Exploring Multi-Stakeholder Internet Governance

Discussion Paper | January 20, 2015

Internet governance is now an active topic of international discussion. Interest has been fueled by media attention to cyber crime, global surveillance, commercial espionage, cyber attacks and threats to critical national infrastructures. Many nations have decided that they need more control over Internet-based technologies and the policies that support them. Others, emphasizing the positive aspects of these technologies, argue that traditional systems of Internet governance, which they label “multi-stakeholder” and which they associate with the success of the Internet, must continue to prevail. In February 2015, EWI published the report “Exploring Multi-Stakeholder Internet Governance.” This paper introduces multi-stakeholder Internet governance, examines its strengths and weaknesses and proposes steps to improve it.

Written by EWI Professorial Fellow and Brown University An Wang Professor of Computer Science John E. Savage and EWI Senior Vice President Bruce McConnell, the report supports the work of the initiative’s breakthrough group on Governing and Managing the Internet. EWI is now presenting the findings and recommendations to government officials and private sector stakeholders.

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