to do with the TPP.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

mimi's picture

about what the internet is and who owns what. So may be it helps to get a grasp what it would mean, if you say "the government hands over Internet's Naming system".

Anatomy of the Internet. There is a table in the article I can't download or embed here, but at least it gives an overview of who owns and controls what "on the internet'.

To me the whole site/ebook would be a good read, imo.

up
0 users have voted.
WindDancer13's picture

it was all DOS and BBSs. My first modem was a whopping 2400 bps serial modem. I am not currently in need of a refresher of how it works, or its history.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

mimi's picture

a "hinting" comment directed at you, more or less a hint for all those, who don't have your background and history. Unless this site's readers are all old school internet users from the eighties (I am a web user since 1996 without having ever looked at it as a technical person, who runs servers, hosts sites, I never was a pogrammer or coder aside from basic html and some unix shell scripting ...etc). I am not sure whom you address.

I hope we don't have all to be ashamed to NOT know what you might know. In any case, if I have stepped on your toes, I apologize.

up
0 users have voted.
WindDancer13's picture

so I understood it to be for me rather than for other readers.

The general population has no more idea of how the Internet works than they have of what makes their cars run. It is a tool to be used, not understood, and that works fine for most people.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

mimi's picture

will try to pay better attention of how I post my comments.

up
0 users have voted.
riverlover's picture

Cornell was one of the DARPA hubs, big cold rooms with servers. My current ISP (not Cornell) is a second-tier phone company and I get feelers from big web sires indicating I am in a zip code 50 miles east. Clunky, yes. Not (or are) IDing my server.

I would be interested in current lines, or is satellite all now?

up
0 users have voted.

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

WindDancer13's picture

of a problem understanding your question.

A GUI is a graphical user interface (like the desktop of your computer).

A hub could refer to an in home way to create network of computers connected to a single device that allows them to share information. It could also refer to Internet Exchange Points (IEP) which are owned by network service providers and provide the route from where you are to where you are going on the Internet. This map shows the various IEPs.

As to your IP address showing a location 50 miles from where your computer is, the most likely explanation is that IP locators are not very accurate:

Accuracy rates on naming the city from an IP address vary between 50%-80%. Source

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

riverlover's picture

but for some time there were (presumably fiberoptic) lines drawn in a clever subway-like diagrams of the US, and the major hubs. Not good sleep here, moon again in windows. Rest well.

up
0 users have voted.

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

WindDancer13's picture

list of all providers that are currently offering fiber optics and the communities they serve. And this article has broadband services listed by state and city. I hope they help.

No rest for the wicked. = ) My usual pattern when this happens is that I will now be awake for between 24 to 36 hours (rarely any more do I go beyond that). I have curtains that completely block light which may help with your moon problem. They are not too expensive, but they are at Wal-Mart, though you can probably find them online..

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

riverlover's picture

but I appreciate dark rooms, just not for walking through. Hope you get some rest, WD.

up
0 users have voted.

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

WindDancer13's picture

My mother used to rearrange the living room furniture all the time. It made it very difficult (and painful) as a teen to sneak back in at night. = )

The curtains are $25 for two panels (one window) for the longest sets. I bought mine one set a month. There are also just the backings that can be attached to current curtains. Look up blackout curtains at Wal-Mart.

Thanks! I will...eventually.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

paradigmshift's picture

The People. Obviously has nothing to do with control, profit, and power for the oligarchs.

up
0 users have voted.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

WindDancer13's picture

government "benefits." Next they will be wanting to give me an all-expense paid trip to a Bay in Cuba.

up
0 users have voted.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

PriceRip's picture

          Web browsing was also invented by us, most of us didn't really expect the commercialization of the internet to become a thing. I actually gave talks about the dismal future of the likes of Compuserve, and pointed out the huge numbers of us that were having a good time putting up content and providing services for free. But "market forces" just fucked it all up.
          What can I say? Maybe if we had just not bothered to cater to the non-coders "out there" you-all would have not transformed our plaything into this graphical-interfaced-monster that has attracted so much attention.

up
0 users have voted.