Realizing the Global Promise of the Internet: The Future of Internet Governance

Abstract

The United Nations, under a mandate established in 2005 during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), launched a dialogue on Internet governance. The WSIS is an effort to develop a global information society built upon the assets of the Internet. While not empowered to enact policy changes, proponents hope WSIS will lead to the promotion of successful Internet initiatives. The Internet Governance Forums are one part of the WSIS effort. They are being held annually for five years to explore global policy issues related to the management/deployment of critical Internet resources, ensuring access, safety, security, openness and diversity. The Forums are fostering discussions that could lead to a series of recommendations to WSIS and the United Nations on best practices related to global Internet policy-building. This study surveyed participants at the second Internet Governance Forum in November 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on attitudes about current and likely policy initiatives and their potential to aid in meeting WSIS objectives.Responses were gathered from 206 IGF attendees (roughly 15 percent of Forum participants) representing more than 60 countries. The data are valuable because they capture a reading of the views of active participants in these forums that might eventually shape WSIS policy. The findings here should not be taken as a representative cross-section of opinions of those interested in the Forums or, indeed, those who care about the future of the Internet. The IGF attendees most motivated to invest the 20 to 30 minutes of their time that was required to complete this survey were most likely to be stakeholders with vested interests in the issues faced by their individual countries or unique constituencies and rooted in the cultures they represent. Although the study sample was diverse and engaged with the issues addressed, it should not be construed as encompassing the views of all Forum participants. At the same time, while not to be extrapolated to a wider audience, this select, convenience sample of respondents does provide insights that are likely to appear in more-general public discussions as time passes and, in truth, the Internet itself is much like the respondents to this study – widely diverse.