Internet Governance

CENTR Has Released an Animated Video on ccTLDs and Their Technical Role Concerning Content

Due to increased legislative interest in this topic, CENTR says there is a pressing need for comprehensive educational material on the technical capabilities of the DNS, ccTLDs and their role in the internet ecosystem. more

Your Future is Scripted! China, AI and the Race for Digital Authoritarianism

The race for digital authoritarianism between China and the US is now exceedingly stark. It is a race with enormous implications for the management of humankind, (yes I said it) and the respected doctrines of our human rights and freedoms. Everything we care about today as freedom-loving citizens will be transformed by AI, from access to healthcare to economic status and, more importantly, your ability to serve. more

We Already Are in the Quaternary Industrial Era

British economist Colin Clark (1905-1989) explained that the spendable income for the working class varied according to industry levels, i.e., the spendable income increased as they moved from the Primary industry to the Secondary from the Secondary to the Tertiary. These days when we are experiencing loss of jobs due to the cutting-edge ICT (Information and Communications Technology) of the 21st century without creating new jobs to replace them, we need to examine new economic and labor policies as we move from the Tertiary to the Quaternary industry. more

The Importance of the Emerging Data Trusts

I recently followed a webinar session organized by the University of Queensland on the factory of the future. Smart or not, the future will still need factories to make the stuff we humans use every day. One of the discussed questions included: "how will existing production models cope with the staggering and ongoing rate of digital disruption and advanced capabilities?" more

A Responsible Domain Industry Needs a Responsible Registrant Appeals Process

As the steward of .ORG, Public Interest Registry is committed to serving as an "exemplary registry" for the DNS. As part of that mission, PIR published our Anti-Abuse Principles last year that serve as our north star to address questions of abuse. As PIR has stated on many occasions, generally speaking, the DNS is not the appropriate place to address questions of website content abuse because of the blunt tool we as a registry have and the collateral damage that can be caused by suspending a domain name for a piece of content. more

New Digital Services Act Should Not Disrupt Internet’s Technical Operations, Warn RIPE NCC, CENTR

RIPE NCC and CENTR have released a statement today in response to the upcoming European Commission's Digital Services Act, urging policymakers to distinguish between the Internet's core infrastructure and operations. more

How Can Greater Security, Safety and Trust in the Internet Be Created?

In the coming days, the Internet Governance Forum Dynamic Coalition on Internet Standards, Security and Safety will be announced on the IGF website. The following is an invitation to participate, share ideas and best practices, the willingness to take on a new approach towards mass deployment of internet standards and ICT best practices. Feel free to reach out to us and start working towards a kick-off meeting at the global, virtual Internet Governance Forum in November. more

How the War Against Child Abuse Material Was Lost

The battle to purge child abuse images from the Internet has been lost. That doesn't mean that we can't or shouldn't continue to work towards the elimination of image-based abuse. But it is widely acknowledged by law enforcement, reporting hotlines, and prevention groups alike that this can't be achieved merely by censoring images from the Internet and by criminalizing those who access or share them – which are the only strategies that society has focused on until now. more

Internet Society Calls the US Clean Network Program a Political Act, A Push Towards “Splinternet”

The Internet Society (ISOC) has condemned the U.S. Clean Network Program announced last week, which proclaims to safeguard America's critical telecommunications and technology infrastructure. more

The Challenge of Access to Safe Internet Pharmacies and Medicines During Pandemics

With 300+ sessions and over 7,800 participants from 158 countries across every time zone, RightsCon Online 2020 (July 27-31) demonstrated the importance of convening people worldwide to bring about positive changes in a time of crisis. The Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research (York University, Canada) organized a panel of diverse experts and academics to discuss "Promoting human rights and access to safe medicines during pandemics: The critical role of Internet pharmacies." more

2020’s New Internet Success – Rejoinder

The posting with a similar name seems a bit contrived by anonymous in some strange attempt to enhance its significance. Many others, including myself, have been discussing this subject for some time. Indeed, a concerted lobbying effort and anti-competitive efforts by legacy TCP/IP internet stakeholders have been really ramped up over the past year to mischaracterize what is occurring. more

Internet Governance Calendar During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Internet has become an integral part of our lives. Its growth is dependent upon the interaction of engineers, researchers, and network operators to advance networking technologies, policies, governance mechanisms, and deployment. In this undertaking, the Internet's multi-stakeholder governance has relied heavily upon regular face-to-face meetings and conferences to gather individuals and organizations from numerous participating communities. more

Washington’s 5G Mania Endpoint – Global CyberBalkanisation

Over the past two years, governments and foreign intelligence agencies around the world have tried to understand the inexplicable, chaotic, irrational, indeed maniacal 5G policies of the Trump Administration. Revelations by former Trump administration officials and most recently Trump's niece confirm that there is no rational basis for Trumpian positions and policies and that the best response is to recognize that Washington is no longer capable of playing a meaningful role... more

i2Coalition and The Domain Name Association Announce Their Intent to Merge

The Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) and The Domain Name Association (DNA) have announced their intent to merge, forming the largest Internet infrastructure advocacy group in North America. more

IGF-USA Teaser. Laura DeNardis: The Internet in Everything

Dr. Laura DeNardis, Professor and Interim Dean of the School of Communication at American University and a Faculty Director of the Internet Governance Lab, is a featured panelist at this week's IGF-USA conference. In advance of the event, I would like to draw attention to her sixth book: The Internet in Everything. Freedom and Security in a World with no Off Switch. This treatise is one of those "should/must-reads" that come along from time-to-time as it focuses on a critical issue that is overlooked by either design or neglect: how digital infrastructure determines policy. more