The EU and the Internet

A short, disjointed post tonight:

The EU has recently declared that they want joint control over the Internet.

And to this I say: ...A'ight...

But wait! Did I not say that the US should retain complete control over the Internet?!

Well, yeah, I did. Mostly. I said that the US should not turn over control of the Internet to the UN, specifically.

The EU, on the other hand... T'is a horse of a different color. Not the least of which that Europe hosts the think tank CERN, the creators of the World Wide Web. (The 'Net was our idea, and they used our idea and built the Web. Ours the hardware, theirs the killer app. Et cetera.)

Now, they still have some issues to sort out with their organization and Constitution and whatnot, but them gaining a modicum of control over the Internet? I'd be careful about it, but I think we should honestly consider it.

My concerns were founded in the fact that the UN has become a bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake, and that nations like China wield strong power in it. China has veto power on the Security Council for Pete's sake. The US is still bound under the First Amendment, no matter how much our idiotic politicians and Corporate zombies try to tear it apart. China? Not so much. The EU, while a bit heavy on the speech restriction of "Unpopular ideas" in certain areas are more or less birds of a feather to the US where freedom of speech is concerned.

Of course, I would much rather trust a multinational nonprofit entity dedicated to the upholding the ideals of free speech on the Internet... But a joint organization of some of the world's democracies will work too.

So the EU having a say on the Internet? If they can eventually get their own house in order, why not?

Rock on, kids.