Gambling forces the question: Who controls the 'Net?

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: GIBBS & BRADNER
08/30/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Net Insider columnist Scott Bradner talks about a funny battle
  the U.S. has gotten into with a minuscule Caribbean nation over
  Internet gambling and the implications of the precedent that
  this battle might create
* Links related to Gibbs & Bradner
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Gambling forces the question: Who controls the
'Net?

By Scott Bradner

From what I read, being addicted to gambling is not a cheap
date. What I have seen in Las Vegas confirms this. If
billion-dollar hotels can be paid off in a few years using just
the house part of the cash flow, there has to be a lot of money
in this picture.In the future, fewer of the hotels might be
needed because their patrons can telecommute. Internet gambling
is a big deal and getting bigger in spite of the efforts of a lot
of people to squash it. While gambling proponents (for example Roy
Cooke <http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6111> ) say there are no
federal laws that specifically outlaw Internet gambling, the
U.S. Department of Justice says that the 1961 Wire Act
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6112> applies to the
Internet and outlaws Internet gambling.

But this column is not about the legality or illegality of
Internet gambling in the U.S., nor is it about the impact of
gambling on tax revenues or society. It is about a funny battle
the U.S. has gotten into with a minuscule Caribbean nation over
Internet gambling and the implications of the precedent that
this battle might create. Antigua and Barbuda, a nation
comprising a pair of Caribbean islands with a combined area
about 2.5 times that of Washington, D.C., and a population of
about 68,000, decided a while back to invest in Internet casinos
as a way to augment the tourist trade. Imagine their annoyance
when the U.S. government tried to prohibit U.S. residents from
partaking of their "gambling and betting services."

Antigua and Barbuda did what any law-abiding country should do
in cases like this: It appealed to the World Trade Organization
(WTO). The WTO ruled in April
<http://www.wto.int/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds285_e.htm>
that the U.S. could not just outlaw access to Internet gambling
and earlier this month ruled that the U.S. has until next April
to mend its ways
<http://www.wto.int/English/tratop_e/dispu_e/285arb_13_e.pdf> .

The WTO basically said that the U.S. could not block its
residents from using Internet-based companies offering services
that are perfectly legal in the service provider's own country.
There are some exceptions, but the WTO said that Internet
gambling was not one of them.

This ruling establishes that the U.S. cannot unilaterally
control what people can use the Internet for, even U.S.
residents using the Internet from within this country. This is
certainly not going to go over well with those people in
Congress or other parts of government who think the U.S. should
own the Internet because "we built it."

In this case, the U.S. told the WTO that the country would
comply with the organization's ruling but would not "ask
Congress to weaken U.S. restrictions on Internet gambling."
Seems to be a tricky balance to me. It's not just the WTO that
is telling the U.S. that it cannot control the 'Net by itself.
The final report of the United Nations' Working Group on
Internet Governance does the same. This report will go to the
World Summit on the Information Society later this year, which
is likely to agree. The next few months will be interesting on
the Internet governance front, and I expect to return to the
topic from time to time.Disclaimer: There are multiple groups at
Harvard that deeply ponder Internet governance issues, but the
above observation is my own.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6113>

2. 2005 salary survey
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6114>

3. Intel-Cisco deal may be big for Wi-Fi
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6115>

4. VoIP season about to heat up
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6116>

5. Cisco aims to simplify switch mgmt.
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6117>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad6118>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Scott Bradner

Bradner is a consultant with Harvard University's University
Information Systems. He can be reached at <mailto:sob@sobco.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Avocent
Network World Executive Guide: Reviewing Trends and Insights for
SMB Executives

Life is different for IT professionals at small and mid-sized
businesses, which don't have the luxury of hiring legions of
network experts. Read how network executives are keeping a firm
footing on an ever-shifting product landscape. Learn about
trends and insights surrounding VoIP and VPNs; plus get
commentaries from leading experts on storage strategies for
smaller businesses.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111769
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ARCHIVE LINKS

Gibbs archive:
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/gibbs.html

Bradner archive:
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/bradner.html
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