Speak Up Project

Frankly it’s debatable that this term even truly holds weight. The truth is that there are a number of people out there who maintain that the Internet is completely decentralized. What controls the Internet, and who makes decisions about what happens on the Internet? Personally it sounds a bit like using the word organized anarchy to me.

Well, there actually is a governing body called ICANN. ICANN stands for “The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers”. What this means is that ICANN controls the technological organization of the Internet through managing the structure of addresses and ports. Here’s their Mission Statement taken from their site.

The mission of The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (”ICANN”) is to coordinate, at the overall level, the global Internet’s systems of unique identifiers, and in particular to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems. In particular, ICANN:

1. Coordinates the allocation and assignment of the three sets of unique identifiers for the Internet, which are

a. Domain names (forming a system referred to as “DNS”);

b. Internet protocol (”IP”) addresses and autonomous system (”AS”) numbers; and

c. Protocol port and parameter numbers.

2. Coordinates the operation and evolution of the DNS root name server system.

3. Coordinates policy development reasonably and appropriately related to these technical functions.

On a basic level, this means that ICANN does not make policy based on the content of the Internet, but simply controls how it is all structured. This, in effect provides ICANN with power to make decisions based on content without taking responsibility for it. Is this fair?

Here’s my proposal. It’s important for each person to decide for themselves exactly what Internet Governance should be. Should there be a multi-national body that agrees on terms universally set? Should the Internet be completely chaotic? Is the Internet in a perfect state as-is? Whatever your ideas are, you must make a personal decision.

Governing the Internet with laws may make people feel like their information is getting restricted by a body of people who may not properly represent the true voice of the people. However complete Internet anarchy will not protect people from content that is harmful. What’s your stance?