Towards an Open and Innovative Internet
Towards an Open and Innovative Internet
Responses - Stakeholder Government & Parliament
Fiona Alexander, U.S. Department of Commerce
Abstract
The multistakeholder model is not welcomed unconditionally. In the last year, there have been more and more instances of restrictions on the free flow of information online. This endangers the preservation of an open and continually innovating Internet.
Towards an Open and Innovative Internet
he Internet we enjoy today – this marvelous engine of economic growth and innovation – did not develop by happenstance. It emerged as the result of the hard work of multistakeholder organizations such as the Internet Society, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Recognizing the structure, work methods, and philosophies of these global Internet institutions and the resulting decentralized nature of the network itself, it comes as no surprise that subsequent multistakeholder governance structures closely mirror these characteristics.
These multistakeholder processes have succeeded by their very nature of openness and inclusiveness. They are most capable of attacking issues with the speed and flexibility required in the rapidly changing Internet environment. By engaging all interested parties, the open multistakeholder process encourages much broader and more creative problem solving. These attributes of speed, flexibility and decentralized problem solving stand in stark contrast to a more tradi- tional, top-down regulatory model characterized by rigid processes, political capture by incumbents and, in so many cases, impasse or stalemate. Maintaining the openness, transparency, and user choice of today’s Internet can only be sustained and advanced in a world where all stakeholders participate in relevant decision making, not one where governments, or other stakeholders, dominate.
And while multistakeholder Internet governance is often discussed in international settings, it is a model that guides the domestic policy outlook and practices in the United States. For example, at the Department of Commerce through our Internet Policy Task Force we are walking the walk of multistakeholder policy development. In conducting a comprehensive review of the nexus between privacy policy, copyright, global free flow of information, cybersecurity, and innovation in the Internet economy, we have sought broad public participation from the entire Internet community. Through pubic symposia and written consultation processes, stakeholders have shared their insights and offered ideas on how we can improve Internet policy. As we move forward with specific policy solutions, we will rely heavily on the multistakeholder model with the government acting as a facilitator or convener in an effort to develop voluntary codes of conduct.
This belief in the multistakeholder model is however not universally shared. In fact, the model is actively being challenged on a routine basis. In the last year, there have been more and more instances of restrictions on the free flow of information online, disputes between various standards bodies and even appeals from incumbent carriers in Europe for government intervention on the terms and conditions for exchang- ing Internet traffic. There have also been statements by international organizations and even some govern- ments calling for more direct Internet regulation.
Why?
I would suggest that one of the major challenges facing the continued paradigm shift that multistake- holder Internet governance represents is how to ensure accountability in decision-making. The traditional approach to accountability involves meeting obligations through regulation. The multistakeholder approach on the other hand involves accountability through adherence to voluntary codes of conducts or consensus-based norms. Among communities with little tradition of employing a non-regulatory solution to ensuring obligations, gaining agreement to embrace the multistakeholder approach seems revolutionary. In addition, while the concept of accountability is well known to English speakers, it lacks a corresponding term or definition in many other languages such as French.
The recent adoption of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Inter- net policy-making principles is an important first step to furthering global consensus on the utility of the multistakeholder model; expanding support beyond the existing core group of stakeholders will take collective action. It will require that multistakeholder processes offer meaningful roles for all stakeholders, including governments, so that everyone is satisfied that their interests are being adequately addressed. It will require that all parties come to the table in the spirit of reaching consensus and moving forward. It will also take the existing global multistakeholder institutions, like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), to measure up to the true vision of multistakeholder governance.
What is at stake is the preservation of an open and continually innovating Internet.
