United States and Russia Competing for the leadership of one of the world’s largest technological organizations. this International Telecommunication Union The United Nations agency for global regulation of ‘telecos’ (ITU) is holding a conference in Romania this Thursday to elect its new secretary-general. Internet This comes with complete geopolitical and diplomatic tension between both powers.
On the one hand, the Washington candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin, one of the three presidents of this institution. His victory would mark the first and first time a woman would head the ITU. United States of America It has assumed the leadership since the 1960s, while Moscow, Rashid Ismailovformer Russian deputy minister of telecommunications and communications, and a former executive of Huawei, Nokia and Ericsson.
The vote is not unimportant. Every four years, the 193 countries that make up the ITU come together with the companies in the sector and decide on the strategies and priorities that regulate their business processes. technologies that’s what keeps us all connected. Since its founding in 1865, this international organization has established policies regarding the telegraph, radio waves, telephone networks, and the Internet. Much of how we communicate today was decided at these meetings.
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Russia’s candidacy raises suspicions. Since the birth of the Internet in the 1970s, network standards have been designed to allow the free flow of information. However, autocratic countries ChineseIn recent years, Saudi Arabia and Russia have set up their own internets, isolated from the world and under government control, to monitor and identify citizens, censor their views, and expand their yoke in the digital realm.
Will the Putin government use the leadership of the ITU to change internet governance and make it more in line with the interests of the internet? dictatorships? The ITU is a pragmatic body where decisions are taken unanimously and the power of the secretary general is limited, but the intentions of the secretary general are limited. Kremlin reflected in your record. In 2012, Russia spearheaded a proposal calling for more powers to governments to regulate cyberspace and block websites; An unsuccessful request, supported by China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.
The country has intensified the digital persecution of dissident voices in recent years, although the Moscow candidate has assured him that he is committed to guaranteeing universal access to the internet. from occupation of Ukraine It banned platforms like Facebook and Instagram and passed a law punishing those who violate the official version with 15 years in prison.
In recent months, the United States and Russia have quietly used all their diplomatic clout to garner support for their candidates. For example, in March, the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) benefited from his visit. World Mobile Congress Still, observers point to a tight election for Barcelona to strengthen its alliances with delegations from European, Asian and Latin American countries. The result is uncertain.