The Global Challenge of Internet Governance

The actors of the internet governance ecosystem are divided into four main groups, each with a different degree of participation and scope (depending on their geographical location in relation to internet resources and their government policy). They are the nation states; the business sector, civil society and end users.

Internet governance give direction to the information society, where it is governable and when there is framework to regulate all the actors, their rules, procedures and the resolution of conflicts between said actors.

In order to enact Internet governance, it is necessary for all nation states to achieve an effective common base and mutual collaboration. National governments, through their public actors, should develop technological or IT plans aimed at achieving uniformity on a local basis that allows them to have a solid base of governance and experience to be able to influence an international framework where Internet governance policies are discussed.

Related international organizations, originating from the World Summit on the Information and Knowledge Society (or WSIS), like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the various meetings of the Internet Corporation for Names and Numbers (ICANN), serve as the foundation for these efforts.

(See Joseph Nye, J. (2014). The Regime Complex for Managing Cyber Activities, The Global Commission on Internet Governance. Retrieved from the Global Commission on Internet Governance their website: https: // www.ourinternet. org.)

According to scholars, there are five categories that group the specific topics that are discussed in Internet governance forums. These topics are: (1) Critical Infrastructure Resources, (2) Protocol Design, (3) Intellectual Property, (4) Information Security and Management and, finally, (5) Freedom of Expression.

The controversy created by the explosive revelations by Edward Snowden in 2013 about espionage on the world wide web, and the strain it caused in international relations particularly between the United States and Brazil, put the spotlight in the convergence of internet governance and foreign relations. The Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution sponsored a report titled “Converging on the Future of Global Internet Governance: the United States and Brazil.” The policy recommendations by the authors, summarize it best.

“Although the global internet community includes a broad array of stakeholders, we recommend supporting the completion of the IANA transition and the internationalization of this function. This offers the best opportunity to boost the legitimacy of the present multi-stakeholder model for governing technical operations. We also recommend considering the NETmundial Initiative as a constructive addition to the organizations and institutions addressing internet public policy issues. Changes may be required to the way the Initiative currently works, in particular to encourage greater transparency and bottom-up participation. The Initiative nevertheless offers the opportunity to develop a parallel multi-stakeholder process to address the policy issues to which many governments, especially in the developing world, lack answers. International affairs often hinge on timing, and as the pendulum appears to swing toward the assertion of greater governmental control over internet issues, working with an imperfect NETmundial Initiative now may be better than sitting at the sidelines of a governmental process in the future. Global internet civil society should take the bird in the hand, and channel its energies toward turning the Initiative into the bottom-up multi-stakeholder-based institution it demands.”

In order to succeed, this needs to be a process driven by all stakeholders, bringing together governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and Academia.

(See ?Just Net Coalition, “Global Civil Society Launches the Internet Social Forum,” press release, January 22, 2015, https://justnetcoalition.org/ISF )

(Also, ?Internet Society, “Internet Society Statement of the NETmundial Initiative,” news release, November 16, 2014, https://www.internetsociety.org/ news/internet-society-statement-NETMundial-initiative )

Below are main policy recommendations the International Commission needs to consider when drafting a proposal for Internet Governance reform, in no particular order:

1-???Freedom of Speech- governance must promote public policies and laws that enable populations to express themselves freely online and access any type of information without social or political constraints. With suitable measures on net neutrality, no provider may block or affect access to websites, news or forums.

?2-???Net Neutrality- Without net neutrality, those who provide the access service, the internet service providers (ISP), can prevent users from visiting certain websites or slow down an increase traffic to other sites. California has already legislated in that realm.

?3-???Digital Divide- Andreea Stoiciu, who is the Coordinator of UN/WSIS Subgroup "e-Government for Sustainable Development" and Executive Director of the Institute for Management and Sustainable Development of Romania said it best.” Cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the e-government field, such as central governments, local public authorities, the private sector, academia, civil society, and international organizations is a key factor. These stakeholders should act upon the guidelines within the commitments taken at the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.1?The ICT applications and the implementation of e-government strategies, promoting transparency in public administrations and democratic processes, are an important part of the common vision and guiding principles. International collaboration, together with provision of means of implementation, would take us one step further in bridging the digital divide.”?(See https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/role-e-governance-bridging-digital-divide).

?4-???Multi Stakeholder Governance- create spaces for discussion and meeting between civil society, the nation states, businessmen and academia for the debate on the massification of the use of the internet and the important issues related to it, such as technical aspects. infrastructure; the role and responsibilities of the different participants; the economics of connectivity; human rights; and intellectual property.

?5-???Internet as an Education Tool- Internet plays an important role in education, especially in the new generations where students are digitally inclined since childhood, that is, people who do not know a world without the Internet.

Given the complexity of these issues and the competing interests involved, the road ahead is long and winding. Only time will tell if the recommendations made by these multiple international forums will bear fruit.

?(See UNESCO (2002a).?Technologies for Education. Potentials, Parameters, and Prospects. Paris UNESCO and AED. Available at ?https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001191/11912 9e.pdf.)

?(See also UNESCO (2002b).?Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations. Paris: UNESCO. Available at?https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf.)

?(See also UNESCO (2005).?Towards knowledge societies. Paris: UNESCO Available at ?https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001418/141843e.pdf.)