Telecommunications+Union+Argentina

Karlie Frank Argentina Council of the International Telecommunications Union Arundel High School 7 January 2012

This year, the Council of the International Telecommunications Union faces the task of creating a treaty that will bring the benefits of modern communication technologies to all nations in an efficient, safe, easy and affordable manner. Furthermore, the ITU must come to a consensus on the issue of the government’s right to censure and tap private information. It’s Argentina’s fervent wish to assist the council in creating a comprehensive treaty that extends communication technologies worldwide, as well as to participate in creating a treaty that reserves governments’ right to censure and tap specific information in member nations.

Topic 1: Using communication technology in response to natural and global disasters In a rapidly globalizing world, the use of communication technology has become increasingly important. In the past decade, there have been numerous global disasters/events requiring international response and assistance— Hurricane Katrina, the Japanese Tsunamis, and the Arab Spring to name a few phenomena. Natural disasters and political upheavals such as these require information technologies to spread news of the events worldwide, as well as to mobilize aid to nations needing it. The Internet has been used to organize relief in the way of donations for such disasters, and radio and satellite waves have been vital in locating areas of need for the relief, in the way water and food supplies, transportation services, power networks, and financial assistance. As a part of a region of the world (South America/Caribbean) historically hit particularly hard by natural disasters, demonstrated by the fatal 1994 Bolivian earthquake, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 2011 mudslide in Brazil, and 2010 earthquake in Argentina’s own Salta, Argentina would like to see improvement in the use of communication technology to respond to natural and global disasters. Argentina sees a need for improvement, so that disasters such as Haiti can be dealt with in a more efficient way in the future. Power can be restored, water and food distributed faster, and overall communication between victims and government facilitated if the administration of communication technologies is improved. ITU statistics show that internet usage has increased from 48.9% of the population in 2009 to 64.4% in 2010, however statistics for all of Latin America is at just 40.7% in 2010. Argentina is willing to use its position as on of the wealthiest nations in South America, as well as the power of its major communication technology group, Telecom, to be a dominant force in helping to extend access to the Internet to the rest of Latin America. In order to use communication technology in a more effective way in responding to natural and global disasters, realistic technology standards have to be instituted in every nation worldwide. The nations poorest in communication technology are often the ones in need of it most, such as Haiti. Argentina believes a body within the Telecommunications Union must be established to over-see the institution of such standards, particularly an NGO. NGO’s have the freedom to operate outside the jurisdiction of international law, which is imperative to the rapid institution of communication technology in more, less developed nations. This body, in collaboration with the Telecommunications Union, will assess communication technologies in each nation and decide whether the nations need to upgrade their technology, or replace it entirely with the most up to date models. Funding of the NGO would come from federal funds donated from member nations, as well as the NGO’s own fundraising efforts. Such individualized attention is the only way to best improve the use of communication technologies.

Topic 2: Government's right to censor or tap private information Governments worldwide have been exercising their right to censor and tap information for centuries. The main goal of censorship is to control the people, and protect them from excessively harmful text and images. Tapping information is also utilized with the goal of protection, as it allows the government to detect suspicious conversations through communication technology that may contribute to terrorism. With the rapid development of communication technologies in South America and worldwide, there’s more information for the government to track and therefore a greater need for a treaty to be reached which outlines the rights of the government to censure and tap information. Argentina believes that a degree of restriction over what the public has access to is key to a thriving, peaceful nation. It protects the youth from inappropriate content, as well as prevents social uprising. Argentina has recently sent a bill to congress that will guarantee access to newsprint at the same price for all newspapers countrywide, which in effect will contain the media that criticizes the government and boost the media that endorses it. This containment is a necessary practice for the wellbeing of the nation. As for the right to tap private information, Argentina believes this right is one all government should be free to exercise in a day and age in which terrorism has increased in society. The goal of tapping is to keep the nation safe from terrorism and corrupt activities that pose a threat to citizens, and not to exploit innocent individuals. It’s a matter of national security, not an invasion of privacy. Argentina suggests a closer relationship between the legislative bodies in government and the major news organizations in each nation, in order to achieve tighter censorship. Explicit sexual or violent images must be censured on the people’s Internet, as well as certain topics/searches that the government assesses to be a threat to the nation’s peace. Laws must be enacted both nationally internationally in order to fit the needs of each country. Argentina has enacted new censorship within its own borders recently. The initial civil unrest created by these bills pales in comparison to the amount of unrest there could be in the future if no censorship action is taken. In a world in which communication technologies are developing and spreading at an unprecedented rate, government censorship and tapping is urgently necessary in order to prevent acts of terrorism and needless social protest.

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