Will The Internet Be Free And Open?

Some governments sought to use the recent meeting of the International Telecommunication Union in Dubai to increase censorship and regulation of the Internet. At the conclusion of the meeting last Friday, 89 countries signed the treaty, while 55 countries said they would not sign or that additional review was needed.

– excerpt from a recent Google email newsletter.

The WCIT 2012 meeting was held between 3rd and 14th December 2012 where the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) where reviewed and it is said as in the above paragraph from Google’s newsletter that by signing the ITRs that there could be an increase in censorship and regulation of the Internet, meaning how and what for the Internet is used could be increasingly affected.

You can find out more and download the ITRs that 89 countries signed and 59 countries it seems did not sign.

On writing this post over 3 million people around the planet have voiced their support in a “free and open web” on the freeandopenweb site. What is your opinion?

The Google newsletter also had a link to the table of the countries who signed and did not sign the act/treaty and as it was in French and the large table was not very legible on mobiles, I translated the list into English and sorted it into alphabetical order. I hope you find it useful.

Black : signed.
Grey : said they would not sign or that additional review was needed.

AFGHANISTAN
ALBANIA
ALGERIA
ANDORRA
ANGOLA
ARGENTINA
ARMENIA
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRIA
AZERBAIJAN
BAHRAIN
BANGLADESH
BARBADOS
BELARUS
BELGIUM
BELIZE
BENIN
BHUTAN
BOTSWANA
BRAZIL
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
BULGARIA
BURKINA FASO
BURUNDI
CAMBODIA
CANADA
CAPE VERDE
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
CHILE
CHINA
COMOROS
COSTA RICA
COTE D’IVOIRE
CROATIA
CUBA
CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK
DJIBOUTI
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
EGYPT
EL SALVADOR
ESTONIA
FINLAND
FRANCE
GABON
GAMBIA
GEORGIA
GERMANY
GHANA
GREECE
GUATEMALA
GUYANA
HAITI
HUNGARY
INDIA
INDONESIA
IRAQ
IRELAND
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
ISRAEL
ITALY
JAMAICA
JAPAN
JORDAN
KAZAKHSTAN
KENYA
KUWAIT
KYRGYZSTAN
LATVIA
LEBANON
LESOTHO
LIBERIA
LIBYA
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIA
LUCIA
LUXEMBOURG
MALAWI
MALAYSIA
MALI
MALTA
MARSHALL ISLANDS
MAURICE
MEXICO
MOLDOVA
MONGOLIA
MONTENEGRO
MOROCCO
MOZAMBIQUE
NAMIBIA
NEPAL
NETHERLANDS
NEW ZEALAND
NIGER
NIGERIA
NORWAY
OMAN
PANAMA
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PARAGUAY
PERU
PHILIPPINES
POLAND
PORTUGAL
QATAR
REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA
REPUBLIC OF CONGO
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
RWANDA
SAUDI ARABIA
SENEGAL
SERBIA
SIERRA LEONE
SINGAPORE
SLOVAKIA
SLOVENIA
SOMALIA
SOUTH SUDAN
SPAIN
SRI LANKA
SUDAN
SWAZILAND
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
TANZANIA
THAILAND
TOGO
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
TUNISIA
TURKEY
UGANDA
UKRAINE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
URUGUAY
UZBEKISTAN
VENEZUELA
VIET NAM
YEMEN
ZIMBABWE

Appreciation:

• Vint Cerf : Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist.