Net governance concern wider industry, observers say
Tuesday, October 04, 2005 10:30 AM
During the recent Global Public Policy Conference held in Malaysia, Markus Kummer, executive coordinator of the Secretariat of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), called for the wider business and tech industry communities to play a more active role in the future development of the Internet.
According to Kummer, the current working definition of Internet governance is "the development and application by governments, the private sector, and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet".
However, he noted: "Internet governance is not just about Internet names and addresses.
"The term includes other significant public policy issues, such as critical Internet resources, the security and safety of the Internet, developmental aspects and issues pertaining to the use of the Internet," Kummer added.
In its latest report presented in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jul. 18, WGIG identified the need for a more structured debate by multiple stakeholders on Internet-related public policy issues and the measures to assist developing countries in making their voice heard.
On this note, Kummer clarified that governance means more than governments; it involves other stakeholders such as the private sector, civil society and technical community at large. For instance, the academic and technical communities contribute significantly to the stability, security, functioning and evolution of the Internet, he said. However, he added that the roles and responsibilities vary according to the issues or problems.
Karine Perset, a policy analyst with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in France, believes that the private sector needs to maintain its leadership in any arrangement of Internet governance chosen. Governmental/inter-governmental oversight is required only in the face of threats such as breakdown of competition, cybercrime and abuse, she noted. OECD is a forum where governments work together to address the economic, social and environment challenges of interdependence and globalization.
Perset said that OECD-member countries have so far agreed on guidelines to specific Internet-related public policy issues, such as Internet resources like domain names and IP addressing, interconnection and infrastructure; Internet stability, security, cybercrime and spam; and data protection, privacy rights and consumer rights. OECD views lightweight governmental and intergovernmental oversights in public policy areas as key to the Internet's future success.
Ang Peng Hwa, director of the Singapore Internet Research Centre, believes that the WGIG report offers an ideal model for the Internet governance process. "It is a framework for Internet regulation. We have to be democratic. The government, private sector and civil society are all essential for good Internet Governance," he said.
Ang also noted that it is important to be transparent as "the Internet community expects it and technology allows it". Developing nations, he added, should also observe best practices around the world, because "there's no point reinventing the wheel".
According to Perset, building a global ICT (infocomm technology) policy is a national and regional challenge. "It involves eliminating barriers to the adoption of new technology, getting the governments to use the Internet themselves (eg. e-government initiatives) and intervening with 'universal access/service' policies when there are insufficient economies of scale," she noted.
Cordelia Lee is a freelance IT journalist based in Malaysia.
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