Caught in the web: Internet lacks formal global rules

Hope no Depressed soul will follow the footsteps of Kim Walton, a 46-year-old divorcee from Pennsylvania in the US. Walton went on surfing the Internet until she found the website euthanasiaincambodia.com and booked a flight to Cambodia so that she could commit suicide after enjoying a ‘satisfying end-of-life experience’.

What’s next? If one goes by the US Census Bureau: computer use and ownership report, there will be many more such weird ‘Internet incidents’ are on their way. The report revealed a burgeoning use of computer and the Internet, but at the same time raised concerns about the possible online dangers.

Each new medium creates huge ripples when it makes debut in the society. There is no denying that the Internet also has had a tremendous impact. Its magic lies in the split-second-access to a world of censor-free information. It provides a unique taste of media service ? unlike the TV and the Radio ? and reflects mass interest of the audience. While a common man can’t just produce a programme on the TV or air an opinion piece through the Radio without an authoritative intervention, anyone can post a comment or fetch an open information or even go for a weird venture through the Internet. The magic structure of this model has wiped out the demarcation line between a content provider and a content receiver. This makes the situation quite complex and brings along a lot of absurdities. The speedy wholesome nature of the Internet is turning the situation beyond control and making it the most independent but an unreliable medium.

Operated by a US-backed private sector group called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), this nascent medium is still a free-for-all user-controlled area ? a perfect mixture of the good and the evil. It lacks formal rules as well as the means to enforce any rule.

So, the users need to weigh the potential risks and benefits of such dangerous sites. The sites should also disclose the risks and safeguards to their users. Do we want to control the Internet which talks about everything ranging from the most esoteric scientific work to the mundane necessities of daily life? First we have to decide whether we want to transform it into a social force or a social ‘farce’.

Computer habits are quickly evolving and Internet usage is increasing among school-age children, much quicker than experts had foreseen. If a 46-year-old mortgage adviser falls into the trap, what will happen to the vulnerable kids? Will it be possible to set up an authority which can universally scrutinise the release of each and every webpage in the net? It needs a huge initiative to answer these.

By 2006, International Telecommunication Union of United Nations will step into ICANN’s shoes and initiate a new approach of Internet governance. Hope this will work well.