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Commission Calls For Cohesive Internet Governance,
by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels
Monday, June 22, 2009
The European Commission, on June 18 called, in a strategic document, for more transparency
and multilateral accountability in the governance of the Internet.
There are today 1.5 billion Internet users worldwide, 300 million of which
are in the European Union's 27 Member States. At present, a private US-based
body, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), is responsible
for coordinating key elements of the Internet. The Commission agrees that private
companies should continue to take the lead in the day-to-day management of the
operation of the Internet, as long as they are accountable and independent.
The Commission also believes that decisions about the Internet, especially those
about openness and security, should be taken in a transparent and accountable
manner because they affect everyone around the globe. ICANN currently operates
under a Joint Project Agreement with the US Department of Commerce, which expires
on September 30 2009. In the view of the European Commission, future Internet
governance arrangements should reflect the key role that the global network
has come to play for all countries.
Viviane Reding, the EU's Commissioner for Information Society and Media said:
"The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is approaching
a historic point in its development. Will it become a fully independent organisation,
accountable to the global internet community? Europeans would expect so, and
this is what we will push for. I call on the United States to work together
with the European Union to achieve this."
With the expiry of the bilateral Joint Project Agreement between ICANN and
the US government due in September 2009, the Commission said today that this
private sector initiative should continue its leadership, but should operate
within clear guidelines defined through an international dialogue. For example,
if ICANN is to oversee the introduction of customised domain names (which will
allow a website to replace ".com" with ".anything"), it
should set clear guidelines and operate openly.
The EU also believes that future Internet governance arrangements should comply
with key principles, in particular, the respect for human rights and freedom
of expression as well as the need to preserve stability and security of the
Internet.
The Commission on June 18, in a Communication called 'Internet governance: the next
steps', made proposals for the governance of the internet to be more open, transparent
and inclusive. A key objective is that of accountability – including both
internal (the decision-making bodies and general organisation of ICANN) and
external accountability (multilateral accountability involving all countries
of the world). This also means that those affected by decisions of governance
bodies should have the possibility to lodge an appeal with an independent tribunal.
The Commission also proposed that the network should be managed by private bodies
within principles agreed upon by public authorities but without government interference
in day-to-day operations.
The US government is the only body to have had formal oversight of ICANN's
policies and activities since its inception in 1998. As the Joint Project Agreement
is ending now, the Commission believes that ICANN should become universally
accountable, not just to one government but to the global Internet community.
This is particularly relevant given that the next billion of Internet users
will mainly come from the developing world. The Commission today said that the
EU should initiate discussions with international partners on these issues,
in particular on how to enhance the Internet's resilience against accidental
failure or deliberate attack.
The Commission's policy proposals want to reaffirm private initiative and ensure
that the Internet remains an engine of innovation, free speech and economic
development.
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