Governing the Internet: Engaging Government, Business and Nonprofits

"The rapid growth of the Internet has led to a worldwide crisis of governance. In the early years of Internet development, the prevailing view was that government should stay out of Internet governance; market forces and self-regulation would suffice to create order and enforce standards of behavior. But this view has proven inadequate as the Internet has become mainstream. A reliance on markets and self-policing has failed to address adequately the important interests of Internet users such as privacy protection, security, and access to diverse content. And as the number of users has grown worldwide, so have calls for protection of these important public and consumer interests. It is time we accept this emerging reality and recognize the need for a significant role for government on key Internet policy issues.

"To do so without stifling innovation will require government to operate in unfamiliar ways, sharing power with experts in the information technology (IT) community, with business, and with nonprofit organizations. The first-mover advantage exists in policymaking as well as in business, and some commercial interests are moving as fast as they can to define Internet rules to their benefit without regard for the public interest. To achieve an Internet that reflects a commitment to public good as well as to commercial interests, we have to create more pluralistic models for Internet governance, models in which governments, industry, and nonprofit organizations craft policy - balancing each other and working together in transparent processes that earn the public's trust...

"The loose and creative work of cyberspace pioneers served the Internet superbly as it was being formed and into its early maturation. But now some previously vaunted notions of efficient, private, speedy self-governance are failing to meet expectations. Tensions have arisen over such issues as whether a country has jurisdiction over Internet activities originating in other countries, whether regulation of content such as hate speech and pornography is appropriate, how different privacy protections should apply, and who gets space on prime virtual real estate such as dot-com. In addition, post-September 11 concerns about security in a networked world call into question the wisdom of keeping government off to the shoulder of the information superhighway...

"The reality is that government participation in regulating the Internet is necessary. Given the new economic and geopolitical environment, finding the right balance between an open, networked system and the security of a more closed environment requires significant participation by government. Although governments do not all share the same values, they are the only institutions that can provide stability and a place for debate over what public values need to be protected. These issues are significant policy questions that require democratic resolution, not just technical matters that can be left to experts...

"International institutions engaged in Internet governance will have to confront three significant challenges if they are to achieve legitimacy: increasing participation by developing countries, providing access to nonprofit organizations, and ensuring democratic accountability.Developing countries face some major barriers to participation. A recent study conducted under the auspices of the Digital Opportunity Task Force of the G-8 group of highly industrialized nations found that developing countries often lack the financial and human resources necessary to take part effectively in important venues.Moreover, complicated policy processes and decision-making arrangements leave poorer countries at a disadvantage within individual institutions. The multiplicity of institutions addressing it policy also makes it hard for developing nations to contribute. These barriers are further raised by the intrinsic complexity of new technologies,by the difficulty of keeping pace with industry and consumer economic priorities, by a dearth of effective models for inclusive policymaking, and by the lack of financial resources for experts and travel...

"Barriers also exist to the participation of nonprofit organizations in global Internet governance. Principally, these barriers arise because of a lack of recognition that Internet policy issues need to be decided in governance institutions that involve representation not only from governments and businesses, but also from broader constituencies representing the public interest...

"The voices of developing nations and civil society need to be heard, and they must be able to participate with equal dignity in global Internet governance if they are to successfully influence Internet policies or, if not, at least accept those policies as legitimate. All three sectors — government, business, and nonprofit — from both developing and developed countries need to have seats at the table when Internet policy is made...

"Finally, Internet governance structures must usher in improved openness and accountability..."

"The current debates about ICANN are a harbinger of future dilemmas of Internet governance. ICANN remains the frontier institution and the test case for global governance in the it sector. The U.S. government created ICANN in 1998 as a private, nonprofit corporation to regulate the Internet's unique identifier systems, including the domain name system (DNS)..."