The Power Of Internet
Modern technologies disrupts the natural power balance of the world. Internet affects everyone. If the internet changes, the world changes. Government, companies and different types of industries are using the internet in their advantage. Today, nothing is hidden from us and yet, we don’t know anything.
We are in the age where Pope and President are on Twitter and Rabbis communicate through Facebook. Technology is changing every aspect of our life. Without doubt, today, in one day, more information is going through the Internet then all the information collected in over one hundred years of printed books.
The debate on the future of the internet are morally and politically complex. How do we balance privacy? Is it acceptable to be judged by invisible computer algorithm when being served search results? Do we have a right to correct the data about us? To delete it? These are complicated issues that require meaningful debate, international cooperation, and iterative solutions. Does anyone believe we’re up for the task?
We’re not, and that’s the worry. Because if we’re not trying to understand how to shape the Internet so that its good effects outweigh the bad, powerful interests will do all the shaping. The internet is not limited by natural laws. The battles for the future of the internet are going on right now.
Technology has the power to transform our society, upend injustices and hold powerful people and institutions accountable. But it can also be used to silence minorities facing injustice, automate oppression and trample our basic rights. This is the battleground we fight on.
Now, who controls the internet? It is not an easy issue to define. The internet is, a group of protocols by which computers communicate and countless servers and cables, most of which are under the control of private organizations. However, in terms of influence, the overwhelming balance of power lies with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, based in Marina Del Rey, California.
ICANN is a non-profit organization that regulates online addresses, known as domain names and their suffixes such as “.com” and “.org”. Since ICANN reports to US government department of commerce, the domain name process is effectively overseen by the US government. China, Russia and Europe have all expressed concerns over this issue because it means that US has leverage over the global coordination of the internet. “It has a role that is different from the role of all other governments,” says Massimiliano Minisci, a regional manager at ICANN. “That’s a concern around the world.”
