Yesterday, ITI hosted Ambassador Terry Kramer for a roundtable and policy discussion on the free internet. Kramer was appointed in June to lead the U.S. Delegation at the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT). The purpose of this conference is to update the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union (ITU) treaty-level telecomm regulations. There are several proposals under consideration which are raising major alarm bells for those of us who care deeply about a free and open Internet. These range from establishment of an “information security” regime that could be used to justify greater Internet censorship and tracking, the regulation of rates for the exchange of Internet traffic that could be used by countries for competitive advantage, and making ITU standards mandatory for all Member States -- a move that would undermine the global voluntary, consensus-based standards system that has helped to fuel technology innovation.
In the following video, Kramer talks about the how the United States views "the phenomena that is the internet" and plans to fight for its freedom.
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