Google warns UN conference may lead to web censorship

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates An upcoming U.N. gathering about Internet oversight is raising alarms from a broad coalition of critics, including the U.S., tech giants such as Google and rights groups, concerned that changes could lead to greater efforts to censor Web content and stifle innovation in cyberspace.

Among the issues on the agenda at next month's meeting in Dubai are ideas to battle Internet spam and fraud. But also tucked into more than 1,300 proposals are potential hot-button items that opponents believe could be used by in places such as Iran and China to justify their crackdowns on bloggers and other Web restrictions.

World Conference on International Telecommunications to be held in Dubai in December

At international summit, proposals expected on changes to web governance

U.S. delegation has vowed to block proposals from Russia, others that give tacit approval to online censorship

Drafting and debating of proposals have taken place largely behind closed doors

Another likely battle when the meeting begins Dec. 3 is over European-backed suggestions to change the pay structure of the Web to force content providers -- such as Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and others -- to kick in an extra fee to reach users across borders.

It's unclear what proposals will emerge from the 11-day meeting of the U.N.'s 193-nation International Telecommunications Union, or ITU. The preliminary jockeying highlights the tensions of the Internet age between what to regulate and what to leave alone. The outcome could affect billions of Internet users.

Some are unhappy with the structure of the conference itself.

"Engineers, companies and people that build and use the Web have no vote," said Google in an online statement. "The billions of people around the globe that use the Internet, the experts that build and maintain it, should be included" in the decision-making process.

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Google warns UN conference may lead to web censorship