The House unanimously passed a Senate resolution calling on the U.S. government to oppose the United Nations’ control of the Internet.

As originally reported by the Hill, the 397-to-0 vote is intended to send a clear signal to the delegates gathering at the UN’s telecommunications conference next week.

The UN will meet in Dubai to update an international telecom treaty; rumors have been flying for weeks that discussions of greater controls of the Internet will be on the agenda.

Any attempts to implement more stringent web regulations will be met with opposition from interest groups in the U.S. California Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, representative for the 14th district, said on the hosue floor that the U.S. will continue to stand by the “open structure, multi-stakehoder approach that has guided the Internet over the last two decades.” Eshoo represents parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties — a stretch of Silicon Valley that is home to countless venture capital firms, startups, and tech giants.

Eshoo pointed out that Republicans and Democrats were aligned on this issue:

“I think we are very, very proud that there is not only bipartisan, but bicameral support underlying this revolution, and there is complete support across the Executive Branch of our government. In other words, the United States of America is totally unified.”

The 11-day conference will review the codes that were last reviewed in the Web’s infancy. Technology giants at the Dubai conference — including envoys from Google and Microsoft — fear that a UN oversight on Internet security could be used by nations such as China and Russia to justify rolling black-outs and increased Web monitoring.

Representative Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said on the house floor that Russian President Vladamir Putin has spoken positively about the UN governing the Internet.

Walden said that representatives from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress will attend the conference in Dubai to “keep an eye” on proceedings.

The question of who should control the Internet — the United States or the United Nations — has been raging for over a decade. In 2005, a global consortium gathered in Tunisia to discuss the digital divide between rich and poor. As Slate Magazine put it, the U.S. may be able to impose sanctions including shutting down websites, but it does not rule the Internet. The California nonprofit ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has directed traffic on the Web since 1998.

With over half of Internet users in Asia, the debate continues to rage whether a global body like the UN would be better equipped to regulate the web.

Digital World image // Shutterstock

But Google is in Baku, Azerbijan today at the seventh annual Internet Governance Forum to make the case that a free and open internet is best for all. And with them is internet pioneer Vint Cerf.

(In case you’re wondering where Azerbaijan is, it’s east of Turkey, south of Russia, and right near all the “stans.”)

Source: Open Net Initiative

Counties the filter the internet for political purposes

The IGF is a United Nations organization. Among other things, its mandate includes fostering the security and stability of the internet, helping countries with internet governance, and finding solutions for “the issues arising from the use and misuse of the Internet.”

Over 40 countries currently censor the internet to varying degrees, as Google notes, so the company “is going to Azerbaijan to stand up for freedom and openness of the Internet.” Many of those countries, according to Google, are hoping to make those restrictions international, and are already trying via the International Telecommunications Union.

One of the conference’s sessions is titled Security, Openness and Privacy, and will include discussion on several key questions, including

• What impact can security and governance issues have on the Internet and human rights
• Freedom of expression and free flow of information: how do legal framework, regulations, and principles impact this?

Panelists on that session include a member of the US Department of State and an advisor to the Egyptian minister of communication and IT.

Vint Cerf will be speaking about freedom and openness at an event during IGF, at which the company will show a selection of “The Caucasus Triangle” – a documentary on youth media and democracy in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan:

Google acknowledges that laws and customs differ, and it has committed to obey local laws in areas it operates. The company is there, however, to add its voice to those who are advocating for openness and freedom: ”Our bottom line remains a strong preference for keeping the Net as open and free as possible.”

Image credit: Google Maps

In Silicon Valley, we understand how to market a new iPhone app or game to millions of people in a matter of weeks. What if we applied these principles to support a good cause?

Bay Area tech founders and venture capitalists gathered today to hear a presentation from the United Nations Foundation about its plans to make its charitable work more relevant to young people. The nonprofit organization launched the Global Good Challenge this fall to encourage people to take action on the world’s most pressing problems and engage via their social networks.

It’s not a fundraising effort. The Global Good Challenge is an educational game that is already spreading on Twitter and Facebook.

Former Senator Tim Wirth, Kyri McClellan, CEO of the San Francisco America’s Cup Organizing Committee, Jimmy Spithill, Veteran Yachtsman

Zaw Thet, a veteran entrepreneur who started his first company as a teenager, told VentureBeat that was inspired to create the game that could educate people about how to empower young girls in developing countries, prevent diseases like malaria, and combat global poverty. He approached the U.N. Foundation with the idea six months ago, and he interviewed dozens of friends in the tech community for their advice on developing a “viral” social campaign.

Click here to play the game. Sign in via Facebook to unlock prizes like a trip to Africa or a VIP tickets to a Stevie Wonder concert.

“Instead of donating money, we want people to donate their social media influence,” Thet told me. Last year, Thet (one of the youngest people to graduate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business) was selected as one of 10 entrepreneurs to serve on the U.N. Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council. 

Serial entrepreneur Zaw Thet.

Thet told me he was inspired by a mobile game that is educating female players across the world about different ways to prevent pregnancy. This is one of many social and educational games that are popping up on the market. The team behind the initiative also borrowed from the “gamification” trend. In Silicon Valley, tech companies like Facebook and LinkedIn are finding ways to leverage game mechanics to influence user behavior. (Read up on the “gamification” trend here.)

“People involved in the gaming industry are thinking about how to create social good,” Rick Thompson, the founder of Playdom, told me. Thompson, an adviser to Thet, was an attendee at today’s presentation alongside about a dozen other Silicon Valley big-whigs.

Read more about social entrepreneurship, and the tech startups that want to change the world.

Another highlight of the event was that the announcement of the latest prize. One lucky player will be selected to be the guest racer in a sailboat competing in the upcoming America’s Cup in San Francisco. Veteran yachtsman Jimmy Spithill attended the event to deliver the news in person– ladies, trust me, you will want to win this one!

The U.N. Foundation is currently working on the mobile version of its game, which will be released in the coming months.

Top Image via Shutterstock