Internet Governance is
Our Shared Responsibility
Vinton G. Cerf
Google, Inc.
Patrick S. Ryan
Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) - Interdisciplinary Center
for Law and Information Technology (ICRI); Google Inc.;
University of Colorado at Boulder, Interdisciplinary
Telecommunications Program
Max Senges
Google, Inc.
August
13, 2013
I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information
Society, 10 ISJLP ___ (2014), Forthcoming
Abstract:
This essay looks at the the different roles that multistakeholder
institutions play in the Internet governance ecosystem. We propose
a model for thinking of Internet governance within the context of
the Internet's layered model. We use the example of the
negotiations in Dubai in 2102 at the World Conference on
International Telecommunications as an illustration for why it is
important for different institutions within the governance system
to focus on their respective areas of expertise (e.g., the ITU,
ICANN, and IGF). Several areas of conflict (a "tussle") are
reviewed, such as the desire to promote more broadband
infrastructure, a topic that is in the remit of the International
Telecommunications Union, but also the recurring desire of
countries like Russia and China to use the ITU to regulate content
and restrict free expression on the Internet through onerous
cybersecurity and spam provisions. We conclude that it is folly to
try and regulate all these areas through an international treaty,
and encourage further development of mechanisms for global debate
like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
Number
of Pages in PDF File: 34
Keywords:
Internet governance, ITU, ICANN, IGF, layered model
JEL
Classification: K1, K23, L5, R50, G18, I96, O00, 03, 033,
038
Accepted Paper Series
Date posted: August 14, 2013
URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2309772