The internet, 'soul' of the information society

By Segun Oruame

There's so much confusing talk about the information society and the role nations should play in the emerging 'knowledge economy'.

One thing seems clear though: most developing countries want mutilateral control of the internet, to reflect common ownership of what must surely be considered the 'soul' of the information society.

Some in the US appear determined to model the internet on the industrial revolution - where the factories that were the 'soul' of industrial society were championed and dominated by the West.

For example, last month an editorial in the New York Times said that EU proposals for an international 'model of cooperation' of internet governance was akin to asking the US "to depend on the kindness of strangers in maintaining the basic infrastructure that underpins our national security and economy"

Meanwhile, in the Washington Post, Kofi Annan defends the need for change, pointing out that "developing countries feel left out of internet governance structures".

I agree with Kofi. While the internet has indeed been pioneered by the West, there are now active players all over the world. Isn't it right that we should all be heirs to this common information wealth?