A little-known U.N. agency that develops worldwide technical standards for the internet will gain unfamiliar geopolitical attention as scientists, engineers, and government officials descend on Bucharest, Romania, this week.
On Thursday, governments will elect the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s next secretary-general, determining the future of the world’s oldest U.N. body—and possibly the internet itself. For the first time in years, the U.S. is running its own candidate, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, against Russia’s Rashid Ismailov, a former Russian government telecom minister and Huawei vice president. At stake is the internet’s future: whether it will continue to be an open, multistakeholder resource to the world, or become developed and controlled by nations and their leaders.
This article has been indexed from Lawfare
Read the original article: