Staring down Internet freedom's foes

[Commentary] On December 3, representatives from 193 countries are convening in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, to renegotiate a treaty that could give an arm of the United Nations new powers over the Internet. Despite increased scrutiny of these talks, many countries seem more determined than ever to turn the supremely bad idea of establishing international regulation of the Net into reality.

American diplomats will have to navigate a torrent of formal proposals that would curtail Internet freedom, limit consumers’ choices and increase costs for all Net users. How the negotiations end will shape the future of the Net, as well as the prospects for global freedom and prosperity. The purpose of the Dubai talks, known as the World Conference on International Telecommunications, is to re-examine a 1988 treaty that loosened rules covering telephone and computer communications. The regulatory framework adopted in 1988 took a “hands off” approach to emerging technologies, such as what later became the Internet. As a result, the Internet is now the greatest deregulatory success story of all time. For instance, in 1995, shortly after it was privatized, only 16 million people used the Net. That number has spiked to more than 2.5 billion today with upward of a half million people becoming first-time Internet users each day. If, however, some key regimes have their way, such soaring positive trend lines will flatten. A successful WCIT would produce a treaty that not only eschews expanded regulation of any aspect of the Internet but also commits to free markets, freedom of speech, competition and deregulation. The people of every nation, but especially tomorrow’s first-time Net users in the developing world, deserve no less. After the December WCIT, new talks commence in May. Defenders of Internet freedom should never let their guard down, for freedom’s foes are patient and persistent incrementalists. To be continued …