Question: As we all know, the internet is playing a more and more role in our life. Do you think countries in the net will become legal in the future? Will ICANN finally become a net UN in the future?

Nominee Replies

Sureswaran Ramadass - posted on 2000-10-09 03:34:41 Well, it seems like ICANN is already a net UN, but currently a little biased towards the developed countries... Johannes Chiang - posted on 2000-10-08 05:16:03 I have great respect to the spirit and concept underlying in your question. I will support these. Yes, Internet plays a more and more important role in our daily life and we are more and more living on it. Instead of nation, I will use at first the term Community here. I think the countries on the net are difficult to be legal if the traditional definition for the term nation does change. When it is changing, the borders between nations and people will also diminish. I would like to see ICANN becomes the 21-centry model for international and interdisciplinary organizations to helping people and resolve conflicts. That motivates me to take part in this election. I further suggest we could make ICANN in the future better than UN of today.. Masanobu Katoh - posted on 2000-10-04 10:07:47 I believe that ICANN can be a 21st century model for an international organization dealing with new technology and the new economy. In the age of the Internet and the information revolution, we need a new international arrangement, which can meet the speed and flexibility of changes in technology, the economy and the society. In order to promote the Internet, we should keep it away from conventional regulations, yet we need some sort of order to assure confidence. For this purpose, we need a volunteer private sector driven structure where all stakeholders can equally participate. We need to conquer many impediments and challenges. ICANN has tremendous possibility. Although its mission is limited to technical management of the Internet domain names and IP numbers, the way it solves and decides issues is a very good and practical model for many other global policy issues. And all policy issues of the information age are global. Countries in the net and ICANN as a net UN?? It is hard to predict the future in those areas. Let work to make ICANN work for the users of the Internet. And we can help shape the future as well.