MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-10-01 |
| FROM | From: "Inker, Evan"
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] UN Summit Tones Down Open-Source Stance
|
Another Reason why the UN is a totally useless organization...
DATE: 30/09/2003
UN Summit Tones Down Open-Source Stance
By Kevin Murphy
International governments have toned down their proposed endorsement of
open-source software models, following lobbying by businesses at a
preparatory meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society, which is
set to run this December in Geneva.
The WSIS, run by the UN and International Telecommunications Union, met last
week to debate dozens of topics relating to international cooperation on IT
issues, but open-source emerged as a key issue.
Language in an August draft of the WSIS Plan of Action that would have
advocated the use of open-source software, particularly in developing
nations, was toned down in the September 26 draft, to give equal weight to
the value of proprietary software.
The August draft promoted open source awareness, the creation of
intellectual property mechanisms supporting open source, and the creation of
a UN "Programmers Without Frontiers" body to support open source software in
developing nations.
In the new draft, these are replaced with a more general description of how
governments should "promote awareness among all stakeholders of the
possibilities offered by different software models... including proprietary,
open-source and free software".
The changes were apparently made after input from several nations uneasy
with excluding mentions of proprietary software from the Plan, and from the
business lobby's delegation, which came out strongly against open-source.
Delegates from the US and EU were prominent among those asking that
commercial software interests get a fair representation in the Plan, and
that certain provisions should be deleted. Commercial interests also came
against the provisions.
"Business has consistently stated that it is essential for governments to
ensure technologically neutral policy towards different software models,"
said the delegate from the business lobby, during the conference debate.
"Governments cannot know, case-by-case, what software solution is best for
every user," she said, urging the deletion of the open-source provisions.
"Each user should be allowed to make a choice that meets their individual
needs."
In recent years commercial software interests, notably Microsoft Corp, which
faces the constant threat of having its market share eroded by Linux, have
had to lobby hard to keep governments from openly preferring open-source
over proprietary software.
Microsoft has gone so far as to offer governments the unprecedented chance
to view Windows source code, primarily to help quash security fears, and
more than a dozen countries have so far taken up its offer.
And earlier this month, a trio of east Asian nations proposed the creation
of a new operating system specifically to reduce the region's reliance on
Microsoft. China already promotes a local variant of Linux as its OS of
choice.
The WSIS, which expects more than 50 heads of state to attend its December
meeting, also expects to debate dozens of other hot IT topics during the
meeting. The overriding theme is bridging the so-called "digital divide"
between IT haves and have-nots.
Other issues set for debate include the archiving of and access to
government information, access to wireless spectrum, government subsidies of
internet access, internet taxes, and international cooperation on
information security.
Spam, a current hot-button topic acknowledged to need global cooperation,
also gets a look in. The August draft of the Plan of Action called for this
cooperation, coordination with ISPs, the education of users, and the
prosecution of spammers.
In the latest draft, these rather general proposals were scaled back
further. The 100 words the August Plan offered to the spam problem were
reduced to the sentence: "Take appropriate action on spam at national and
international levels."
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