It's been labelled “the most important election you’ve never heard of”. 

This week, Arj and Jordan dive into an upcoming debate over the election of the next secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, a 150-year-old body that has been pivotal in the setting of internet standards and policy.

The backdrop is a fascinating discussion about whether the long-held Western vision of an open, global, free and secure internet is now over, as more anti-democratic regimes clamp down on networks and platforms in their jursidictions, while Western governments themselves seek new ways to fix the ills of an unregulated internet.

Links:

White House Listening Session on Tech Platform Accountability https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/08/readout-of-white-house-listening-session-on-tech-platform-accountability/

Council on Foreign Relations report - Confronting Reality in Cyberspace: Foreign Policy for a Fragmented Internet https://www.cfr.org/report/confronting-reality-in-cyberspace

Report on ITU election (SMH) https://www.smh.com.au/technology/future-of-cyberspace-on-the-line-as-us-russia-square-off-20220910-p5bh27.html

Credits:

Music by Bensound.com