I confess - my first reaction to India's proposal for setting up a United Nation Committee for Internet-Related Policies (UN CRP) was a negative one: I want governments to keep their hands off the Internet, and am worried about policies from the Indian government that impact civil liberties - they've put into places policies for snooping and censorship (IT Rules) and interception (Home Ministry Tender). So it's hard to trust a proposal that suggests that their idea is not to '"control the internet" or allow Governments to have the last word in regulating the internet, but to make sure that the Internet is governed not unilaterally, but in an open, democratic, inclusive and participatory manner...' The way we saw it, this was an attempt to dilute the role of the US in Internet governance but also increase government control of the Internet. The proposal suggests that the CIRP shall be mandated to undertake the following tasks: - Develop and establish international public policies with a view to ensuring coordination and coherence in cross-cutting Internet-related global issues; - Coordinate and oversee the bodies responsible for technical and operational functioning of the Internet, including global standards setting; - Facilitate negotiation of treaties, conventions and agreements on Internet-related public policies; - Address developmental issues related to the internet; - Promote the promotion and protection of all human rights, namely, civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, including the Right to Development; - Undertake arbitration and dispute resolution, where necessary; and, - Crisis management…
