Written by Maria Niestadt.
The governance of the internet has been a topic of debate since its creation. The internet is not governed by a centralised entity, but rather by a decentralised patchwork of stakeholders, including national governments, the private sector, the technical community and civil society. They work together in various internet governance bodies, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Several United Nations specialised agencies, in particular the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), also participate in internet governance. The ITU manages resources that are critical for wireless services worldwide, for example.
It has long been debated whether governments should have a central role in internet governance or whether various stakeholders should be equally responsible for formulating principles, rules and procedures for the internet. The EU is a strong supporter of the multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance. This approach incorporates the views of a variety of stakeholders, including governments, businesses, technical communities and civil society on an equal footing. Not all actors share this view, however. China and Russia in particular believe that states should have a greater role in deciding on the content, operations and norms of the internet within their borders. China has also proposed to change the internet’s protocol design.
The EU is a strong defender of an open, free and unfragmented internet that remains a singular, decentralised network of networks. This vision contrasts with the more controlled approaches of some non-EU states that limit their citizens’ access to certain internet content and monitor citizens’ online activities. Private companies can also be an obstacle to the openness and unity of the internet when they develop their own physical infrastructure and protocols.
Read the complete briefing on ‘Internet governance: Keeping the internet open, free and unfragmented‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
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