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Public Policy

IGF Baku

What is Internet Public Policy?

Our work is based upon our fundamental belief that the Internet is for everyone. In pursuing our objectives, we operate collaboratively and inclusively, working with governments, national and international organizations, civil society, the private sector, and other parties to reach decisions about the Internet that conform to our core values. A primary focus of our public policy work is Internet governance which in 2016 is focused on these three areas:

Our work is informed by the results of our 2015 Internet Governance Survey and we created an Internet Governance Timeline to help track the many events happening over the course of 2016.

How We Work

We work in a multi-stakeholder fashion towards the development of an Open and Sustainable Internet for the benefit of all people. Because the Internet impacts all of us, we work with partners globally of all shapes and sizes to make sure we can address a wide range of social, economic, and policy issues that interfere with an open and sustainable Internet.  For more information regarding our community and partners please visit our Community and Partners Page.

 

Public Policy Blog

  • A perspective on principles for Internet surveillance

    In recent weeks we have seen an emerging debate on government surveillance activities and their impact on users' fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Part of this global debate focused on principles and guidelines that should govern these activities. Whether new principles and guidelines emerge or whether existing ones are being seen with fresh eyes, we observe an increasing interest in exploring ways to provide additional safeguards when it comes to the surveillance of online activities.   Technology is often double-edged. On the one hand, innovations in...
    Public Policy
    Date published 16 August 2013

  • Voluntary Initiatives as a source of policy-making on the Internet

    For many years, I have observed that the Internet is adopting many self-regulation frameworks to address a variety of issues. Indeed the Internet has benefited from self-regulation as an efficient way to address jurisdictional conflicts - particularly as compared to traditional law making.  Since the Internet is global, jurisdiction is often the most difficult policy issue to address.  To this end, voluntary initiatives are becoming increasingly popular in the digital space due to their ability to address dynamically issues related to the Internet. Voluntary, self-regulatory or...

    Public Policy
    Date published 29 July 2013

  • Why understanding Internet security and resilience is important when talking about cybersecurity?

    The open and global nature of the Internet, built on open standards, voluntary collaboration, reusable building blocks, integrity, permission-free innovation and global reach (the “Internet invariants”, as we call them) has enabled remarkable social and economic advancement in ways that we could never have imagined.

    At the same time, using the Internet is not without risk. Malicious actors also see opportunities to gain benefit through fraud, thwart the activities of others or cause other damage.

    Of course, closing the Internet is not the solution....

    Public Policy
    Date published 11 July 2013

  • A sustainable Internet for sustainable development

    I recently had the opportunity to make an oral intervention on behalf of the Internet Society at the Economic and Social Council, the U.N.'s main policy forum on economic and social issues.

    The main event, held in Geneva, discussed the contribution of science, technology and innovation for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and what will happen to the development agenda post-2015, the deadline for achieving these goals.

    As part of my intervention, I emphasized the necessity for all stakeholders, including those of us who use and are impacted by the Internet, to...

    Public Policy
    Date published 05 July 2013

  • Freedom, security and trust

    On May 31st, just a few days before revelations around the PRISM/NSA affair became public, the Internet Society helped organize a discussion at the UN’s Human Rights Council focused on Internet freedom, security and development (see video highlights below). Topics that would eventually gain mainstream prominence in the days to follow. 

    The panel, led by Sweden’s mission to the U.N. in Geneva and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had the presence of representatives from Brazil, Nigeria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United States and other countries with a special interest on the topic....

    Public Policy
    Date published 27 June 2013

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