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The United Nations' recent World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS), held in Tunisia, marked a
new stage of global cooperation in the age of the
digital revolution. The Summit demonstrated a firm
international consensus for increased cooperation and
coordination to advance the digital revolution and to
overcome the "digital divide" between rich and poor
nations.
Approximately 20,000 participants, representing 174
countries and more than 800 private sector businesses,
decided to maintain the current Internet governance
structure, rejecting proposals for creating a new
international body to oversee and regulate the Internet.
“The outcome means that more than a billion Internet
users can have confidence in the ongoing stability and
security of the Internet’s core infrastructure and
workings,” said Paul Twomey, president and CEO of the
U.S.-based ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers).
"In a very real sense, WSIS is about making the best use
of a new opportunity and a new tool," said Yoshio Utsumi,
secretary-general of both the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) and WSIS. "WSIS
reinforces the value of global dialogue and cooperation
to address emerging issues in the 21st Century. The
information society can be a win-win situation for all,
provided that we take the right actions."
The official U.S. line, voiced by John Marburger,
director, Office of Science and Technology Policy;
Executive Office of the President, was: “Consistent with
market-based policies and the belief that private sector
leadership has allowed this medium the flexibility to
innovate and evolve, the United States is committed to
the continued growth and diffusion of the Internet and
the variety of applications it supports.”
For more information on
the World Summit, click
here.
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