Internet Governance

Fred Baker

Internet Maintenance, Coordination, and Development

One discussion,many questions

The subject of “Internet Governance” covers a range of questions, few of which actually have to do with governing the Internet

Mostly has to do with The roles of public and private sector Decision and management processes Power and control Development

Broad question:Who will control the Internet?

Issues of control Internet names and numbers Management of the DNS root Management of the ENUM root Specification development

Public sector vs. private sector models

Public sector

Historically had a lot to do with telecom,

Tends to ask why are we not responsible for its operation?

Private sector

Tends to ask what is so broken about private sector management that we have to change it?

Engendered much of Internet technology DARPA, NSF, NASA, DOE money

Currently responsible to run Internet.

Issues in power and control

Laws people would like to pass Services governments would like to

mandate Politics of these services Standardization

Laws people would like to pass

Pornography Viruses Spam Taxation

Services governments would like to mandate

Lawful intercept Internet intelligence gathering MLPP/GETS-style emergency

services

Politics of these services:

Who pays for the service? Often an unfunded mandate

Privacy issues Often with technical or economic side-

effects

Standardization

ITU-T is more familiar to many nations (de jure)

IETF has historically been writing the specifications (de facto)

What is the place of the United States in Internet politics?

Issue of national sovereignty Basically US vs. everyone else ICANN politics

Issue of national sovereignty

If the us government in fact runs the Internet on behalf of all the other countries, perhaps through its surrogates, in what way are those countries?

Basically US vs. everyone else

US view Us has played a custodial role Is slowly trying to get out. Sought non-US participation early Funded initial development

Non-US view US has played a custodial role Slowly trying to get out, or perhaps not at all.

ICANN politics

ICANN is seen by some as a private sector surrogate for the US government Resented Especially as it is licensed by the US

government Has to run certain decisions by US DOC

NTIA

One of two things has to happen

ICANN has to be/become independent of the US government, or

A replacement acceptable to other governments must come into being

Broad Question:Developing nations

What is the role of the developing country?

What do developing countries want from the 'digital developments'?

Is it a consumer, a full player, something in between?

Where does needed education and development (and money) come from?

Questions before the house

How will the standards process be timely and effective for all concerned?

How will new Internet applications be developed and deployed?

National sovereignty issues Public sector vs. private sector debate What is the place of developing

nations?

Standards for new models, facilities, and services

Called for by service providers, enterprise networks, and governments.

The standards process, The process of writing these technology and

policy specifications, Now done by a combination of overlapping

National standards bodies International public-sector-sponsored International private-sector groups and fora

How will the standards process be timely and effective for all concerned?

New Internet applications

Innovative services and applications RFID facilities and inventory management

processes, Social software, Web services, File sharing,

Rapidly deploying new services that the Internet infrastructure was not necessarily designed to handle.

Questions regarding Internet applications

With new applications come difficult policy questions Detection of, access to, and management of

The devices The information they exchange.

Where and how will these be discussed, How will the necessary new policies be

designed?

National sovereignty:International law

Sovereignty has historically meant that A nation is absolutely in control of what

happens within it, Bears no responsibility for what exits

from its borders.

Changing international law

Maritime law A nation is responsible for some of the side-

effects of what it permits Pollution Over-taxing of resources.

The Internet challenges that Robustness principle

Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you receive

Do for/to others what you would have them do to you

Internet impact on international law.

Increasingly, nations are responsible for spam, viruses, and attacks that cross their borders.

Changing law regarding sovereignty

In what areas does the nation-state remain responsible only to itself, and in what areas must it forge agreements with its neighbors?

What structures will best facilitate brokering and maintaining those agreements?

Public sector vs. private sector in network operation

Are there only two ways? Is there a third possible way?

What is the best model for managing the names and numbers in the Internet?

What is the best way to build operational policy for the Internet?

What is the place of developing nations?

Are they doomed to forever be consumers of other nations' products?

Can they produce technology? How can they use Internet technology to overcome the digital divide?

What is the proper role of more industrialized countries in facilitating this?

Internet Governance

Fred Baker

Internet Maintenance, Coordination, and Development