Nothing to See Here

"An inordinate amount of sensationalism has surrounded this week's World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai. Convened by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an arm of the UN, WCIT brings together representatives from governments around the world. For the last few days, these representatives have been in closed-door meetings, discussing the future of international telecommunications regulations (ITRs). Media outlets around the world have claimed the ITU is "trying to take over the internet."

An example of this misdirected hysteria comes from an otherwise generally reliable source on internet issues. Google has launched a petition, "Take Action," that vaguely insinuates that the ITU will "increase censorship" and "threaten innovation." There is no detail or explanation of what is actually going on — nor do they mention that representatives from Google are accompanying the United States delegation to WCIT..."