The open internet that has thrived over the past two decades -- the one we have come to know and love -- is threatened.
That's because several countries, including Russia and China, are proposing to expand the powers of a closed UN institution, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which would give governments greater control over how we access the internet. None of these negotiations have been made public, and an upcoming meeting will begin to consider proposals that will have a direct impact on our freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy rights.
Though the ITU has played an important role in telecommunications management and its use for development, this is not a cause to expand its mandate. The ITU isn't used to public scrutiny -- let's change that. It's time to mobilize our countries, who each have a vote at the ITU, to join our cause.
Sign the petition to the right demanding the ITU make its plans public and keep the internet as it has been designed -- open, decentralized, and allowing everyone to have a say over how it's governed.
