Tag: Internet Governance

On Monday, October 19th, stakeholders in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process gathered in New York for an interactive summit that represents one of the last few chances for civil society to discuss the WSIS findings and help shape the future of the initiative. Access Now joined a diverse coalition of groups to submit a unified revision of the “zero draft” — the draft of language that will become the resolution for adoption by the U.N. General Assembly in December.

In a new op-ed published at Slate, David Kaye, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the freedom of expression, and Brett Solomon, our executive director, argue that in global policy, connecting the developing world to the internet isn’t enough. Respect for human rights must go “hand in glove” with the drive to connection.

A United Nations board of security experts representing 20 governments has released a report critical to the future of the internet. This iterative report aims to identify areas of consensus and prevent conflict between nation states. The report fails to mention encryption, and includes underwhelming statements about rights online. However, it does help to establish boundaries for proper state behavior that are critical to maintaining a secure and free internet.

Access has published a policy brief for the first meeting of the NetMundial Initiative’s (NMI) Coordination Council, identifying issues at stake in the meeting.

After weeks of heated discussions, the International Telecommunication Union Plenipotentiary Conference closed on November 7th, ending on a significantly lighter note than the controversial 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT). Internet governance expert Avri Doria attended the conference in Busan, South Korea, better known as “the Plenipot,” on behalf of Access. Here are her impressions of the outcomes of the conference.

On October 22nd, twenty-seven new European Commissioners selected by President-Elect Jean-Claude Juncker are set to be confirmed by the European Parliament. In the 5 years ahead, a certain number of these incoming Commissioners will have a huge influence on digital rights and security issues that impact the lives of European citizens and, indirectly, the rest of the world.

With numerous internet governance discussions scheduled, the 51st International Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has been going on this week in Los Angeles, USA. Access staff is there, participating in a variety of pre-events, workshops, and high-level meetings.

The ninth annual UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) took place in Turkey in early September, placing a global spotlight on the country’s digital rights record. As we have seen in recent years, the UN-mandated forum has a tendency to give rise to complicated and unexpected consequences in its host country.

With the theme of “Connecting continents for enhanced multistakeholder Internet governance,” the ninth annual meeting of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, 2-5 September 2014. Access staff is there, participating in a variety of pre-events, workshops, and high-level meetings.

This has already been a historic year in internet governance, from the NetMundial to the first steps of the IANA transition to the announcement of the modalities for the WSIS+10 Review and the ITU Plenipotentiary ahead. As governments, corporations, civil society, and the technical community assess this changing landscape, we should now add the NetMundial Initiative (NMI), which will hold its first meeting in Geneva this week.