As there is much disagreement about what internet governance, this paper synthesizes the main issues and debates and provides an overview of internet governance. This paper critiques the prevailing conceptualization of internet governance. He also asserted that the forthcoming governance model has to maintain the security, stability and resiliency of the internet domain name system. With the changes suggested by the enhancing icann accountability group ccwgaccountability in place. Since its founding in 2004, igp has played a prominent role in shaping global internet policies and institutions such as icann and the internet governance forum.
Internet governance there is increasing international debate on internet governance, which encompasses a variety of public policy issues related to internet infrastructure, management and use. For others, it will stimulate reflections from linguistic, legal, and other perspectives. Multistakeholder approaches are used in many areas as an accepted international norm. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development. It has shown that a governance model defined by the inclusion of all voices, including business, academics, technical experts, civil society, governments and many others is the best way to assure that the internet of tomorrow remains as free, open and accessible as.
She holds bachelors and masters degrees in engineering from dartmouth college and cornell university, a phd in science and technology studies from. Internet governance forum 9th annual igf, 25 sept 2014, istanbul, turkey theme. Icann also lays the foundations for governance, creating. Euus relations on internet governance chatham house. The internet assigned numbers authority iana is an organization that oversees global ip address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the domain name system dns, media types, and other internet protocolrelated symbols and internet numbers. Internet governance is the development and application of shared principles, norms, rules, decisionmaking procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and use of the internet. Internet governance issues, actors and divides, a book authored by eduardo gelbstein.
Icann performs a small but important role in this system with respect to the internet s system of unique identifiers. As the internet first opened to commerce and the wider public in the mid1990s. Statement by the global commission on internet governance. The internet assigned numbers authority iana is responsible for the global coordination of the dns root, ip addressing, and other internet protocol resources.
The definition of internet governance has been contested by differing groups across political and ideological lines. Group on internet governance they often called on me to fix their printers or install. Internet governance revolves around the control and supervision of the logical and physical. Governing the internetintroduction to internet governance. A failure of the iana transition could trigger a process towards a renationalization of the borderless cyberspace and ted cruz would go into the internet history books as the father of the internet fragmentation. Transitioning of the internet assigned numbers authority iana out of the united states government or not is the top issue of a narrower internet governance community in 2016. The emergence of contention in global internet governance. Muellers prominence in scholarship is matched by his prominence in policy practice.
Diplo is a nonprofit foundation established by the governments of malta and switzerland. The term internet governance has evolved over time, and various groups have attempted to develop working definitions. Starting with a longitudinal, comparative perspective of the governance trends identified in previous chapters, it discusses the changing role of internet companies and influential states in landmark developments post2015, zooming in on market. Stakeholder perspectives on the iana transition, hearing before the committee on energy and commerce, subcommittee on communications and technology, house of representatives, one hundred fourteenth congress, first session, may, 2015 open pdf 3 mb. Listclass article index outline crystal clear app linneighborhood.
Congress to meet the september 2016 target date for the transition of the stewardship of the internet assigned numbers authority iana functions to the global multistakeholder community. Today, 1 october 2016, the contract between the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers icann and the united states department of commerce national telecommunications and information administration ntia, to perform the internet assigned numbers authority iana functions, has officially expired. This is a testimony compilation of the may, 2015 hearing stakeholder perspectives on the iana transition, held before the house. The internet assigned numbers authority iana is a standards organization that oversees global ip address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the domain name system dns, media types, and other internet protocolrelated symbols and internet numbers currently it is a function of icann, a nonprofit private american corporation established in 1998. The internet is now a key part of everyday life across the developed world, and growing rapidly across developing countries. Stakeholders are waiting to see if the iana transition succeeds, and some are ready to seize the moment to push significantly different administrative regimes once it does. The moment we seek to capture here is no ordinary moment in the development of the internet. Internet governance ripe network coordination centre. Law professor yochai benkler developed a conceptualization of internet governance. Disaggregatedinternetgovernancetaxonomy functionalarea tasks primaryinstitutionalactor i.
Iana icann and approved by the us government department of. Written in a clear and accessible way, supplemented with figures and illustrations, it. Ip addresses and domain names, at the focus of attention and dispute. The governance of the internet provides one of the most important arenas in which new ideas regarding internet studies can be applied and tested.
It has introduced many diplomats and officials to this emerging field of global policy. Jan 11, 20 in networks and states, milton mueller counters this, showing how internet governance poses novel and fascinating governance issues that give rise to a global politics and new transnational institutions. Jun 09, 2016 09 june 2016 waterloo, ontario members of the global commission on internet governance gcig released the following statement today calling on the u. She is the author of the global war for internet governance yale university press 2014 and other books and serves as the director of research for the global commission on internet governance. The english and spanish versions were officially launched at the 11th internet governance forum in guadalajara, december 2016. Stewardship of iana functions transitions to global internet. Jun 23, 2015 the initiative offers a brazil an avenue through which it can showcase its successful domestic internet governance model and assist countries struggling with technical or public policy issues. Internet governance is the development and application by governments, the private sector, and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decisionmaking procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and use of the internet 2 introduction to internet governance. The global politics of internet governance, discusses internet governance from the angles of both the state and civil society while simultaneously trying to find an answer to the question of whether we need new global institutions to deal with issues and problems related to the internet. Sep 21, 2016 a failure of the iana transition could trigger a process towards a renationalization of the borderless cyberspace and ted cruz would go into the internet history books as the father of the internet fragmentation. This book focuses on the future of international internet governance. Internet governance book 7th edition diplofoundation. Therefore, icann does not aspire to address any internet governance issues.
S government will be able to assure such outcomes having already announced that it is terminating the present arrangement. It has been called nothing less than the internets constitutional moment. This article describes how the internet was and is currently governed, some of the controversies that occurred along the way, and the ongoing debates about how the internet should or should not be governed in the. Us to give up control of the internets address book. He is the cofounder and codirector of the internet governance project igp, a policy analysis center for global internet governance. Many have come to us to emphasize the importance of the iana internet assigned numbers authority transition to the continued success of the multistakeholder model of governance, and to urge us to be mindful of the way the international community perceives our actions.
Any reference to a particular product in this book serves merely as an example and should not be. After jon postels death in 1998, iana became part of icann, a california nonprofit established in september. Stakeholder perspectives on the iana transition, hearing. After almost two years of working groups and multiple rounds of meetings, most of us want to take a long vacation and never hear the acronym iana again.
The affirmation of commitments, established in september 2009, set the tone for iana management by redefining the relationship between the us government and the internet and pushing the iana aspects of internet towards selfgovernance. Internet governance the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers icann in a meeting at marrakesh morocco decided that the icann will now be governed by a multistakeholder multistakeholder icann community model, including businesses, individual users and members of governments across the world. Internet assigned numbers authority iana to perform a number of critical. Internet governance revolves around the control and supervision of the logical and physical infrastructure of the internet definition of protocols. Iana allocates blocks of internet address space to the five rirs who in turn allocate address space to isps or assign address space to qualified end users. Chapter 6 locates authority and agency in internet governance, disentangling the power dynamics in the field and in the community enacting them. Sep 19, 2016 since 1998, ntia has contracted management of iana functions with the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers icann, a nonprofit organization established for this purpose. Four principles and a proposal for reform a submission to the global multistakeholder meeting on the future of internet governance milton mueller and brenden kuerbis introduction nongovernmental administration of the domain name system dns has been a policy goal of the. The internet is open, distributed, interconnected, and transnational. The battle around the iana transition meanwhile has a history of its own going back more than 30 years.
An introduction to internet governance diplofoundation. Press the igp is frequently interviewed for background information or mentioned in the media world wide. Icann performs a small but important role in this system with respect to the internets system of unique identifiers. Now is the time for the multistakeholder community to exercise its new authorities and. In networks and states, milton mueller counters this, showing how internet governance poses novel and fascinating governance issues that give rise to a global politics and new transnational institutions. Brazilian relations provoked by edward snowdens 20 revelations of u. Stewardship of the internet assigned numbers authority iana has now. In general internet governance is the development of norms and principles relating to how the internet functions by a group of stakeholders including governments, organizations, and commissions and the regulation and administration of those principals by the parties involved. The most important of these is the assignment of internet protocol addresses ip addresses to domain names. Sep 24, 2016 the most important of these is the assignment of internet protocol addresses ip addresses to domain names. Drawing on theories of networked governance, mueller provides a broad overview of internet governance from the formation of icann to the clash.
The multistakeholder approach to internet governance has grown from the internets own dna and is what allows it to thrive. The global commission on internet governance gcig supports the transition of the united states national telecommunications and information administrations ntia stewardship role for the internet assigned numbers authority iana functions to the global multistakeholder community. The internet assigned numbers authority iana is responsible for maintaining a collection of registries that are critical in ensuring global coordination of the dns root zone, ip addressing, and other internet protocol resources. The icc is a key representative of the business sector in the process of global internet governance.
The transition of the iana function, which includes the stewardship and. Internet governance refers to the rules, policies, standards and practices that coordinate and shape global cyberspace the internet is a vast network of independentlymanaged networks, woven together by globally standardized data communication protocols primarily, internet protocol, tcp, udp, dns and bgp. One of the main debates concerns the authority and participation of certain actors, such as national governments and corporate entities, to play a role in the internet s governance. In october 2016, the ntia contract for the iana functions expired, beginning a new era in internet governance without direct u. Milton mueller, professor at the georgia institute of technology school of public policy and a principal of the internet governance project, said that the real story of the iana transition is that. Relinquish its authority over icann congressional research service summary currently, the u. In ruling the root, milton mueller uses the theoretical framework of institutional economics to analyze the global policy and governance problems created by the assignment of internet domain names and addresses. As the field of internet governance is continuously evolving, the book is. Converging on the future of global internet governance.
Why the new internet governance system should proceed quickly. Ensuring a healthy, collaborative ecosystem is critical to successful ig efforts longterm. Internet governance is the development and application of shared principles, norms, rules. Following the iana stewardship transition in 2016, the iana function is carried out by public technical identifiers pti, a purposebuilt organisation wholly owned by icann with regard to internet number resources, ianas role is to. This seventh edition of an introduction to internet governance by dr jovan kurbalija provides an update based on the most recent dynamic period in the history of internet governance. Internet governance remains a balance of complex forces. Yet looming behind the many highlevel government events are some more controversial topics that are attracting a wider set of stakeholders. This community validated the multistakeholder model of internet governance. The aim of the book an introduction to internet governance, by dr jovan kurbalija, is to provide a comprehensive overview of the main issues and actors in the field through a practical framework for analysis, discussion, and resolution of significant issues. The common adoption and use of these protocols unified the world of information and. This is called the iana function internet assigned numbers authority. Stewardship of iana functions transitions to global.
The internet corporation for assigned names and numbers icann was created in 1998 to perform technical coordination of the internet. Apnic asiapacific rim, lacnic latin and central america, afrinic africa, ripencc europe, and arin north america. Us to give up control of the internets address book after. Mar 20, 2014 he also asserted that the forthcoming governance model has to maintain the security, stability and resiliency of the internet domain name system. Following the iana stewardship transition in 2016, the iana function is carried out by public technical identifiers pti, a purposebuilt organisation wholly owned by icann. An introduction to internet governance provides an excellent entry point. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research on internet governance, written by the leading scholars in the field with an international focus, it features contributions from lawyers, economists and political scientists across north america. Internet governance too uscentric, says european commission. Us to give up control of the internets address book after years of. October 4, 2016 internet governance iana transition is just the beginning the transition of the internet assigned numbers authority iana functions is finally in the history books. The root is the top of the domain name hierarchy and the internet address space. Internet governance has become highly politicized, with the control of the critical identifiers, i. Since 1998, ntia has contracted management of iana functions with the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers icann, a.
In addition to highlighting key issues and important events, we have. Internet governance is the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decisionmaking procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the internet. Internet governance is a broad term and has many definitions depending on the context. This postnote describes the structure of the internet and summarises the debate over its management. Oct 04, 2016 milton mueller, professor at the georgia institute of technology school of public policy and a principal of the internet governance project, said that the real story of the iana transition is that. From the opening statement of subcommittee chairman greg walden. The transition of the internet assigned numbers authority iana functions is finally in the history books.