ITU

The Web lets us speak out, share, and connect around the things that matter. It creates economic opportunity, holds governments to account, breaks through barriers, and makes cats famous. This isn't a coincidence. It's because the web belongs to all of us. We all get a say in how it's built. And we have made it our mission to keep it this way: To keep the power of the Web in people's hands.

But on December 3, our governments will begin a 10 day meeting in Dubai that could change the future of the Web. They are meeting to review an old treaty - the International Telecommunication Union - and see if it can be expanded to regulate the Internet.

On December 3rd, the world’s governments will begin a ten-day meeting in Dubai to update a key treaty of a UN agency called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Some proposed changes to that treaty could threaten Internet openness and innovation, increase access costs, and erode human rights online. We are urgently calling for projects that will help give civil society organizations that support an open Internet a stronger voice before and during that key meeting, the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT).

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations focusing on information and communications technologies. In December 2012, the member nations of the ITU will be meeting in Dubai to consider treaty commitments that would sweep significant aspects of web regulation into the scope of the agency, stripping away functions that have always been managed through open, community-based approaches.

Despite the importance of these changes, members of civil society and the general public will be largely barred from these meetings. Only governments will be permitted to actively participate, or even view the proposals up for consideration. At the ITU, national governments alone will decide the fate of the web behind closed doors.

Leaked proposals suggest that the ITU is considering measures that would:

• increase censorship. The countries pushing hardest for ITU control are the same countries that aggressively censor the Internet, like Russia and China.
• stifle free speech. Defining “spam” so broadly that censors could justify blocking anything from photos of cute cats to human rights campaigns.
• threaten access. Allowing governments to cut off your internet access for any number of broadly defined reasons.
• spy on what you do online. Giving governments more power to monitor your internet traffic and impose regulations on how traffic is sent.
• add new tolls and costs. New rules to charge online content providers for reaching users across borders, making it harder for those in the developing world to access content.

Mozilla and the ITU

• ITU Mozilla.org Blog Post

Tools To Get Involved

Interested in getting involved? We've put together some tools to help you let your voice be heard and to rally your local communities to take action:

• ITU Engagement Framework

This is a one stop guide to understanding more about what's going on - and to get people mobilized.

• Make-Your-Own ITU Activism Video

We've rolled out a Popcorn project to let you customize a message.

• ITU Funding For Community and Civil Society Groups

We've also funded ten amazing advocates and activists from around the world who are bringing together a range of projects. Check out their projects, and get in touch with them to get involved!

Sources (To Be Removed Later)

• Current Status
• MozFest Session Outputs
• MozFest Policy Session Line-Up
• Original Proposal