Reuters: Russia, China Withdraw Internet Governance Proposal From U.N. Conference

Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates have withdrawn their proposal to a United Nations telecommunications conference to expand a 1988 treaty to allow governments more control over Internet issues, Reuters reported Monday afternoon. The news is likely a relief to critics, among them Google and U.S. Web freedom advocacy groups, who feared that such a proposal could gain traction at the conference, the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT-12), which is taking place in Dubai through Friday, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the U.N.’s telecom agency.