Re: [arch-d] IAB Technical Discussion on Fragmentation: 2023-05-03

[Mirja Kuehlewind <[e-mail]>]

Hi Vittoria, hi all,

Just a very quick clarification. The second presentation was not by ISOC - Konstantinos Komaitis is working for the Lisbon Council.

Mirja



> On 3. May 2023, at 17:36, Vittorio Bertola <[e-mail]> wrote:
> 
>  
>> Il 03/05/2023 09:09 CEST Arnaud Taddei <arnaud.taddei=[e-mail]> ha scritto:
>>  
>> And yes for the minutes as probably there cannot be consistent attendance compatible with business life too. 
>>  
>> So the possibility to read offline will certainly help. 
> So, I just attended the call - and since as an observer I did not feel entitled to speak, I will post my comments here.
>  
> The first presentation from the PNIF was right on point in framing the discussion, as the PNIF's work aimed at specifying things with sufficient balance so that everybody can live with the result.
>  
> The second presentation from ISOC, however... I mean, there are things I definitely agree with, but others really not. For example, the private sector's concerns on fragmentation were repeatedly equated with data localization laws. This is not true, or better, it is only true of certain companies, and specifically the American giants that increasingly have a hard time selling their services in Europe because of their inability to comply with the GDPR and with data localization requirements. For another example, in a recent article on ISOC's website, the Irish privacy authority's belated attempt at getting Meta to abide by the GDPR was mentioned as "fragmentation" and a threat to the Internet. I thought that we were in favour of privacy and end-user control, not against!
>  
> For what I see, most of the industry - not just in Europe, but many smaller US companies as well - are not really concerned about data localization, but rather about the walled gardens that prevent interoperability and competition and accumulate power and control in private hands, something the second presentation basically forgot to mention. And, where was the discussion on a few private global IP networks now carrying most of the global traffic in place of the public Internet? Isn't that a form of fragmentation at the transport level?
>  
> I understand that this was just an informative session for IAB members and they will make up their minds. I think that the IETF in general should be very careful in making sure that any actions and statements on the topic really reflect the interest of the Internet at large and of all the multiple industries and Internet communities that meet here. If the IETF were perceived as just another supporter for specific business interests, the damage to its role would be significant.
>  
> --
> 
> Vittorio Bertola | Head of Policy & Innovation, Open-Xchange
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