E-Government

[RUS] *Original* Proposals for the work of the conference

Summary: 

This is the original version of what has become the most controversial contribution made to WCIT. It stems from Russia, seemingly from the President's office, and asks from the introduction of a new article to the ITRs encompassing the Internet.

A revised version, produced just a few days later and coming from Russia's ministry of telecoms, toned down the language significantly but the proposals still concern many.

Implications: 

The content of the proposed new article would put the United Nations in direct opposition to the existing conglomeration of Internet organizations by enshrining rules regarding the Internet into an international telecoms treaty.

This involvement in Internet governance is exactly what campaigners against the WCIT conference had been voicing concerns over, and the ITU's Secretary-General had, prior to the late arrival of this contribution, tried to assure everyone that there was no suggestion that WCIT would directly involve itself in Internet governance.

A key trend in the development of today’s information society is the steady growth in the role of the Internet.

The Internet’s developmental impact on society affects people’s way of life, their education and work, as well as the interaction of government and civil society. The Internet is rapidly becoming a vitally important driver of global economic development. It also allows individuals, companies and business communities to find more effective and creative solutions to economic and social problems.

The Internet has an impact on every aspect of human activity within society – political, economic, social and spiritual.

In politics, the Internet is a powerful tool for implementing a State’s domestic policy, and is behind concepts such as e-government, digital media and virtual political parties. It also helps to increase the political participation of citizens in national governance.

The Internet is an important factor in the development of a modern economy, and is actively used in business through such means as e-commerce, e-banking, electronic payments and Internet advertising, among others.

政务
IDN
Initial Evaluation
Priority number: 
93
Government objection(s): 
Taiwan
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Applicant
China Organizational Name Administration Center
Abkhazia
Phone: 
+86 10 5203 5167
Fax: 
+86 10 5203 5034
http://www.conac.cn
Government objection(s)
Explanation: 

GAC Member(s) to indicate a description of the Early Warning being filed
The “. 政务” application will cause confusion among Chinese character users.

Reason/Rationale: 

GAC Member(s) to indicate the reason and rationale for the Early Warning being filed.

The government of Taiwan wishes to express its concern to the application submitted by China Organizational Name Administration Center (CONAC) for the .政务 gTLD.

1. There is already an application for a .政府 gTLD. “政府” in Chinese means “government.” “政 务” is often translated as “governmental affairs,” but can also have a broader meaning, such as “political affairs.”
A. Therefore the applied for string of “.政务” is confusingly similar to “.政府,” especially among communities that use Chinese characters (including other countries familiar with Chinese), and may cause confusion among applicants and users.
B. According to CONAC application for the .政务 gTLD, the registry would be available for applications from governmental agencies and also, non-governmental agencies. This would not only potentially dilute a .政府 gTLD, but would also create confusion, e.g., whether applicants using .政务 or .政府 are governmental agencies.

2. In Taiwan, we are considering establishing 政務.台灣 by using traditional characters as a second-level domain. Other communities that use Chinese characters may have similar protocols in place (or plan to adopt similar protocols). The .政务 gTLD applied for by CONAC therefore may create confusion with respect to other regions’ use of .政务 by either traditional or simplified characters as a second-level domain, e.g., 台湾.政务 and 政務.台灣 in Taiwan.
Should CONAC’s application be permitted to proceed, there is a likelihood that the .政务 gTLD would cause confusion for both applicants and the public, and therefore, we respectfully submit this opinion for the GAC’s further consideration and discussion.

Possible Remediation: 

GAC Member(s) to identify possible remediation steps to be taken by the applicant

- The applicant for the string should try to address the concerns raised by the Early Warning.
- If the applicant can not solve our concerns, this application should be withdrawn.

Registry services
Applicant-run registry

India drops plans for government control of Internet

by Kieren McCarthy | 10 Mar 2012 |

Elections see shift in political landscape - and Internet governance perspective

India has dropped its plans to create a new United Nations body that would oversee the Internet, with the country's foremost Internet governance voice telling .Nxt it was "not well thought out".


Govind: Multi-stakeholder supporter

The proposal, made formally to the United Nations General Assembly in October, would have seen a new body - the Committee for Internet-Related Policies (CIRP) - created that which would develop Internet policies, oversee all Internet standards bodies and policy organizations, negotiate Internet-related treaties, and act as an arbitrator in Internet-related disputes.

That vision was also put forward by India at the 2011 Internet Governance Forum, where it met significant criticism from the Internet community. It was not community criticism however but elections and changes to the political landscape that have seen a U-turn in the policy and a shift toward to the "multi-stakeholder" approach that defines Internet policy decision-making.

India formally proposes government takeover of Internet

by Kieren McCarthy | 27 Oct 2011 |

The Indian government has formally proposed a government takeover of the Internet at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement sent yesterday, India argued for the creation of a new body to be called the United Nations Committee for Internet-Related Policies (CIRP) which would develop Internet policies, oversee all Internet standards bodies and policy organizations, negotiate Internet-related treaties, and act as an arbitrator in Internet-related disputes.

The CIRP would exist under the United Nations, comprise of 50 Member States, be funded by the United Nations, run by staff from the UN’s Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) arm, and report directly to the UN General Assembly.

Despite the proposal representing an extraordinary shift from the status quo to a single, purely government-run Internet body, India’s spokesman, Mr Dushyant Singh, argued that the proposal “should not be viewed as an attempt by governments to ‘take over’ or ‘regulate and circumscribe’ the Internet.”

Internet principle hype: how softlaw is used to regulate the Internet

by Wolfgang Kleinw... | 25 Jul 2011 |

No government took note when Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in Geneva published a short summary of his WorldWideWeb project on the alt.hypertext-newsgroup on 6 August 1991. The world was busy with the end of the cold war and the Internet was widely ignored by political leaders.

Twenty years later, more and more governments are struggling how to get the consequences of Berners-Lee invention under control. The year 2011 could go into the Internet history books as the year of "Governments for Internet Principles".

The Internet has climbed up the ladder of political priorities and has now even reached the G8. When the leaders of eight powerful nations - Obama for the USA, Medvedev for Russia, Sarkozy for France, Merkel for Germany, Cameron for the UK, Berlusconi for Italy, Harper for Canada, Kan for Japan and Baroso for the EU - came together in the French sea-resort Deauville at the end of May 2011, Internet Policy was a top issue on their agenda.

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