One of the more interesting pressures brought to bear in the recent dispute over Net governance was a letter sent from US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice and US commerce secretary Carlos Gutierrez to the British presidency of the European Union to drop its proposal for an inter-governmental oversight body.
The letter was pretty stern stuff. It stated: “We ask the EU to reconsider its new position on Internet governance and work together with us to bring the benefits of the information society to all.” It also said that “burdensome, bureaucratic oversight is out of place in an Internet structure that has worked so well for so many around the globe”.
Another part said: “…a new inter-governmental structure would most likely become an obstacle to global Internet access for all our citizens.”
Essentially it was a great big warning flag to the EU about how seriously the US was taking the issue. The UK delegation told us that by the time the letter arrived, it had already made up its mind to step away from the inter-governmental body idea. The UK/EU had already been lobbied at every level – political, personal, private and public. But the letter made it clear to the rest of the EU that it wasn't planning to budge.
In the end, the EU simply stood back from the whole debate and the US determination won out.
So what? Well, I now know three journalists that have been shown the letter on the strict understanding that they do not say where it came from and not reveal the full details.
I have also attempted to get hold of a copy but been quite upfront about the fact that I wish to publish the whole thing on the Net. This has, unsurprisingly, not led to people queueing up to give me a copy.
But the way I see it, there is little point in me seeing the exact words now that the most relevant are known and we know the impact it had, if not to publish the whole thing.
I also don't see the harm that it would cause now to publish the letter since the most relevant parts are in the public arena. As such, this is plea for anyone and everyone to send me a copy, which I will then publish on the Net for future historical purposes.
Absolute and unconditional anonymity guaranteed.