AFL-CIO urges UN to drop proposed Internet regulations

Labor chief Richard Trumka is urging U.S. negotiators and the United Nations to nix a proposal to allow countries to regulate the Internet.

The U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union is meeting next week in Dubai to update the treaty regulating world telecommunications for the first time since 1988. Countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have proposed giving national governments more control over the Internet.

“So many workers are affected by Internet policy, even if we don’t think about it as we go about our day,” the head of the AFL-CIO said in a statement supporting a petition against Internet regulation. “The Internet represents one of the few places in our world that is open and accessible by everyone. We need to make sure our voices are heard before US representatives head to the conference.”

The lead U.S. negotiator in Dubai, Terry Kramer, told reporters in a conference call Thursday that the Obama administration would oppose efforts to expand the scope of the treaty beyond telecommunications.

Terms related to the Internet open “the door to content and content censorship, and we believe that is inappropriate,” Kramer said.

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