Download This PaperA Perspective from the Private Sector: Ensuring that Forum Follows Function
in Beyond Netmundial: The Roadmap for Institutional Improvements to the Global Internet Governance Ecosystem (William J. Drake and Monroe Price, Eds). 2014
Center for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Forthcoming
9 Pages Posted: 2 Sep 2014
Date Written: August 29, 2014
Abstract
In this chapter we share a perspective from the private sector stakeholders and participants in the development of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) over the last 10 years. We begin by stressing the role private enterprise has and wants to play in the Internet’s development. Notwithstanding the sine qua non condition of the private sector providing the Internet’s infrastructure and services, we lay out our argument for Internet governance as a shared responsibility of governments, civil society and the private sector. In the second half of the chapter we list why participation at the IGF is beneficial for companies, followed by an analysis of opportunities to strengthen the IGF as an institution and enhance its impact in the short term. We then close our chapter with a proposal meant to improve the long-term utility and effectiveness of the IGF by developing its three core functions: (1) identify emergent and continuously evolving issues; (2) frame them as modular and solvable challenges; and (3) document, track and archive the developing solutions.
Keywords: IGF, Internet Governance, United Nations, Internet Policy
JEL Classification: G18, G28, H11, L98, L96, N40, R38, K23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation