Lecturer to speak in US on governing internet
massey-university
Wed Mar 04 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Lecturer to speak in US on governing internet
Wednesday, 4 March 2009, 1:18 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Wednesday March 4, 2009
Lecturer invited to US to speak about power in governing the global internet
A Massey University lecturer will speak about who has power over the internet at a seminar in the United States this month.
Dr Slavka Antonova, a communication scholar from the Department of Management and International Business, has been invited to present her research at the 40th Anniversary Colloquium of the International Communication Programme at the American University, in Washington, on March 25.
She will also give her views on the situation in New Zealand where last week the Government put a proposed law to prevent copyright abuse on hold after widespread protests.
Dr Antonova says the controversy surrounding Section 92A of the Copyright (New Technology) Amendment Act shows an evolving ability by internet users and the industry to resist attempts to tilt the balance of power in cyberspace.
“It has been interesting to follow the debate here in New Zealand after seeing how other countries have dealt with the digital copyright protection issue. I was utterly impressed by the enlightened views shared in the media by the New Zealand music and art creators,” she says.
“These are people who bravely embrace the challenges of the internet age because they understand the enormous potential of the global net to make their oeuvres popular around the world. It's encouraging as well that the Government is prepared to listen to the consensus voice of the collaborating internet community."
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Dr Antonova is an academic researcher in the field of global internet governance and has just published a book about who controls the internet entitled Powerscape of Internet Governance. How was global multistakeholderism invented in ICANN?
Dr Antonova says: “It is an honour to receive a personal invitation from Professor Nanette Levinson, who is a prestigious scholar in the field of internet governance to present my work in the United States. It’s a great opportunity to discuss my findings with other people in this specialist area.
“More than a billion people surf the internet but few have Googled to find out how this rapidly-growing global resource is controlled.”
In her book, Dr Antonova investigates why 10 years after its creation, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is considered one of the most powerful private corporations in the world.
She explains how the corporation, which is under the United States Government’s policy supervision, was established as an experiment in multistakeholder global governance.
The starting point of Dr Antonova’s investigation is the conceptualisation of power along Foucault’s decentralised model of power relations in networks.
Her book, published by VDM Verlag, looks at the long-term effects of the "ICANN experiment" and how power is shared among stakeholders participating in the policy-making process – Internet developers, businesses, non-governmental organisations, and governments.
ENDS
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