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By Nina Easton, senior editor-at-large

FORTUNE -- The bureaucrats at the United Nations, prodded by developing countries and exemplars of democracy like Russia and China, have hit on an enticing new way to control global communication and commerce: They want to regulate the Internet.

It's one of those rare issues in this heated campaign season that is uniting the political left, right, and middle in Washington. Business leaders beyond Silicon Valley would be smart to sit up and take notice, too -- and fast. American opponents are being seriously outpaced by U.N. plans to tax and regulate that are already grinding forward in advance of a December treaty negotiation in Dubai.

"Having the U.N. or any international community regulate the Internet only means you're going to have the lowest common denominator of 193 countries," notes Richard Grenell, who served as spokesman and adviser to four U.S. ambassadors to the U.N. between 2001 and 2009.

That the U.N. too often acts as a repository of the world's lowest common denominator is a familiar complaint from American conservatives. Witness blocked attempts to take action against bad actors like Syria. Now those fears are being realized over the Internet, which has a nasty habit of spreading free speech -- and with it, discontent and revolt.

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The conduit is a little known U.N. agency called the International Telecommunication Union, which coordinates cross-border issues such asradio spectrum and satellite orbits. At the December 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai (bureaucratically titled the WCIT-12) the ITU will consider expanding its purview to the Internet. That may be six months away -- but ITU working groups are already laying the groundwork.

Behind the effort are efficient censor machines like China, and autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin, who last year declared his desire to establish "international control" of the Internet. These are "not exactly bastions of Internet freedom," as Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio put it during a hearing last month. "Any place that bans certain terms from search should not be a leader in an international Internet regulatory framework."

The House Communications and Technology subcommittee convenes its own hearing Thursday.

Also pushing for international controls are developing countries hungry not only for political control, but also for new sources of revenue. (Allowing foreign phone companies to collect fees on international traffic is one proposal under discussion.) Grenell, who saw the regulatory effort spring up from the beginning a decade ago, notes that developing countries at the U.N. "get excited about taking up global issues that will give them more control and influence over commerce, that require businesses to seek their input and approval."

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U.N.'s push to regulate the Internet

A Thai webmaster has received a suspended eight-month prison sentence for not removing online comments that insulted the Thai royal family in what is regarded as a landmark case for internet freedom in the country.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn was prosecuted under Thailand's controversial Computer Crime Act, which came into force in 2007 under an unelected government that took power after a military coup.

Thailand frequently jails people convicted oflse-majest, as royal insults are known.

But Premchaiporn's case raised international concern over the legal status of the internet in Thailand and the liability of a website operator for comments posted by a third party.

"Today's guilty verdict for Chiranuch Premchaiporn, for something somebody else wrote on her website, is a serious threat to the future of the internet in Thailand," Taj Meadows, Asia Pacific spokesman for internet services giant Google, said by email.

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"Telephone companies are not penalised for things people say on the phone and responsible website owners should not be punished for comments users post on their sites - but Thailand's Computer Crime Act is being used to do just that."

Judge Kampol Rungrat ruled thatPremchaiporn was liable for one of the 10 comments posted on her site Prachatai, a popular forum for political and cultural discussions.

Even if the webmaster was not directly responsible for the content of the comments, under the law it was, nonetheless, her "duty and responsibility" to remove them.

Premchaiporn "did not perform her duty in a timely manner" and "allowed the inappropriate posting to be on the website for too long", the judge said.

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Thai Webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn Sentenced for Not Deleting Comments Insulting to Royal Family in Landmark Case

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By Amanda Buchanan | More Articles May 30, 2012 |

The shift to digital has become a trend affecting every industry imaginable. The transformation is still in its infancy, though, as companies experiment with different ways to utilize everything that digital spaces have to offer.

Some companies, like Nordstrom, have proven successful at marrying traditional and digital shopping experiences for customers, which has led to market-beating returns for both the companies and their investors.

Meanwhile, retailers like Best Buy have struggled the last few years to stay afloat, with little more than an online store to offer shoppers. See what I mean?

^INX data by YCharts.

Companies who embrace digital, rather than shun it, have a shot at making great long-term investments. Take a look at these three companies that are finding new ways to successfully integrate digital.

1. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (Nasdaq: RRGB) recently launched Burger Hub -- a social-media website for Red Robin burgers that allows customers to upload their own pictures and videos of the food and experiences they're having at the restaurant. Red Robin then links these to the online menu. It's kind of like an updated version of user reviews, which could prove to be really innovative and useful for the restaurant industry as a whole.

2. Target (NYSE: TGT) has recently partnered with Shopkick to offer shoppers incentives for shopping in store. Shopkick is a free app that offers points for things like entering the store and scanning items. Points can then be redeemed for gift cards or charitable donations. Target is now the largest retailer to partner with Shopkick, which could give it an advantage in this rocky retail climate.

3. Safeway (NYSE: SWY) launched its own money-saving app earlier this month. The app, called "Just for U," stores your Safeway Club Card information along with featured ads, in-store and manufacturer coupons, shopping lists, and even a few individualized coupons based on your shopping history. Safeway has virtually redefined the word "convenient."

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3 Companies Unexpectedly Embracing Digital

We all hear it every day: The Internet and digital technologies are changing everything. Its become one of those big pronouncements that tends to end a bad conversation or start a good one.

But few people have thought about the subject as clearly and completely as Mary Meeker, the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers venture capitalist and former Wall Street analyst, who in a presentation at D: All Things Digital illustrated those changes in their historical context.

Were pretty familiar with the well-worn tales of how the Internet is disrupting the 305-year-old newspaper business, and how mobile phones are messing up the 125-year-old landline telephone business. But Meekers presentation goes a lot deeper than that.

The Internet is also disrupting the creation of art, how people document and record the histories of their life, how they take notes, how they borrow money. Roughly a third of Meekers 125 slides are devoted to this theme of change and disruption, and when taken as a whole, its startling. A lot of it is stuff you know, but when packaged in a way that you see it all together, Im overwhelmed, she said.

People used to put pictures on their walls, and now they have Facebook, Meeker said.

Other examples: Groupon and clipping old coupons. Also, going to school. Education and learning will become as fun as video games, Meeker said.

Something else thats changed: How people cope with traffic. During a follow-up interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Meeker talked about Waze, a navigation and traffic app for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. She described how, when she saw a burning semi truck pulled over on the side of the road, she reported it first to Waze before calling 911.

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Mary Meeker Talks About How Digital Is Changing Everything