Heads-up Folks...
ICANN warns against government control of the Internet:
Remarks by Rod Beckstrom
President and Chief Executive Officer
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Opening Ceremony
Internet Governance Forum
Vilnius, Lithuania
14 September 2010
As prepared for delivery
I am delighted to be in Vilnius - capital of unique, historic and beautiful Lithuania, now a member of the European Union.
I begin my remarks with a simple reminder: the Internet works. Every minute of every hour of every day. The domain name system processes hundred of billions of transactions each day. More transactions than the world's financial markets, more than the telephone systems.
The fact that the Internet works is the ultimate tribute to the multistakeholder governance model. Governments could not do it alone.
The Internet has the power to transform the human experience. It enables communication on an unprecedented scale and is woven into billions of lives around the world. Its openness, its inclusiveness, its relative lack of regulation make it a fertile field for innovation and competition, an engine for much needed economic growth.
Why mention inclusiveness? Because everyone using the Internet should and must have a voice in its governance.
If governance were to become the exclusive province of nation states or captured by any other interests, we would lose the foundation of the Internet's long-term potential and transformative value.
Decisions on its future should reflect the widest possible range of views and the wisdom of the entire world community – not just governmental organizations.
http://www.icann.org/presentations/beckstrom-opening-igf-vilnius-14sep10-en.htm 
