Governance by Infrastructure: Introduction, 'The Turn to Infrastructure in Internet Governance'

Abstract

Since the Internet’s foundation, the use of domain names, addresses, protocols, and other underlying infrastructures as instruments of power and governance has been crucial in maintaining stability throughout its evolution. In today’s Internet landscape, these tools are increasingly being leveraged by political and private entities for broader political and economic purposes, other than those for which they were initially designed. Governance of the Internet’s infrastructure shifts into governance by Internet infrastructure, with implications for the corporatization of governance, particularly delegated law enforcement, surveillance, and censorship; the evolutions in instruments and practices of content mediation and control; and the civil liberties implications of these institutional and technological changes.

Keywords: Internet infrastructure, surveillance, censorship, civil liberties