And outside of the USA, Internet development mostly was funded by governments. The U.S department of commerce had no right to make unilateral choices for them. The best way to get public accountability is to assert the Internet is a public utility, the same as the airwaves, subject to the will of the people, respecting our rights. As of now, we have governnment without the consent of the governed. A sham.
It's always productive to stir the pot and get us thinking about such issues.... -- ken >False. Today's internet is the amalgam of multiple networks with different >histories. Many were private. Stand by what you like. > >On Fri, 1 Mar 2002, Ken Freed wrote: > >> The Internet started in the military for decentralized communication, >> then expanded to universities with government research contracts, >> then expanded to state-sponsored universities, then private colleges >> & universities, then the general public. I stand by my first statement. >> The net always was public property until it was decided otherwise, >> as public as the street in front of your house, which no one has a >> right to declare private without your (our) consent. >> -- ken >> >> >> >> >> >No they didn't, not mostly. No it doesn't even if they did if they didn't >> >retain title. ICANN comes fromthe government not the private sector. >> > >> > >> >On Fri, 1 Mar 2002, Ken Freed wrote: >> > >> >> Did not the funds originally come from the government >> >> Doesn't that make the Internet, defacto, public property? >> >> I have great respect for Tony, but construing the net as >> >> private has caused more harm than good, i.e., ICANN. >> >> -- ken >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >At 01:02 PM 3/1/02 -0700, you wrote: >> >> >>Note: There was never a public vote to privatise the Internet, >> >> >>which is (was) public property. >> >> > >> >> >No, it's not. It's a set of interconnected *private* networks. >> >> > >> >> >Tony Rutkowski went to a lot of effort to make sure the Internet >> >> >was, in a formal telecommunications legal sense a "private" network. >> >> > >> >> >If it's a "public" network" (as the MoU people kept asserting) then >> >> >the ITU has dominion over it. That's why Tony did what he did. >> >> > >> >> > >> >> >-- >> >> > Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't >> >> > change the world. It's the only thing that ever has. >> >> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > >> >-- >> > Please visit http://www.icannwatch.org >> >A. Michael Froomkin | Professor of Law | [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >U. Miami School of Law, P.O. Box 248087, Coral Gables, FL 33124 USA >> >+1 (305) 284-4285 | +1 (305) 284-6506 (fax) | http://www.law.tm >> > -->It's warm here.<-- >> >> >> >> >> > >-- > Please visit http://www.icannwatch.org >A. Michael Froomkin | Professor of Law | [EMAIL PROTECTED] >U. Miami School of Law, P.O. Box 248087, Coral Gables, FL 33124 USA >+1 (305) 284-4285 | +1 (305) 284-6506 (fax) | http://www.law.tm > -->It's warm here.<--
