Bid to give UN control of web rejected by US

The United States will oppose a bid to revise a global treaty to bring the internet under UN control or to impose new taxes on web traffic, the head of a US delegation says.

The US will submit its formal proposal on Friday for the December conference held by the International Telecommunications Union, a UN agency which set global telecom rules, said Terry Kramer on Wednesday in the US, the special envoy named for the talks.

Kramer reiterated Washington's position opposing proposals by Russia, China and others to expand the authority of the ITU to regulate the internet.

"The internet has grown precisely because it has not been micro-managed or owned by any government or multinational organisation," Kramer told a forum sponsored by the Information Technology Industry Council.

"There is no internet central office. Its openness and decentralisation are its strengths."

US officials, lawmakers and technology leaders have expressed concern that the December conference to be held in Dubai could seek changes threatening the openness of the internet and its so-called "multi-stakeholder" model.

Some in the US say the effort could give governments greater authority to filter or censor information.

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