IP: one reaction Re:: Yugoslavia may lose some Internet access

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 13:57:06 -0400
> From: "K. N. Cukier" <100736.3602 () compuserve com>
> Subject: Re: IP: Yugoslavia may lose some Internet access
> Sender: "K. N. Cukier" <100736.3602 () compuserve com>
> To: "INTERNET:farber () cis upenn edu" <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
>
> Dave,
>
> If it happens to pass, it will mark the first time a government has sought
> to block another nation's connectivity to further a political objective.
> And such an unsavory irony: After the Net's great stride in international
> penetration while it weans itself from its DoD roots, it now finds itself
> at the fulcrum of military conflict. Even in wartime, telecom carriers
> still exchange traffic and terminate calls. Yet the U.S. move falls in line
> with traditional steps aimed against the media (as opposed to transmission
> networks) and resources. Knocking out radio and TV stations, as well as
> freezing foreign assets, are standard fare among combatants.
>
> I feared that these sorts of issues might arise when I wrote "Rich Man,
> Poor Man: The Geopolitics of Internet Policy Making," delivered at the
> Internet Society's INET'98 in Geneva. 
> <http://www.isoc.org/inet98/proceedings/5a/5a_2.htm>
>
> In it, I offered "a policy-making perspective for the 'Internet diplomat'."
>
> The first of the four points reads:
>
> "Just as the central value of humanity is life itself, so with the Internet
> the chief principle is connectivity. It is therefore a prerequisite that in
> future conflicts, for example, connectivity is never cut off. There should
> never be estrangement of users anywhere, for any offense. Today's popular
> and arguably ineffective diplomatic penalties, such as economic embargoes,
> frozen bank assets, and cutting of cultural ties, should never be extended
> to the Internet. On the contrary, current obstacles to Internet
> development, such as trade embargoes, should be eliminated. Connectivity is
> sacrosanct at the level of international relations."
>
> If the connectivity cut comes to pass, let's hope there is a quick and
> massive reaction against the move. The Internet can't stop wars, but it can
> prevent them. Connectivity must be preserved regardless of off-line
> politics.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Kenn