INDIA TO
SUGGEST RENAMING OF INTERNET AS ‘EQUINET’
In a major diplomatic initiative,
India is all set to challenge the U.S.’ hegemony of the World Wide Web at a
global meet on Internet governance in Sao Paulo (Brazil) next week. India has
decided to propose renaming of Internet as ‘Equinet’ so that all nations can
have equal say in its operations, besides calling for “internationalisation” of
core Internet resources.
Starting April 23, the two-day,
‘Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Governance’, also referred to
as ‘NETmundial’, will see representatives from nearly 180 nations debating the
future of Internet governance and cyber security. India has decided to take
this opportunity to highlight U.S. dominance of the Internet and press for
equal rights and say for all nations on matters related to Internet governance
and cyber security.
India is likely to side with
Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and Iran to make its point. In fact, it was
Brazil which took the lead in organising this conference parallel to the
U.S.-dominated Internet Governance Forum (IGF) following reports of U.S.
agencies spying on top Brazil government officials, including President Dilma
Rousseff’s office, based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, U.S. National
Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower.
In a carefully drafted initial
note submitted to ‘NETmundial’ and circulated to all participating members
representing their governments, private sector and civil society, the Ministry
of External Affairs has said, “Internet governance should be multilateral,
transparent, democratic, and representative ... ”
Similarly, it has said the
structures that manage and regulate the core Internet resources need to be
internationalised, and made representative and democratic. “The Internet must
be owned by the global community for mutual benefit and be rendered impervious
to possible manipulation or misuse by any particular stakeholder, whether State
or non-State.”
