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Internet Governance at the Crossroads
New book "Internet Governance: Asia Pacific Perspectives" outlines significant challenges for global Internet policy 20th April 2006 While the Asia-Pacific region contains the highest share of global Internet users, it is under-represented in the forums that develop Internet-related policies. "When it comes down to it, the centralised aspects of the Internet are overseen and managed with little accountability to the average user, particularly users from this part of the world" says Danny Butt, partner at Suma Media Consulting and editor of the new book Internet Governance: Asia Pacific Perspectives. "The talk is all about openness and avoiding bureaucracy, but who can get their issues on the table? A lot of people feel that it's very difficult unless you're a large company based in the U.S." With a foreword by Nitin Desai, Chair of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance, the book presents the work of the Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance, a year-long initiative by UNDP's Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme that has collected wide-ranging perspectives from regional experts and end users. It summarizes the key debates in Internet Governance from those involved in international policy-making. It also provides detailed analysis of critical issues such as spam, wireless technologies, security, multilingualism, and cultural diversity in the Asia-Pacific. One of the most prominent issues centres around internationalisation and the ability to use domain names in other languages. "These issues were never on the radar for the people who developed the systems, because the Internet was much smaller. Those in charge could easily listen to the few hundred people who had a stake in the discussions. Now, the Internet is critical infrastructure across the world for millions of people, and the political stakes are high. The governance mechanisms haven't kept up, and their legitimacy is in question from many corners," says Butt. Butt believes that there are broader implications than just who runs the Internet. "The principles underlying the historical development of the Internet – democracy, flexibility, innovation – are ones I deeply care about. But if they're used as slogans by established interests who don't really want to listen, then you can't blame people for being skeptical." Danny Butt is speaking on Internet Governance in Australia and New Zealand during May. The text of the talk (and a link to the MP3 from the Canberra presentation) is now available here. [NOTE: Dates and venues below]
Contact:
Danny Butt
TALKS MAY 2006
Monday May 8, 12-2pm
Queensland University of TechnologyZ2 308, Creative Industries Precinct, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane Hosted by QUT Institute for Creative Industries & Innovation Respondent: Martin Stewart-Weeks, Cisco Places are limited so please contact Jen Chappell on 3864 8764 or email j.chappell@qut.edu.au to register for this event.
Thursday May 11, 3-5pm (inc. refreshments)
University of SydneyFootbridge Theatre, Parramatta Rd, Glebe Hosted by the Department of Media and Communications, and the Digital Technology and Culture Program Respondent: Dr Gerard Goggin, University of Sydney
Monday May 15, 5:30-7:30pm (inc. refreshments)
University of MelbourneRoom 920, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton Hosted by the Centre for Media and Communications Law, University of Melbourne Respondent: Terry Cutler, Cutler & Company
Wednesday May 17, 4-5pm
Australian National University, CanberraDepartment of Computer Science, FEIT Room N101, CSIT Building [108]
Friday May 26, 4-6pm (inc. refreshments)
Auckland University of TechnologyWA220, Gate 2, Wellesley Street, Auckland Respondent: TBC
ABSTRACT FOR TALK
Internet Governance: The Clash of Cultures
Fifteen years ago, the discussion on how best to run the Internet took place on obscure mailing lists populated by network engineers. Today, the domain name industry is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and an international forum on Internet Governance has been established by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The early days of Internet Governance had a frontier culture that prized individuality and flexibility. Now, the range of stakeholders with an interest in Internet Governance arrangements has radically expanded, and includes almost every nation-state and a range of civil society groups. Many of these stakeholders have different values than the technical community, and some have little confidence in existing arrangements. This presentation will outline the key challenges for Internet Governance in as the medium evolves from a former scientific and military network to critical global infrastructure. The dialogue on Internet Governance reflects other fields of international regulatory tension, but also requires new models for cooperation between government, private sector, and civil society groups that will have broader political effects.
About the book
Internet Governance: Asia-Pacific Perspectives
Book Table of Contents
Introduction: The Open Regional Dialogue on Internet GovernanceDanny Butt
PART I: PERSPECTIVES ON GOVERNANCE
PART II: INTERNET GOVERNANCE ISSUES
PART III: INTERNET GOVERNANCE - COUNTRY REPORTS FROM THE REGION |
