Internet Governance Forum goes to Egypt and hits a few snags

It seems that no matter where, when and why, somebody has to make sure a political statement is made. Now it seems that the United Nations is also getting into the Internet debate and dipping its toes into the Net Neutrality debate. The Internet Governance Forum is no different. Funded by the United Nations, its political firestorms are no different than those occurring daily at the World Headquarters in New York.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee delivered a keynote speech, launching the World Wide Web Foundation at the Internet Governance Forum sponsored by the United Nations being held in Egypt.  A most unique place in which to hold the event some suggest. That in turn raised some eyebrows of another group, Reporters without Borders suggesting that the Government of Egypt is 'hostile' to the very concept of the Internet.

Then not even a day into the conference, Egypt announces that it's launching a Arabic domain .masr to abbreviate Egypt name. And then somebody lit the fuse.

The BBC reported that the United Nations requested that certain posters and flyers stop being handed out during the conference with respects to a film about 'Free Tibet'. From there it has been all downhill. This is the headline story instead of one of the key topics of the event, Security Openness and Privacy.

And the conference isn't even over yet.