In an increasingly global environment, the Internet infrastructure industry faces a diverse set of serious issues that we as an industry need to address together. To look at these concerns, an area of focus for the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) has been best practices for our industry. Our approach to developing best practices encapsulates three areas, always with the goal of striking the right balance between security, safety and privacy: working with experts and industry professionals; identifying like-minded partners; and fostering the growth of the Internet economy.

On March 5th, members of the i2Coalition will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to take part in our second annual “Internet Education Day on Capitol Hill.” Here, leaders of the Internet infrastructure industry will come together with staff and members of Congress to discuss best practices, policy goals and the potential for growth of the Internet economy when all parts of the industry’s ecosystem are working together.

As part of the event, we will hear from Cindy Southworth, Vice President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Having worked with the Anti-Spyware Coalition and a wide range of non-profit organizations, Ms. Southworth has a unique understanding on this aspect of our industry.

Working with the online community to protect victims, Ms. Southworth has seen firsthand the way the issues we care about impact lives. In her address, she will specifically discuss how the ability to access the records of crisis centers without a subpoena hurts victims, and why these centers are increasingly moving away from using the cloud for storage for this very reason—an issue that can be addressed with reforms to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).

In addition to hearing Ms. Southworth’s experiences, we look forward to collaborating with organizations with expertise in various other areas.

Among these is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the leading nonprofit organization in the U.S. working with law enforcement, families and the professionals who serve them on issues related to missing and sexually exploited children. i2Coalition looks forward to working together with NCMEC to raise awareness about existing tools such as their CyberTipline.

As an industry, we must also work together to develop a set of sensible self-policing policies. i2Coalition seeks to partner with like-minded organizations who understand the nuts and bolts of the Internet. By working together, we can develop methods and practices that will move our industry forward in our common goals to promote safety and privacy in the Internet community while providing an arena for economic expansion.

In the last six months, i2Coalition has signed Memorandums of Understanding with Germany-based eco, the Association of the German Internet Industry, and the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG). Working with these groups on our areas of common interest will allow us to continue finding best practices that are best for our industry as a whole.

While working to achieve the above-stated goals, we need to do so in a way that strikes the right balance between safety and privacy while also fostering the growth of the Internet economy. Internet infrastructure companies must continue to be the engine of innovation that drives this critical aspect of our economy as a whole.

Building an Internet community dedicated to safety will strengthen our businesses and create room for the Internet to grow by heading off unnecessary government regulation. We must police our networks effectively, ensuring safety, protecting privacy, and fighting online crime—working with partners, learning from experts, and striking a balance that allows the Internet economy to continue to thrive.

Our member companies, many of which are the small and medium-sized businesses that are the “nuts and bolts” of the Internet, are committed to fighting piracy, fraud, child pornography, and other Internet-based legal offenses. We support initiatives that will make the Internet a better place, and we look forward to continuing in our mission to do so.