2005年NPR美国国家公共电台九月-U.N. Control of the Internet and Open Inf

This is Day to Day from NPR news, I am Medlin Bran.

Have you ever wondered just who runs the Internet? Well a non-profit organization here in the US is responsible for technical oversight¹, but lately there's been some loud protests from other countries who want more of a say. The results of a UN tech-summit next month in Tunisia could determine whether the Internet remains² as open as it is today. And here with more is Day to Day tech contributor Xeni Jardin.

The biggest myth about the Internet is that it is an open virtual frontier with no boss and no rules. That is the myth. The truth is that someone has to manage all the technical stuff. The big databases of domain³ names like NPR.org, the Internet protocol⁴ numbers that identify each computer on the network. Right now, a California-based non-profit called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers--ICANN--manages all of that. It was established in the 1990s by the Department of Commerce which has made a point of keeping hands off, and plan to cut loose entirely⁵ in September 2006. But recently, some countries have pressured international bodies like the UN and the European Union to take that power out of the US. The Department of Commerce responded, announcing that it would not let go of ICANN. Many observers say it s better to keep the US in control than to have the Internet become a plaything of dictatorships around the world.

“When America hold onto Internet, this would probably be better than having Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe holding onto the Internet and using it for his own domestic agenda.”

That's London based journalist Kenneth Cukier, author of a feature in November's Foreign Affairs Magazine called Who Will Control the Internet? Cukier says it's no accident that some of the world's most oppressive regimes are most eager to gain new power. One proposed solution is letting countries manage their own networks. Could this lead to the Balkanization of the Inernet?

“Coming from the Balkans this sounds very familiar.”

V.Markovsky is the founder⁶ of the Bulgarian Internet society. He set up one of the country's first Internet service providers and is a member of the ICCAN board.

“Many countries have tried in the past to develop their own Internet. It didn't work out, if you want to be part of the world, you have to be part of a global network, not of a national network which is limited within your borders.”

Markovsky will attend the UN summit about these issues in November. But he says he is not terribly worried about nation's breaking off domestic Internet.

“And even if they do, their citizens will not use it, because they are not interested only in content which originate in the country, they are interested in global cultural issues, in global music, you know, in getting outside of the borders of the country. After all, that does sound the biggest advantage of the Internet right now.”

There's plenty of reason to believe that ICANN and the current system will endure. It's survived despite being a target of criticism since its inception⁷. Esther Dyson served as chairman of ICANN from 1998 to 2000.

“The fact that people consider ICANN illegitimate actually makes everything safe, because ICANN can't do very much the moment you create something that can do a lot; you have a real danger of concentration, of arbitrary power. I think the notion of a world government or even of a global government just for the Internet is pretty scary.”

Further more, Dyson says a governing board is unnecessary for regimes that wannna limit access. Filtering software’s' already been used by governments including Iran, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and other countries to block controversial websites.

“It's happening any way, you don’t need to control ICANN , you can control people in China and tell them, it's illegal to search certain sites on google, you can block those sites, you don't need I can to do that. If you are in North Korea, you can really stop a lot of stuff going on.”

They are not the only governments getting involved in the technical details of the internet. The US Department of Commerce next plans for a .xxx domain for adult websites this year after protests from social conservatives. But the Commerce Department says its overall goal is to keep all governments hands off the internets evolution to preserve free market development. And that is the stand US representatives are expected to take at the world summit on the information society next month in Tunisia. Commerce Department spokesperson David Grose addressing the issue of Internet governance recently declared this is not a negotiation⁸.

Reporting from NPR news, I am Xeni Jardin.

1 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

4 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

8 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。