Communications of the ACM
At Wsis Forum, Divisions Arise Over Future of Internet Governance
Google China headquarters, Beijing.
Credit: AFP/Getty Images
The recent World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2012 discussed the future of Internet governance.
Meeting participants criticized the United Nation's (U.N.'s) reluctance to hire an executive secretary for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), as well as the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU's) hesitancy to encourage public comment on the International Telecommunication Regulations. Participants also called on the U.N. to create a new platform to improve cooperation in global Internet governance.
Other issues raised at the meeting included a potential global cybersecurity treaty that could include intellectual property protection, the effect of broadband access on national gross domestic product growth, and the role of women in information and communication technology.
The University of Aarhus' Wolfgang Kleinwachter cites clear rivalry between the WSIS Forum and the IGF. "It's a similar competition as in ITU versus [the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]," he notes.
The lack of agreement has led to proposals for yet another entity, with ideas ranging from India's notion of establishing a 50-member United Nations Committee for Internet-Related Policies to a more lightweight Standing Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation, which is attached to the U.N. Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
From Intellectual Property Watch
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