This December International Telecommunication Union is asking for keys to the Internet. Finally there will be central body to control and help expand the network we all use.
And I am scared.
When I look the trend of various countries locking down on Internet privacy and usability in the name of "security" I can just imagine ITU making it mandatory for all countries to implement switch in order to prevent cyber attacks. And then some content filtering of naughty material "for the sake of children". One tiny step removed I can see countries suppressing criticism and all content that they do not care about.
I do not trust my (or any other government for that matter) in making wise choice. Government will by design try to keep it self in power regardless of what it takes. And each government having same input in ITU is just recipe to allow for Great wall of [insert country name here].
Huge concern is also that ITU is actually quite telco-heavy. That means that all decisions would be very much influenced by what powerful telcom operators think about it. And I can just see how they would like to limit (already low) speeds in order not to invest in their network anymore. Telcos do not care about people, nor should they. Telcos are corporations and they only care about profit for their shareholders.
Yes, currently USA has all keys to the Internet and situation is not ideal. However, even with this there is lot of freedom left to engineers to do what they need. And "freedom talk" that they are all fond of does keep most of censorship and death switches away for now. Having someone like China determine how open Internet will be is not a thought I cherish.
Maybe I am just paranoid, but I cannot see how this can end up well.
PS. A bit more to read.
2012-12-06: USA will probably not let go willingly.
[2012-12-14: I am pleasantly surprised that my native country (Croatia) is not among those who signed ITU WCIT treaty.]