---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sally Wentworth <wentworth@isoc.org> Date: Sun, Dec 9, 2012 at 10:07 PM Subject: [Itu2012chapters] WCIT - weekend report To: itu2012chapters@elists.isoc.org Hi everyone, This is a report from the WCIT discussions over the weekend. I think that the weekend can be summarized as a plethora of ad hoc groups the result of which is a LOT of square brackets (see the last report for a description of the process and of square brackets). As you'll recall from the last mail, the plenary session on Friday was a difficult discussion amongst Member States both in regards to a perceived lack of progress as well as a persisting disagreement about the scope of the treaty - will the treaty extend beyond telecom to include the Internet or not? As of Sunday, this question is unresolved. You may also have seen references to a "compromise text" which aims to reflect the views of a few member states and/or regions. This was mentioned in Friday's plenary and has led to many corridor discussions, rumors and a few press articles. As of Sunday evening, this proposal has not been formally tabled at the Conference. Despite the fact that the threshold issues of scope and application have not yet been solved, the ad hoc groups continued negotiation over the weekend. Below is a brief summary of those discussions: - Security: debate on security has a number of different dimensions. 1) should the treaty use the term "security" or "robustness" or "resiliency". Use of the term "security" in the treaty is strongly opposed by several countries. 2) should this issue be a stand-alone article? 3) Given the commercial ownership of networks, what is the role of Member States vs Private enterprise in ensuring security, robustness, etc? - Routing: Some gov'ts want the ability to know the routes that their traffic is taking as needed. Plenty of debate over whether this is a) technically possible, b) economically feasible, c) consistent with the legal regimes of countries. The threshold question of whether this relates to telecom networks or IP networks is unresolved. - Accounting Rates: Debate here is at 2 levels. First is the need to update existing accounting rate language. Second is the question of the extent to which the ITRs should regulate commercial agreements between carriers, including pricing. Threshold question of to whom the accounting rates apply remains open - should they continue to apply only to Recognized Operating Agencies or to a broader scope of providers, including application providers? - Spam: Very heated discussion, particularly given earlier agreements in the conference not to include content in the treaty. The basic question over whether a) to include spam anywhere in the ITR text; b) to include spam explicitly in the treaty; or c) to include spam in a Resolution only. For some countries, spam raises economic concerns as well as cybersecurity issues (fraud, consumer protection). For other countries, this is a core issue that implicates free speech and free flow of information. Ad hoc groups met all weekend on these topics to try to consolidate text. There continues to be significant divergence of views and the text going back to Committee is in multiple square brackets, indicating lack of consensus. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day - the ad hoc groups will report back to the Working Groups. Those, in turn, will report up to Committee 5. Finally, the plenary will meet tomorrow night for 3 hours. We expect most of the work to be done in plenary after tomorrow evening. Once again, some sessions are being webcast. Best we can tell, these are Committee 5 meetings and full plenaries. For the webcast, go to: http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Pages/webcast.aspx. The program for the meeting is here: http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Pages/programme.aspx In the meantime, we are all in a sea of square brackets, trying to find our way out. Cheers, Sally Sally Wentworth Internet Society +1 703 439 2146 wentworth@isoc.org www.isoc.org _______________________________________________ To manage your ISOC subscriptions or unsubscribe, please log into the ISOC Member Portal: https://portal.isoc.org/ Then choose Interests & Subscriptions from the My Account menu. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/