Historical General Assembly

PAN-AMERICAN
MODEL UNITED
NATIONS 2015
Federal Communications Commission
Mass Surveillance and Cyber Terrorism
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Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the Pan-American School Model United Nations Conference of
2015. My name is Gerardo Herrera, and I am a junior in Pan-American School,
and I will be your Chair for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Both my co-chair, Sarah Vazquez, and I are looking forward to this debate and
that this years conference will be an experience you will never forget. Weve
been participating in this program for many years and I know my co-chair and I
will do an outstanding job with you. We hope the debate will be a heated one, full
of new ideas and new ways to solve problems of national and global influence.
As part of the Federal Communications Commission, you will represent
your corresponding state senators. Our topic for this two day conference is Cyber
terrorism and Social Media Control, an issue that has been gaining notoriety in
the past 10 years. With events such as the hacking of Sony, which totaled a $1
billion loss, cyber terrorism will continue gaining relevance in an exponential way.
More and more parts of our everyday lives are getting connected and influenced
by a very volatile and influential medium of communication. We will explore
new ways to solve this growing problem as well as other underlying problems,
such as massive surveillance, net neutrality, and human rights.
We hope that during this two days we will enjoy a heated debate, and
every single one of you will in a way contribute to finding a solution that will meet
every states and partys demands, political terms, and needs. The personal
information, the monetary goods, and the possibly of affecting the lives of millions
of people lie within our hands,and it all depends on the consensus you reach
within this weekend. Those delegates who strive towards excellence in regards
to others will, as always, be commended via honorary mentions or the best
delegate award.
Even though we need to find a viable solution to the issue being discussed
while trying to agree with every states terms, we believe this is also an
experience of self-development and growth as a person. You will meet new
people throughout the weekend as well as new friends. Alliances will be made,
opinions must be compromised, and arguments will be debated upon. I trust you
will enjoy the committee and that you will give your best in the debate. Any
question you have, feel free to contact me or the co-chair.
Sincerely,
Gerardo Herrera
Chair
gerardo.herrera@panam.ed.cr

Sarah Vasquez
Co-Chair
sarah.vasquez@panam.ed.cr

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Introduction
In this conference, you will be
debating the use of the internet for
criminal purposes, as well as social
media control and net neutrality in the
Federal Communications
Commission. Normally, the FCC is run
by a number of offices, bureaus and
commissioners appointed by the
president, but in this committee
various senators have been called in
for a meeting regarding the
aforementioned topics. Due to the
rapid expansion and volatile nature of
these means of communication, the
reforms and regulations passed this
conference have the possibility to
change the world for the better or for
the worse. The internet can be
considered as the most relevant
invention of the last 40 years, and it is
a powerful tool that can be used for
both progress and harm. However,
such a powerful tool must be used
responsibly, or the global balance that
has persisted since the end of the
second world war may come to an
end. According to the U.S. Federal
Bureau of Investigation, cyber
terrorism also known as electronic
terrorism or information war is any
"premeditated, politically motivated
attack against information, computer
systems, computer programs, and
data which results in violence against
non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine

agents." In other words, it is an attack

designed to produce physical,
financial, or psychological harm by
digital means. Its also commonly
used to create fear in the society as
well as online. Cyber terrorism is
characterized by the attack of
databases, banks, or other targets.
You will also be discussing
problems relevant to this topic, such
as massive surveillance programs,
net neutrality, and censorship. With
important reforms and regulations
regarding these topics having been
passed in countries such as the US,
Turkey, Mexico, and strong lobbying
by ISPs (Internet Service Providers)
to create fast lanes for content
creators wishing to pay extra,
establishing the degree of freedom
and secrecy that the internet is given
will also be discussed. Although most
people imagine men with ski masks in
basements typing quickly into their
computers when they hear about
hacking, most hacking is actually
done by social engineering. What this
means is that people willingly give
away their passwords or personal
information without realizing it.
Not all of the internet is easily
accessible by conventional means.
The so called deep web isnt
indexed, meaning it cant be
accessed by regular browsers or
search engines. Compared to the
surface web, the deep web contains
an incredible amount of information.

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While the surface web holds around
200 Terabytes of data, the deep web
contains around 7500 Terabytes. 550
Billion Individual documents can be
found in the Deep Web. Sites such as
the former Silk Road and Ali Baba
take advantage of the mysterious and
anonymous factor of the deep web to
sell illicit substances and firearms.
Other illegal activities, such as human
trafficking, the distribution of child
pornography, and even hit-men for
hire are available in the deep web.
The possible regulations, sanctions,
or censors that will be proposed in
this conference have the possibility to
make a worldwide impact on a field
that has been relatively unregulated
for years.
History of the Committee
The Federal Communications
Commission regulates interstate and
international communications by
radio, television, wire, satellite and
cable in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and U.S. territories. An
independent U.S. government agency
overseen by Congress, the
commission is the United States'
primary authority for communications
law, regulation and technological
innovation. In its work facing
economic opportunities and
challenges associated with rapidly
evolving advances in global
communications, the agency
capitalizes on its competencies in:

Promoting competition,
innovation and investment in
broadband services and
facilities

Supporting the nation's

economy by ensuring an
appropriate competitive

framework for the unfolding of

the communications revolution

Encouraging the highest and

best use of spectrum
domestically and internationally

Revising media regulations so

that new technologies flourish
alongside diversity and
localism

Providing leadership in
strengthening the defense of
the nation's communications
infrastructure
The commission is organized into
bureaus and offices, based on
function. Bureau and office staff
members regularly share expertise to
cooperatively fulfill responsibilities
such as:

Developing and implementing

regulatory programs

Processing applications for

licenses and other filings

Encouraging the development

of innovative services

Conducting investigations and

analyzing complaints

Public safety and homeland

security

Consumer information and

education
In 1972, Congress passed the
Federal Advisory Committee Act to
ensure that advice by advisory
committees is objective and
accessible to the public, thus making
the Commission highly transparent.
(What We Do - FCC. (n.d.).
Retrieved May 5, 2015.)
History of the Problem
Cyber terrorism is a relatively
new problem. It dates back to the
1940s United Kingdom, where a
group of scientists and engineers led
by a man called Alan Turing created a
machine to decipher the code used by
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the Nazis to communicate, once
considered an impossible feat. The
machine could compute digits for the
Nazi code at an astounding rate; thus
the machine was called the digital
c o m p u t e r. T h e n e x t m a j o r
advancement in the world
o f computers was the creation of
the Internet in the 1960s. It was
originally used as a medium of
communication b e t w e e n
UCLA
a n d S t a n f o r d University. In the
year 1988, a worm, or a virus that
spreads through a network through
security exploits, quickly spread
through
a
great number
of
computers in the USA, slowing
them down to the point of being
unusable. Robert Tapan Morris, the
man responsible for the creation of
the virus (dubbed the Ellis Worm),
was tried and convicted for breaking
the US Computer Fraud and Abuse
Act, being the first person to do
so. Even though online viruses
and scams have plagued the
consumer side of the internet
since the 80s, large scale public
cyber terrorist attacks were not
widely present until the 2000s. In
the year 2006, NASA was the target
of many cyber-attacks in which the
plans for the latest US operated
space vehicles were leaked by
unknown foreign entities. In 2007,
the number of the large scale attacks
significantly increased. The Estonian
government was hit by a massive
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service)
which effectively shut down all
internet connected services in the
c o u n t r y, s u c h a s b a n k s a n d
government web pages. Condoleeza
Rice, the US Secretary of State at
the time, as well as presidential
candidate and governor of Alaska
Sarah Palins personal emails where
breached by unknown intruders
in unrelated

attacks. A recent scandal surrounding

Hilary Clintons usage of a personal,
non secured server to store and send
officially classified documents, which
can be seen as a massive breach to
the security of the state.
During the last year or
so, many Internet Service Providers,
such as Comcast, Verizon, and Time
Warner Cable, have wanted to
implement so called fast lanes, or
give the option to content creators
and providers to receive additional
speed for an additional price. Verizon
already tried implemented this
feature with the entertainment
streaming site Netflix. Netflix refused
to pay the fees imposed by Verizon,
to which the ISP responded by
throttling users speeds. However, a
large portion of the public, as well as
many corporations see this as an
attempt by ISPs to blackmail and
control the content its users see by
throttling down to a halt the speeds of
those connections refusing to pay.
People in favor of the fast lanes
argue that establishing these is a right
of the ISPS, and that banning them
would be unconstitutional since it
would hamper their future profits.
In February of this year,
the FCC passed important resolutions
regarding all of these topics. In this
committee we will be reliving or
reshaping the same convention, but
with each states senators as the
representatives instead of the
commissioners. These regulations
served as the basic outlines of
important topics such as net neutrality
and privacy, however we will also
discuss other topics such as cyber
terrorism. The FCCs Open Internet
Rules will be reshaped in the
committee with regards to every
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delegates positions, and their ability
to reach a consensus.

Statement of the Problem

With the spread of the digital
era, computers are being integrated
into more and more parts of our
everyday lives. For example, in cars,
refrigerators, banking systems, global
databases, or in heavy machinery. If
these systems are compromised by
an external attack, serious
consequences can arise. For this
reason, regulations on surveillance
and neutrality should be some of the
topics discussed on this committee.
The internet has remained as a free
medium of communication. One of the
most recent and relevant accounts of
cyber-terrorism resulted in the loss of
millions, if not billions, of dollars. The
hacking of Sonys databases
happened last December, and it
resulted in the publishing of the
personal information of tens of
thousands of workers and employees,
and in the loss of $15 million. A recent
data breach of the website Ashley
Madison, which arranges affair for
married people, resulted in the
publishing of a list of all 37 million
users data including their credit card
information, name, emails, and even
home addresses.
The leaks made by free
speech activists such as Julian
Assange, Edward Snowden, and Kim
Dotcom regarding mass surveillance
and social media control have made
international news over the last few
years. These people have divulged
and shared information that ranges
from movies to classified information
to mass surveillance programs. The

rights and the degree of guiltiness

these whistleblowers have has been a
hot topic ever since they started
publishing this data. The decisions
surrounding their possibl
e punishments will set the standard
for the
treatment
of
these
people.
Supporters
for
whistleblowers
to
speak
up
constantly
cite
the
first
amendment, which outlines the
freedom of speech that every US
citizen has.
Bloc Positions
Democrats:
The
Democratic
Party generally
leans
towards
thinking that the internet should
remain a free and unmanaged
medium.
However,
the exact
positions of each senator and state
vary wildly, some of the more
conservative ones believing that
internet surveillance is a powerful tool
in
the
war
against
terror.
President Obama, a member of the
Democratic Party, has generally had
a stance on neutrality that leans
towards the liberal side of the
spectrum. However, he has made
harsh
comments
about
the
whistleblowers
such
as
Snowden and Assange. The
Democratic Party generally did
not approve
of
the
Cyber
Intelligence Sharing and Protection
Act (CISPA), a bill that proposed
harsh censorship and surveillance
laws with 140 votes against the bill.
Republicans: The majority of the
Republican Party believes that it is
important to increase the amount of
surveillance and control of the internet
the government has in order to
hamper possible terrorist attacks
before they happen. The party
generally voted in favor of bills trying
to control certain aspects of the web

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such as the Cyber Intelligence
Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA),
as well as the Stop Online Piracy Act
(SOPA). The Republican Party is
generally considered as a more
conservative party, this means that its
policies regarding issues such as the
one present tend to go in favor of the
safest route possible. Managing and
patrolling the internet is the safest
route to stop the war on terror and the
war on drugs. However, the party has
been criticized for its inability to adapt
to current times and act and react
quickly.
Relevant Actions
Perhaps the most relevant
action that has been recently taken by
the government recently is the
classification of the internet as a
utility, which in turn gives the FCC
more power over it. Before this
resolution was passed, the FCC
passed rules to keep the internet
n e u t r a l i n 2 0 1 0 , b u t Ve r i z on
challenged these with a lawsuit that
was ultimately won by the company.
However, the FCC had one last
option, to relabel the internet in order
to give more public control over
ISPSs and broadband. In the
February 2015 Open Commission
Meeting, these laws where passed,
winning a huge victory for net
neutrality and privacy. Other relevant
actions include the leaks made by
Edward Snowden, and the following
prosecution and manhunt, in which he
revealed the mass surveillance
programs PRISM

Possible Solutions
Assure the implementation of
the so called fast lanes for which
the content providers will need to
pay to ISPs to receive faster upload
and download speeds.

Reinsure that the internet will

remain a free and unmanaged
medium of communications.

The implementation of
surveillance programs to keep the
level of public safety to its highest
possible degree.

Establish an international task

force to track, stop, and attack
cyber terrorists and corporate
hackers.
Questions our Council Must
Answer

How will the government

ensure the protection of the
First Amendment in digital mediums?

What kind of response

will Internet Service Providers give to
these reforms?

In what way will the

surveillance of social media and other
sites respond in order to serve the
government and the people?

Will the so called

whistleblowers be condemned for
divulging state secrets?

How will the bills passed

deal with the deep web and sites such
as Ali Baba and the Silk Road?
How will cyber criminals be
convicted for their crimes?
Will education programs
regarding internet safety be
implemented?
How will these reforms affect
the everyday lives of millions of
people?
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Closing Remarks
In this committee you
delegates will debate as State
Governors in February of 2015,
specifically in the Federal
Communications Commition to
discuss Cyber Terrorism and mass
surveillance programs. Corporate
hacking has costs the international
economy millions of dollars, and
terrorist groups such as ISIL continue
to use social media to recruit
members towards their cause, as well
a s s p re a d i n g p ro p a g a n d a a n d
decapitation videos. ISPs have tried
to install optional fast lanes for
content providers wishing to pay extra
to receive additional speed to connect

with the consumers. These plans

were met with large public outcry and
protesting. Many high profile sites,
such as Wikipedia and Reddit have
put up a dark color scheme in order to
protest these actions.
We hope that every single
delegate comes prepared to
participate and contribute to the
committees objective. We ask of
everyone to be serious and we are
looking forward to fulfill our duty and
get to a solution that concerns all the
issues while simultaneously agreeing
to every states and the publics
terms. Always remember that the
most outstanding participants will be
as rewarded with honorary mentions
and lastly the best delegate award.

Bibliography
1.

Wheeler, T. (2013, November 4). What We Do. Retrieved June 5, 2015.

2.

Cyber Crime. (2010, March 17). Retrieved May 22, 2015.

3.

What is cyberterrorism? - Definition from WhatIs.com. (2010, May 1).

Retrieved May 17, 2015..

4.

Burton, A. (2015, August 12). As the FBI Seizes Clinton's Server, Her E-mail
Scandal Enters a More Serious Phase. Retrieved August 26, 2015.6.

5.

Report: Rice never used personal email at State Dept. (n.d.). Retrieved June 9,
2015.

6.

Benjamin, D. (2015, August 23). Hackers Just Posted a Third Dump of

Alleged Ashley Madison Data. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

7.

Rushe, D. (2014, December 17). Sony cyber attack linked to North Korean
government hackers, FBI says. Retrieved May 2, 2015.

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8.

Wheeler, T. (2015, February 26). Fact Sheet: Chairman Wheeler Proposes

New Rules for Protecting the Open Internet. Retrieved May 24, 2015

9.

Oliver, J. (2014, June 1). Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Net Neutrality
(HBO). Retrieved April 10, 2015

Senators Attending
Democrats
Dianne Feinstein - California
Richard Blumenthal - Connecticut
Tom Carper - Delaware
Brian Shatz - Hawaii
Dick Durbin - Illinois
Barbara Mikulski - Maryland
Elizabeth Warren - Massachusetts
Debbie Stabenow - Michigan
Amy Klobuchar - Minnesota
Bob Mendez - New Jersey
Martin Heinrich - New Mexico
Kristen Gillibrand - New York
Mark Warner - Virginia
Maria Cantwell - Washington
Republicans
Richard Shelby - Alabama
John McCain - Arizona
Marco Rubio - Florida
Johnny Isakson - Georgia
Mike Crapo - Idaho
Chuck Grassley - Iowa
Pat Roberts - Kansas
Mitch McConnell - Kentucky
David Vitter - Louisiana
Thad Chochran - Mississippi
Deb Fisher - Nebraska
Richard Burr - North Carolina
Rob Portman - Ohio
Ted Cruz - Texas
Independents
Bernie Sanders - Vermont
Angus King - Maine
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