New UN telecommunication treaty inked amid splits

December 19, 2012

89 member countries on UN signed the first new U.N. telecommunications treaty introduced by U.N.’s International Telecommunications Union or ITU since the Internet age amid disapproval from the U.S. and other Western nations which refused to join.

Why the US and other Western countries opposed the protocol? Which countries supported the treaty and why?

Why the US and other Western countries opposed the protocol?

These countries refused to sign the treaty claiming it opens the door to greater government controls of the Net and could be used by authoritarian states to justify further crackdowns on cyberspace.

Which countries supported the treaty and why?

Countries including Iran, China and African states signed the pact insisting that the governments should have a greater sway over Internet and seek to break a perceived Western control on information technology.
They also favor greater international assistance to bring reliable online links to the world’s least developed regions.

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