Dutton china-sjtu-2015

Multistakeholder Internet Governance?

William H. DuttonQuello Professor of Media and Information Policy

Quello Center, Michigan State UniversityFollow on Twitter @QuelloCenter

Presentation for the conference ‘Digital Future’, organized by the School of Media and Design at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, 10-12 June 2015.

Outline• The New Internet and New Internet World• The Rise of Governance, Policy & Regulation• The Idea of Internet Governance• Multistakeholder v Multilateral Approaches• The Next Decade

What is the Internet?

The Internet

Business Models

Technical Change

Users: Good &

Bad

Policy, Regulation,

Rulings

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 150%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

6%8%

11%12%

14%16%

17%

20%

23%

25%

29%

32%

35%

38% 40%

World Internet population in %

World Internet population in %

Source: ITU – http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx. March 2015.

% I

nte

rnet

use

rs

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20140

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

172

115

1,310

4

467

159

639

Africa Arab States Asia & Pacific CIS Europe The Americas


To

tal

nu

mb

er o

f In

tern

et u

sers

(m

illi

on

s)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20140%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

6%

29%

45%

1%

28%

16%

40%

22%

Africa Arab States Asia & Pacific CIS Europe The Americas


% o

f w

orl

dw

ide

Inte

rnet

po

pu

lati

on

Rise of Internet Governance

Internet Governance

Significance of the Net

Digital Divides

Trust Bubble (Snowden)

Moral Panics (Social Media)

‘Left Out’ of Policy

National Policy &

Regulation

The Idea of Internet Governance?Narrow Conceptions: Jon Postel, ICANN, IETF

Domain Name System (DNS) Root, IP addresses, and related Internet protocol issues

Broad Conceptions Internet-Centric Issues (e.g., names and numbers)User-Centric Issues (skills, up-take, malevolent users)Policy Context of the Internet (anonymity, privacy, …)

Contemporary Conceptions of Governancehybrid, multi-jurisdictional, plural stakeholders, networked

(Bevir)

Ecology of Games

• Norton Long (1958) on Power Structures• Internet governance as the outcome of an

ecology of games• Games as arenas of competition and

cooperation among players to achieve objectives for prizes following rules

• Internet governance is the outcome of an ecology of games (not governed by any single set of stakeholders, or governments)

Governing a Global Ecology of Choices

Governmental Policy &

Regulation

Self-Regulation (Learning & Education)

Bilateral & Multilateral

Treaties, Inst.

Tech Populism Multistakeholder Governance

Questioning Multistakeholder Approach

Is it dominated by US, or old Internet world?

Is new Internet world left out?

Losing sovereignty in jurisdictional turf struggle?

Are some stakeholders dominant? Internet Firms?

Should gov’t control through multilateral approach?

Multistakeholder or / and Multilateral: Principles

Multistakeholder

Collaborative Leadership Among Stakeholders with Expertise and Commitment to Particular Problems

Multilateral / Intergovernmental

Sovereign right of governments to determine Internet policy and regulation

Representation of Stakeholders

MSG: Direct engagement of private sector, business and industry; governments; bilateral and multilateral international institutions; civil society and academia; and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

MLG: National government agency represents interests of all in bilateral and multilateral treaties and agreements anchored in advice and consultation with all stakeholders

Role of Governments

MSG: A key category of multiple stakeholders, with legitimacy to decide

MLG: National governments represent other interests in intergovernmental entity

Process, Authority, TransparencyMSG: • Participatory bottom up• Horizontal across stakeholders• Open

MLG: • Top down consultative• Hierarchical within states and through international

agreements / treaties• Closed with Open Consultation

Problems with Multilateralism

Diminishing open and global net, prioritizing national control

Reducing the value of the Internet, enhanced by every new user, with China as a possible exception, already localized by language?

Trust in government regulation, moving back to a future of pre-liberalization of telecom

Creating a stronger ITU, but embedded in a multistakeholder organization, such as IGF with other multilateral institutions

Lack of an appropriate regulatory model for the Internet

Problems with Multistakeholderism

Limited to communication and coordination - soft power v authoritative decisions

Concerns over representation of regions, nations, and stakeholders

Lack a model for regulating the Internet (key to any progress on Internet governance)

The Next DecadeLast Decade’s Narrative: Technical Innovations

The Next Decade’s Narrative: Policy, Regulation & Governance

Key Challenge: Developing an Appropriate Regulatory Model

At Stake: • The Vitality of the Internet • Global Economic and Social Development• Economic and Social Development of China

Multistakeholder Internet Governance?

William H. DuttonQuello Professor of Media and Information Policy

Quello Center, Michigan State UniversityFollow on Twitter @QuelloCenter

Presentation for the conference ‘Digital Future’, organized by the School of Media and Design at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, 10-12 June 2015.