Policy & Regulation

Policy & Regulation / Most Viewed

Internet Governance and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Part 3: Article 6-12

Internet Governance like all governance needs to be founded in guiding principles from which all policy making is derived. There are no better fundamental principles to guide our policy making than the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (UDHR). This article is Part 3 of a series exploring the UDHR as a guide and template for the digital governance and digital citizenship. We discuss UDHR Articles 6 through 12 and address topics such as fundamental digital values, cyberlaw, policymaking and the role of tribunals in digital governance. more

Meeting Held in Uruguay to Consider Current Issues Affecting the Future of the Internet

Leaders of organizations responsible for coordination of the Internet technical infrastructure globally have met in Montevideo, Uruguay, to consider current issues affecting the future of the Internet. more

The Times Stand Still: Internet Shutdowns, the Irony of the Multistakeholder Process and Realpolitik

Governments worldwide increasingly resort to shutting down the Internet as a political tool to control information and silence dissent. This alarming trend is not limited to developing nations grappling with civil unrest or political transition. Indeed, it is gaining traction in developed nations, suggesting a global phenomenon transcending geographical boundaries and socio-economic development levels. more

Plumbing Neutrality

I've been having arguments about Network Neutrality with a lawyer. My position is that you can't adequately regulate ISPs to be neutral, because there's no agreement what "neutral" means in practice. He points out that the courts aren't interested in technical details like what packets are dropped, it's that all traffic has to be treated the same, and ISPs should just figure out how to do that. So I contemplated a city with Plumbing Neutrality with the simple rule that all people must be treated the same... more

Washington State Passes Country’s Toughest Net Neutrality Legislation

Washington may be the first state to approve a net neutrality law that applies to all wired and wireless Internet providers in the state. more

NETmundial and the IGF: Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

The Internet is not new. It has existed, in one form or another, since the 1960s. Since that time, it has been primarily the domain of the engineers and the other technology-minded individuals that built it. The organizations that were put in place to govern it predate the huge growth in end users the Internet experienced in the 2000s... They are able, in structure and capacity, to deal with technological issues. The issues facing the Internet in 2014, however, are very different from those in 1998. more

It’s About Whois Display And Access

The need for an access model for non-public Whois data has been apparent since GDPR became a major issue before the community well over a year ago. Now is the time to address it seriously, and not with half measures. We urgently need a temporary model for access to non-public Whois data for legitimate uses, while the community undertakes longer-term policy development efforts. more

It’s Time to Move From ‘Broadband’ to ‘Infrastructure’

The success of the internet demonstrates that we now depend on network operators to assure that services like telephony work. The carriers are pushing back on neutrality because their business model is threatened by a level playing field. We should be encouraging innovative internet-native business models rather than working to preserve an industry threatened by innovation. more

Gaping Hole in Models for Using Spectrum Efficiently

In February, the FCC's Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis published three studies (1, 2, 3) on spectrum licensing and spectrum utilization. Thanks to Nick Ruark for pointing them out... Reading on I was struck by a gaping hole in their assumptions. more

World-Leading Municipality Initiative Thwarted by Incumbent

The ongoing witch-hunt from the incumbent telcos in the USA against municipalities that are trying to build their own broadband networks is continuing unabated. This is nothing new... With the economic crisis there has been a new focus on regulatory rules and the importance of the common good, next to the free market. However that message has not yet got through to the incumbent players in the USA. more

i2Coalition Launches ‘DNS at Risk’ Report, Warns of Rising DNS Abuse and Censorship

The i2Coalition has unveiled a new report and website, DNS at Risk, spotlighting the growing misuse of Internet infrastructure by governments to control online content. Released on June 3rd, the initiative documents how states are increasingly deploying DNS resolvers and IP filtering—originally neutral systems—as tools of censorship and enforcement. more

Preserving ICANN’s Independence Through Bold Action – Not Inaction

This week, the ICANN Board will vote on whether to approve the transfer of control of the .ORG domain to a private equity firm called Ethos Capital. This is a weighty decision for ICANN, since in order to approve the sale, it will have to convince itself that this is the right choice in the face of tremendous and widespread opposition, including from those who will be most affected by the sale. more

NIS2 Directive Article 23 Will Lead to Inconsistencies and Conflicts Within the Domain Name Industry

On May 12th, European legislators head into their final trilogue negotiations around the NIS2 Directive. This week, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) shared guidance found below with negotiators, focused on the Directive's Article 23. i2Coalition has been detailing our concerns about Article 23 before even their public consultation in March 2021. more

GDPR and WHOIS - We’ve Heard from the Article 29 Working Party, Now What?

Well, here we are on Friday the 13th and I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day than providing an update on GDPR, WHOIS and ICANN. There's lots to cover, so let's dive right in. As we have been talking about for a number of months now, the EU's new General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) will become enforceable on May 25th. The ICANN community has been struggling with how GDPR will impact the WHOIS system. more

EuroDIG Sessions on Friday, June 5, about Cybersecurity, Network Neutrality, IANA, Access and More

What do Europeans interested in Internet policy think about cybersecurity, network neutrality, IANA, improving Internet access and other topics? Tomorrow the second day of the European Dialog on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria, will cover all those topics and many more. I've listed some of the sessions that either I or my Internet Society colleagues are participating in. I will personally be involved as a panelist on the two sessions about cybersecurity. more