Do you know who governs the Internet? What does the law say about digital privacy? Who decides what one can and can’t do online? Cliff Stoll posed similar questions in a personal account of his lengthy and dramatic encounter with a hacker in a book titled The Cuckoo’s Egg. Cliff observed the hacker breaking into secure military networks and sought to end the hacker’s mischief. When Cliff reached out to government agencies, he was met with incredulity and a distinct lack of cooperation. He struggled to find the necessary support in order to stop the hacker. Though he was only one voice, Cliff’s efforts paved the way for our many voices of today to be heard. His discovery of a minor discrepancy in his lab’s accounting program led to the discovery of a much larger bug—the Internet had no regulation. Internet users today must take a stand in keeping the Internet free and safe. The Internet was formed on principles of trust and cooperation, and few concerned themselves with security. The unspoken law of the Internet was, “Be good.” Not many grasped the damage that could be done with a tool as powerful as the Internet.

What astounds me is that not much is different today, but at the same time, everything has changed. The landscape of today’s Internet is remarkably different from that of the late ’80s. Yet, who governs the Internet today? In December, the nations of the world will gather in Dubai for the UN-convened World Conference on International Telecommunications. The topic of the meeting is nothing less than the regulation of the Internet. With the backing of the International Telecommunications Union, the governments of the world will review the international treaty known as the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR). The ITR is part of a treaty framework that establishes general principles to guide the governance and operation of international telecommunications. The last review of the ITR was in 1988—24 years ago! This nearly unheard of and unheralded meeting will decide matters of global importance. The Internet runs the world, and yet most people are unaware that governing bodies will soon decide how to run the Internet. People eventually began to listen to Cliff Stoll and to others who advocated that something be done to protect Internet users. The question today is not whether lawmakers are listening, but whether we—today’s Internet users and those whom these new laws will affect—are even saying anything.