A major US delegation is leading the opposition to possible new UN regulations on internet commerce and controls that are part of wide-ranging talks that opened Monday in Dubai.
The UN conference is seeking to update telecommunications codes last reviewed two and a half decades ago when the web was virtually unknown.
Officials from the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) have tried to counter concerns that the 11-day meeting could impose measures that will restrict the Web, saying the primary goal is addressing issues such as cyber-security and ways to expand the internet’s reach in developing countries.
The group also notes that updating global communications cooperation is long overdue — with the last significant changes made in 1988, well before the Internet age.
But others at the Dubai conference — including a 123-member US delegation with envoys from tech giants such as Google and Microsoft — worry that any new UN oversight on Internet security could be used by nations such as China and Russia to justify further tightening of Web blocks and monitoring.
“Love the free and open Internet? Tell the world’s governments to keep it that way,” said a message on the main search page of Google.com with a link for comments directed to the Dubai conference.