Written by Dziadatul Raudhah and Tahmina Akter Supti
On 17th February 2022, a session about diversity and sustainability in Internet Governance was held online. The session first began with a presentation on the topic delivered by working group 3. The group briefly explained diversity and sustainability and the relevant case study about digital cooperation in IGF and diversity in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
The presenters, Dalili Nuradli, began by explaining the role of IGF, which is to bring people together from various stakeholder groups as equals to discuss public policy concerning Internet and how the Multistakeholder Advisory Group(MAG) that advise on the programme and schedule of IGF annual meetings or intersessional activities consists of 40 members from governments, the private sector, civil society, academic and technical communities, from all five UN regional groups (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, GRULAC, WEOG).
This is an example of diversity in IGF. She then stated in July 2018, the UN Secretary-General appointed a high-level panel to consider the issue of digital cooperation. Digital cooperation is defined as ways in working together to address the social, ethical, legal and economic impact of digital technologies that maximise benefits and minimise harm. In the June 2019 report, the panel highlighted the need for strengthened digital cooperation to address challenges and provide opportunities for all, and outlined three possible architectures/models for such cooperation. One of the models created is IGF+.
In June 2020, the Secretary-General published a roadmap for digital cooperation, building on the Panel’s report. She also explained about the several measures to make IGF more responsive and relevant to current digital issues.
The presenter then explained the diversity practice of the IETF. IETF is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. The technical work of the IETF is done in its working groups, which are organised by topic into several areas – routing, transport, security.The IETF areas are managed by Area Directors, or ADs. The ADs are members of the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Some of the participating countries USA, Japan, Germany, Canada, Sweden, India, Italy, Australia and many others that contributed to IETF yearly drafted Request for Comments (RFC) which is the result of committee drafting a subsequent review by interested parties.All of these shows evidence of diversity in IETF that consists of representatives from different countries and backgrounds.
The second part of the presentation was delivered by Stella Anne Ming Hui Teoh. She talked about sustainability in Internet governance and related it to the case study, which is sustainability in Mozilla, Google and the European Union(EU).
She went on explaining about the climate commitments done by Mozilla for sustainability purposes. They are carbon neutral commitment,reduction of GHG footprint year over year, and aiming to exceed, the net zero emissions commitment of the Paris Climate Agreement,open leadership by sharing materials, tools, and methodologies, and also exploring approaches to develop, design, and improve products from a sustainability perspective, including seeking collaborations to further amplify impact.
Then she stated about some sustainability efforts done by Google,which are through Google Energy LCC, carbon intelligent computing,circular economy and water positive.
Lastly, she illustrated EU digital rights and principles for sustainable development. It is basically a set of principles for a human-centred digital transformation. This European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles would be a reference framework for people, and a guide for businesses and policy-makers. It is compulsory for the Green Transition and it includes several aims which are secure online space, the right to learn digital skills, and protection for children online.
After the group presentation, the guest speakers shared their thoughts and opinions on the matter. The first speaker, Maureen Hilyard, talked about the representation of ICANN, Dynamic Coalition (SDS), and Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse Institute that aim to provide a system whereby people can report DNS Abuse such as phishing, hacking websites and others.
The second speaker, Constance Bommelaer de Leusse touched on the definition of governance of the Internet, which can be wide or narrow,depending on the diversity of the stakeholders, which represent different interests. She also relates Internet governance to the sustainable development goals (2015), where it could have an impact on the economy and society overall. More information can be referred to https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/sdg/.
The last speaker,Emilia Zalewska, talked about the value of the Internet for vulnerable groups, the lack of awareness about the existence of IGF and understanding about the role of IG, as well as challenges for newcomers. She highly encouraged youth participation in Internet Governance as it will bring benefits to them as well to the better governance of the Internet.
The session proceeded with breakout group discussion, where the attendees were divided into two groups to discuss the following policy questions:
1. How can diversity in Internet Governance bodies contribute to a better governance of the Internet?
2. How can the diversity in IGF and IETF be promoted and increased?
3. Are the current sustainability initiatives in Internet Governance from Big Tech companies enough?
4. How can Internet Governance contribute to sustainable futures?
5. Are sustainability and diversity related? If so, how and why?
The first breakout group discussion was facilitated by Omar Qayyum Hamdan, and joined by the speaker and guest, Maureen Hilyard and Edmon Chung.
Prior to the first question, Maureen stated that diversity in Internet governance bodies contribute to a better governance of the Internet,especially with the development and application by governments, the private sector, and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.Furthermore, IGF is a very technical organisation, it’s a people organisation. Regarding the third question,Daria stated the current sustainability initiatives in Internet governance from Big Tech companies are enough like Google and other companies take 60-70% initiatives with financial gain.They are doing some projects but they focus on money not the environment or others. As for the fourth question,Edmon stated IG can have sufficient power to sustain the Internet, IGF is more technical. The ICAN has its diversity difference , the internet can remain a great motor for the future of humankind and its social and economic development. Dalili added that people should know how the internet impacts on them and people are involved, and how their doing is impacted.
The second breakout group discussion was facilitated by Stella Anne Ming Hui Teoh, and joined by speakers Constance Bommelaer de Leusse and Emilia Zalewska.
Prior to the first question,Emilia stated that without diversity in Internet governance,there will be a very narrow perspective because people from different backgrounds have different views.Luke stated diversity can make Internet Governance more inclusive to everyone because people can join regardless of any background. Regarding to the second question,
Constance stated that Europe is very fond of regulations(GDPR). Digital service act,digital market act was set up for privacy protection. These regulations were applied by other countries also and it showed a sense of leadership. Constance stated that money is the main thing to promote opportunities for people to join capacity building activity related to the Internet and increasing diversity. Meanwhile,Emilia suggests finding out more about Internet-related events and opportunities through websites and contacting local companies.
In response to the third question, Emilia stated that Big Tech companies are still not into the sustainability efforts, although there are events and programs held, but not so much actions were taken. It is the consumer’s responsibility also because without the consumer, the company wouldn’t sell the product. Constance added that many consumers and citizens participated in sustainability efforts by tech companies, but not to be too optimistic.
The session was wrapped up with final thoughts from the speakers. Emilia concluded that people should look out for capacity building and learning programs that allow them to explore IGF even more to build up skills.Constance stated that different generations’ perspectives are actually surprising and sometimes challenging. Maureen stated about the fellowships in ICANN and expressed her gratitude to DotAsia that brings youth together for Internet governance learning purposes.