Internet Governance

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The Worrying Prospects for Digital Trade Under President Trump

US leadership and influence online stems from US innovation and corporate risk-taking. But it also is the direct result of US Government policy. In the early days of the web and e-commerce, the Clinton administration recognized they had to figure out a strategy to reconcile the internet, which is global, with laws and regulations, which are domestic. Instead of demanding negotiations for shared global rules, Administration officials put forward a set of principles, which they called the Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. more

Letter Urges ICANN to Implement New TLDs Without Further Delay

An open letter signed by various members of the domain name industry, including heads of some of the top domain name registries and registrars, was sent today to ICANN CEO and Board of Directors urging them to direct their staff to implement the introduction of new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) without further delay. "The time to act is now," says the letter for "many reason" including: Consumer Demand; Safety Considerations; Internet Stability; Innovation; ICANN’s own credibility more

November 2016 U.S. Elections and the Fate of Internet Privatization

The currently ongoing process of privatizing the Internet technical functions under the IANA Contract -- outside the direct control of the U.S. government -- will not happen before March 2017, predicts Sophia Bekele in an op-ed published in The Hill. more

China Orders Sites to Halt Original News Reporting

"China Clamps Down on Online News Reporting," reports Andy Wong of Associated Press via New York Times: " China has ordered several of the country's most popular internet portals to halt much of their original news reporting..." more

You Are Invited to Engage in Project Jake: Shaping the Future of DNS Data Governance

Project Jake invites global DNS stakeholders to test JADDAR, a privacy-respecting framework for secure access to registration data, aiming to reduce regulatory fragmentation and modernise domain governance through collaborative, policy-aligned engineering solutions. more

The Cuban Internet in the Aftermath of the Anti-Government Protests

In an earlier post, I looked at the use of the Internet by anti-government protesters last month and the government's attempt to block them. Now, a few weeks later, let's see how the Internet changed after my July 18 post. The protesters used messaging and social media services, which the government tried to block, and posted images and videos of protests around the island. more

Internet a Key Catalyst for Sustainable Development, Says ISOC CEO

Internet Society President and CEO Kathy Brown wrote about the critical role that the Internet has in enabling the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). more

Resilience vs. Sovereignty: Implementation Challenges of RIR Emergency Operations Under the ICP-2 Framework

Under ICANN's ICP-2 framework, RIR emergency operations extend beyond technical redundancy to encompass legal relocation, policy divergence and geopolitical risk, exposing tensions between operational resilience and national sovereignty in safeguarding global internet governance. more

Lost in Translation? Bridging the Gap between Technology and Governance

It is reassuring that, with the WCIT underway, there is increasing awareness of the threats to the Internet posed by a number of the amendments, significantly in many cases supported by authoritarian governments. There is less awareness of the serious economic implications of some of the proposed ITR amendments. While it is highly unlikely a doomsday scenario will unfold at the WCIT itself, it is clear that substantial changes to Internet governance are possible over the next several years. more

Interpol Joining ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee as an Observer

Kevin Murphy reporting in DomainIncite: "Interpol plans to apply to join ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee as an observer, according to ICANN. The news came in a press release this evening, detailing a meeting between ICANN president Rod Beckstrom and Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble. The meeting 'focused on Internet security governance and enhancing common means for preventing and addressing Internet crime'." more

ICANN Publishes Final Process to Be Used for Development of IANA Stewardship Transition Plan

On June 6 2014, ICANN published a Process to Develop the Proposal and Next Steps that is the culmination of a series of community discussions and input into the process to develop a proposal to transition the IANA functions to the global multistakeholder community. more

Internet Society Board of Trustees Issues Statement on IANA Transition

In a statement released today, the Internet Society says during its Board meeting 14-15 February, the Board of Trustees praised the progress made by the global Internet community on the IANA stewardship transition and emphasized that a successful transition will reinforce the value of the collaborative, multistakeholder model. more

WhatsApp Suspension Called ‘Sad day for Brazil’ by Facebook

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has called it a "sad day for Brazil" after a court there ordered a two-day shutdown of the popular messaging app WhatsApp, owned by the social media company. more

US Senators Push Bill to Boost Internet, Communication Channels for Iranians

Voice of America reporting: "U.S. lawmakers say they plan legislation that would fund efforts to help Iranians receive and send information despite government restrictions. Independent Senator Joe Lieberman said Thursday that the bill intends to help the Iranian people stay 'one step ahead of the Iranian regime.'" Also a related report by AFP. more

ISOC: Global Internet Community Must Unite to Support Open Internet Access, Freedom, and Privacy

The Internet Society Board of Trustees during its meeting in Berlin, Germany today called on the global Internet community to stand together in support of open Internet access, freedom, and privacy. Recently exposed information about government Internet surveillance programs is a wake-up call for Internet users everywhere -- the fundamental ideals of the Internet are under threat. The Internet Society Board of Trustees believes that government Internet surveillance programs create unacceptable risks for the future of a global, interoperable, and open Internet. more

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