UN telecom chief 'surprised' by US-led treaty snub

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday Dec. 3, 2012, participants listen to the speech of Hamdoun Toure, Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union, ITU, seen on screens, at the eleventh day of the World Conference on International Telecommunication in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A U.N. conference weighing possible Internet rules shifted into high-stakes showdowns on Thursday after advancing a proposal for greater government oversight. The proposal was a blow to U.S.-led efforts to keep new regulations from touching the Net.(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday Dec. 3, 2012, participants listen to the speech of Hamdoun Toure, Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union, ITU, seen on screens, at the eleventh day of the World Conference on International Telecommunication in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A U.N. conference weighing possible Internet rules shifted into high-stakes showdowns on Thursday after advancing a proposal for greater government oversight. The proposal was a blow to U.S.-led efforts to keep new regulations from touching the Net.(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

FILE-In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, an official sticks a note on the wall next to the conference banner during the eleventh day of the World Conference on International Telecommunication in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A U.N. conference weighing possible Internet rules shifted into high-stakes showdowns on Thursday after advancing a proposal for greater government oversight. The proposal was a blow to U.S.-led efforts to keep new regulations from touching the Net. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? The head of the U.N. telecoms group says he was surprised by a U.S.-led rejection of a global treaty because of perceptions it will lead to greater government control of the Internet.

Hamadoun Toure says the accord that's to be signed on Friday doesn't include specific provisions for Net oversight. Instead, he says it sets goals such as expanding online services to developing countries.

But a U.S.-led Western bloc opposed any references to the Internet, fearing this could be used to justify further Web crackdowns by authoritarian states.

More than 20 countries joined the U.S. late Thursday is refusing to sign the protocols by the U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union meeting in Dubai.

Toure says he thought the talks reached a compromise and was "very much surprised" by the U.S.-led snub.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-12-14-Dubai-Internet%20Conference/id-e05e74c2ba574e81a5fb0ee229f1f6e8

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