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Media advisory - What does the failure of the UN telecom treaty mean for Canada?
OTTAWA, Dec. 17, 2012, 2012 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) --
CIRA's CEO offers first-hand insight
Byron Holland, President and CEO of The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (www.CIRA.ca), is available today to put into perspective the outcome of last week's
World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) and
explain its significance to Canadians.
From December 3 to 14, the United Nations' International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), hosted in Dubai delegates from more than
190 nations to revise the standards that govern communications around
the world. This process was last carried out in 1988, when the Internet
was still in its infancy and few could predict the impact it would have
on global society.
While the purpose of WCIT-12 was to create a new treaty to manage the
international interconnection and interoperability of information and
communication services, it was Internet governance and regulation that
took the spotlight. A group of ITU member states that included China,
Russia and Algeria proposed provisions to the treaty that have been
perceived as a means for individual governments to gain greater control
over the Internet. These provisions were opposed by an alliance that
included Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and other nations. Consequently, a
new telecom treaty was not approved.
According to a statement released Thursday by Canada's Industry
Minister, Christian Paradis:
"Canada endeavoured to reach consensus on new ... regulations that
recognized advances in telecommunications while maintaining an open,
accessible Internet. The final treaty text tabled in Dubai included
provisions that threaten these freedoms and, as a result, Canada and
many other nations were unable to sign on to these new regulations."
Holland was part of the Canadian delegation to WCIT-12 and observed the
proceedings. As a result of his unique perspective in Dubai, he can
discuss:
-- How Internet governance and regulation came to dominate the
conference.
-- Why a new treaty was rejected by the alliance that included
Canada.
-- What this outcome means for the future of the Internet.
-- Why these issues are critical to Canadians.
Holland has a wealth of experience in Canadian and international
Internet governance. He is vice-chair of the Country Codes Name
Supporting Organization (ccNSO), the body that represents the interests
of all country code top-level domains and leads policy development
initiatives at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN). Holland is also an active participant in the United Nations
co-ordinated Internet Governance Forum, and other Internet governance
fora.
To arrange an interview please contact Tanya O'Callaghan or Leo
Valiquette at the coordinates below.
About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the Member-driven
organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops
and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and
represents the .CA registry internationally.
SOURCE: Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2012/17/c9573.html
SOURCE: Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)
Tanya O'Callaghan Communications Manager, Canadian Internet Registration Authority
(613) 237-5335 ext. 262 tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca Leo Valiquette inmediaPublic
Relations (613) 769-9479 lvaliquette@inmedia.ca
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