The on-going conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Dubai, which commenced on 3 December and through to December 14, is one in which the future of the internet is at stake. It's a proposal to make changes to a decades-old treaty, in which only governments have a vote.

Google's Vint Cerf, Chief Internet evangelist, in a blog post iterated the original proposal that involved protocols designed to make the networks of the internet non-proprietary and interoperable, and allowed for contributions from many sources. It avoided lock-in, which openness is the reason for the great value of the internet today.

The free and open internet has brought unprecedented freedom to billions of people world wide; to create and innovate, organize and influence, and to speak and be heard.

But all that could change; as a closed-door meeting of the world's governments is right now in progress. The agenda is to regulate the internet, and some proposals could allow governments to justify the censorship of legitimate speech, or may even cut off internet access in their countries.

However, you can join thousands upon thousands of internet users who are standing up for a free and open internet right now. And perhaps our collective voices could be all that is needed to save the Internet; our web from the impending tyranny. Join us at: google.com/takeaction and sign the petition.

Open And Free Internet: Users' Perspective

The on-going conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Dubai, which commenced on 3 December and through to December 14, is one in which the future of the internet is at stake. It's a proposal to make changes to a decades-old treaty, in which only governments have a vote.

Google's Vint Cerf, Chief Internet evangelist, in a blog post iterated the original proposal that involved protocols designed to make the networks of the internet non-proprietary and interoperable, and allowed for contributions from many sources. It avoided lock-in, which openness is the reason for the great value of the internet today.

The free and open internet has brought unprecedented freedom to billions of people world wide; to create and innovate, organize and influence, and to speak and be heard.

But all that could change; as a closed-door meeting of the world's governments is right now in progress. The agenda is to regulate the internet, and some proposals could allow governments to justify the censorship of legitimate speech, or may even cut off internet access in their countries.

However, you can join thousands upon thousands of internet users who are standing up for a free and open internet right now. And perhaps our collective voices could be all that is needed to save the Internet; our web from the impending tyranny. Join us at: google.com/takeaction and sign the petition.