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Brazil calls for Internet to be U.S.-free

by on13 November 2007

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Too much American influence


The Brazilian government has called for an end to U.S. dominance over the Internet. Brazil's Culture Minister, Gilberto Gil, said that the Internet was transnational and can't be under the authority of one country. He said that he Internet should be the territory of everyone.

The U.S. government, which funded much of the Internet's early development, delegated domain-name policies to a Marina del Rey, California based non-profit organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, over which the U.S. retains veto power.

Many countries complained that U.S. influence wasn't discussed enough during the first Internet Governance Forum last year in Athens, and preceded this year's conference with panel devoted to "critical Internet resources." Paul Twomey, ICANN's Australian President and CEO, insisted the organization is "international," noting only 3 of its 15 Board Members are from U.S. "high politics" and are fueling the debate over American influence at the regulatory agency.
Last modified on 14 November 2007
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