Internet Governance

The Internet is quite different to all previous communication media since it is much less easy for governments to control and shape its development. On the print media, TV, phone and radio the governments can exercise a fair degree of control .With the Internet, governments can have a say, but their control is diminished. Governance is traditionally undertaken by government, but the global nature of the Internet makes it less practical for a government to control cyberspace.

How Internet works ? 

The Internet works because open standards allow every network to connect to every other network.This is what makes it possible for anyone to create content, offer services, and sell products without requiring permission from a central authority.It levels the playing field for everyone and it’s the reason why we have a rich diversity of applications and services that many of us enjoy today. No one is in charge of the Internet.Unlike the telephone network, which for years in most countries, was run by a single company, the global Internet consists of tens of thousands of interconnected networks run by service providers, individual companies, universities, governments, and others.

Who makes the Internet work ?

Internet bodies

• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
• ICANN - the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
• Internet Society (ISOC)
• Number Resource Organization
• Regional Internet Registry (RIR)
• Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)
• Internet Architecture Board (IAB)
• Operators, engineers, and vendors that provide network infrastructure services such as Domain Name Service (DNS) providers, network operators, and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs).

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the non-profit body formed for domain name and IP address allocation and management. It is perhaps, the most public of the Internet control organisations since domain names or web addresses are one of the most tangible aspects of the Internet for users. IANA - Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, is based at ICANN. IANA is in charge of all "unique parameters" on the Internet, including IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. Each domain name is associated with a unique IP address, a numerical name consisting of four blocks of up to three digits each, e.g. 204.146.46.8, which systems use to direct information through the network.

The  Internet Society is a professional membership society formed in 1992. In 2002 it had more than 150 organization and 11,000 individual members in over 182 countries. It summarizes its aims as ‘To provide leadership in addressing issues that confront the future of the Internet, and is the organization home for the groups responsible for Internet infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).A key aspect of their mission statement is: ‘To assure the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world’

 The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is one of the main technical bodies. It is an international community of network designers, operators, vendors and researchers concerned with the development of the Internets architecture and its transport protocols such as IP. Significant sub-groups are the   Internet Architecture Board, a technical advisory group of ISOC with a wide range of responsibilities and the  Internet Engineering Steering Group, which is responsible for overseeing the activities of the IETF and the Internet standards process.The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual.

The World Wide Web consortium is the organisation responsible for web standards.It focuses on improving publishing standards such as HTML and XML. XML is an important development in forming what the WWW organisation refers to as the ‘Semantic web’.  The consortium also aims to promote accessibility to the web for those with disabilities – for instance, it is working on a voice-based browser. 

TINA-C (Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture Consortium) is somewhat different to the others, in that it takes a higher-level view of how applications communicate over communications networks. It does not define detailed standards. Its principles are based on an object-oriented approach to enable easier integration of systems.

What is Internet Governance ?

Internet governance is the development and application by Governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.Internet governance is not restricted to the activities of governments. Many different types of stakeholders have a role in defining and carrying out Internet governance activities .Internet regulation is part of Internet Governance.Internet regulation is basically restricting or controlling access to certain aspects or information. Internet regulation consists of: Censorship of data, and controlling aspects of the Internet such as domain registration, IP address control and more.

Steps towards (multi-stakeholder) Internet Governance 

At the inaugural World Summit on the Information Society in 2003, global attention turned to the notion of Internet Governance.The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a unique two-phase United Nations (UN) summit that began with the goal of achieving a common vision, desire and commitment to build a people-centric, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information. One of its chief aims was to bridge the so-called global digital divide separating rich countries from poor countries by spreading access to the Internet in the developing world. The ITU was the lead organizing agency of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

At the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva 2003 the topic of Internet governance was discussed. ICANN's status as a private corporation under contract to the U.S. government created controversy among other governments, especially Brazil, China, South Africa and some Arab states. Since no general agreement existed even on the definition of what comprised Internet governance, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan initiated a Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) to clarify the issues and report before the second part of the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis 2005. After much controversial debate, during which the US delegation refused to consider surrendering the US control of the Root Zone file, participants agreed on a compromise to allow for wider international debate on the policy principles. They agreed to establish an Internet Governance Forum, to be convened by United Nations Secretary General before the end of the second quarter of the year 2006.

In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Tunis, established the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to open an ongoing, non-binding conversation among multiple stakeholders about the future of Internet governance.The United Nations created the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to continue the work of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The IGF has brought together stakeholders from government, industry, and civil society to discuss Internet governance issues at a series of annual meetings since 2006. 

Details :

Tunis Summit 2005

The position of the US Department of Commerce as the controller of the Internet gradually attracted criticism from those who felt that control should be more international. A hands-off philosophy by the US Dept. of Commerce helped limit this criticism, but this was undermined in 2005 when the Bush administration intervened to help kill the .xxx top level domain proposal.When the IANA functions were given to a new US non-profit Corporation called ICANN, controversy increased. ICANN's decision-making process was criticised by some observers as being secretive and unaccountable. 

Globalization and Governance controversy

WCIT-12 

In December 2012 , ITU facilitated the The World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT-12) in Dubai. WCIT-12 was a treaty-level conference to address international rules for telecommunications, including international tariffs. The previous conference to update the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) was held in Melbourne in 1988.

In August 2012, ITU called for a public consultation on a draft document ahead of the conference.It is claimed the proposal would allow government restriction or blocking of information disseminated via the internet and create a global regime of monitoring internet communications – including the demand that those who send and receive information identify themselves. It would also allow governments to shut down the internet if there is the belief that it may interfere in the internal affairs of other states or that information of a sensitive nature might be shared.

Why WCIT matters ?

Decisions made by governments at WCIT could redefine both how we use the Internet and how it's goverened.  Modifications to the ITRs could result in changes to the Internet’s architecture, operations, content and security.

Reaction of different members of ITU : click here

India on Internet Governance : Link 1 & Link 2

Why WCIT-12 failed to deliver?

 Details