{"id":19262,"date":"2014-09-10T09:42:11","date_gmt":"2014-09-10T07:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiig.de\/?p=19262"},"modified":"2023-03-28T17:38:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T15:38:27","slug":"recap-how-the-policy-governance-team-participated-at-the-internet-governance-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiig.de\/en\/recap-how-the-policy-governance-team-participated-at-the-internet-governance-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap: How the Policy & Governance Team participated in the Internet Governance Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year,<\/span> a large number of researchers of the<\/span> Humboldt Institute of Internet and Society (HIIG) participated in<\/span> the<\/span> Internet<\/span> Governance<\/span> Forum<\/span> (<\/span>IGF). The IGF is a United Nations forum which holds meetings since 2006 in order to facilitate the dialogue on internet governance among representatives from<\/span> civil society,<\/span> governments<\/span> and businesses<\/span>.<\/span> More<\/span> than 3,000<\/span> participants came to the 9th IGF which took place <\/span>from S<\/span>ept 2-5 in<\/span> Istanbul of which five <\/span>were HIIG staff.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Governance<\/span> as an analytical<\/span> concept<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

HIIG<\/span> Director<\/span> Prof.<\/span> Jeanette<\/span> Hofmann<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> Kirsten Gollatz<\/a> <\/span> presented a new paper on governance as an analytical concept at the <\/span>GigaNet Symposium<\/a>. GigaNet is an academic conference which takes place adjacent to the IGF. The paper gives insights into the way our team discusses and conceptualizes internet governance.\u00a0<\/span>We understand governance in a way that extends beyond the notion of political <\/span>steering<\/span>. However, equating governance with the broad notion of coordination largely strips the concept of its analytical value. In their talk,<\/span> Jeanette<\/span> Hofmann<\/span> and<\/span> Kirsten<\/span> Gollatz<\/span> introduced a third way of theorizing governance<\/span>: governance<\/span> as<\/span> reflexive<\/span> coordination.<\/span> Co-author of the paper is<\/span> Christian<\/span> Katzenbach<\/span><\/a> and it can be found here: Between Coordination and Regulation: Conceptualizing Governance in Internet Governance<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Interconnection arrangements<\/h3>\n

Following this, I presented my paper<\/span> on inter<\/span>connection<\/span> arrangements.<\/span> The internet is a network of networks and interconnection arrangements affect the junctions of networks. Often<\/span>, interconnection arrangements are being discussed in purely economic terms such as cost and price. In my paper<\/span> I argue that<\/span> this view<\/span> falls short on the social reality of internet interconnection.<\/span> I introduce<\/span> the<\/span> interdisciplinary research perspective “<\/span>Economics of Convention<\/span>” which allows to see and analyze internet interconnection in terms of social sciences. My talk also covers how internet interconnection embodies internet governance<\/span>.<\/span> Download the paper<\/a> here, find the slide deck<\/a> here.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Intermediaries<\/span> and users’ rights<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

In how far do the so-called intermediaries of the internet, i.e. often multinational telecommunications companies and platform operators, ensure that the rights of their users are not interfered? That is one of the questions Kirsten Gollatz works on in the context of an international research project called Ranking Digital Rights<\/a> (RDR). RDR analyzes how ICT companies position their services with regard to the principles of free speech and privacy for their users. Solid information is desireable in this field, as could be seen in the session on “Fostering<\/span> Respect<\/span> by<\/span> Companies for<\/span> Internet<\/span> Users’<\/span> Rights<\/span>” (Video<\/a>)<\/span>. The panel comprised of, among others, representatives from Facebook, Human Rights Watch and RDR but also the Tunesian Internet Agency which censored the internet in past times. I recommend you to watch this video<\/a> because it includes many relevant perspectives on a trending topic: the role of intermediaries in internet governance.<\/p>\n

The<\/span> Internet<\/span> Policy Review<\/span> in conversation<\/span> <\/span><\/h3>\n

From what we could see, t<\/span>he<\/span> Internet<\/span> Policy Review<\/span> was the only<\/span> academic<\/span> journal<\/span> present at the IGF. Chief editor Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dubois engaged in countless conversations about internet policy and the necessity for interdisciplinary research. By the way, we are always open to submissions<\/a>. Get in touch if you see a fit! We <\/span>also<\/span> did some news reporting<\/span> \u2013<\/span> for example, from the<\/span> network<\/span> neutrality<\/span> debate about<\/span> so-called<\/span> zero<\/span>–<\/span>rating<\/a>. In the case of zero-rating, <\/span>ISPs make certain<\/span> content available free of charge for their customers, regardless of the <\/span>purchased<\/span> volumes of data.<\/span> Facebook<\/span> has been criticized for<\/span> such<\/span> arrangements for<\/span> a long time.<\/span> At the IGF Wikipedia unexpectedly got into the cross-fire as well.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> IGF<\/span> as a forum<\/span> <\/span><\/h3>\n

T<\/span>he<\/span> IGF<\/span> often has been criticized as a<\/span> “talk<\/span> shop<\/span>” because it<\/span> is not equipped with the<\/span> mandate<\/span> to bring forward <\/span>binding decisions<\/span> or<\/span> to<\/span> develop policy<\/span> recommendations<\/span>. This<\/span> criticism<\/span> is<\/span> not unjustified<\/span>. The<\/span> IGF<\/span> fosters debates<\/span>, but it<\/span> is not a<\/span> new<\/span> decision-making structure<\/span> on issues of<\/span> internet regulation. However, I am not aware of any other venue which currently could substitute the IGF’s function as a forum, that is: a place which \u2013 albeit with some caveats \u2013 offers the opportunity for everyone to engage in the global debate on internet governance.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The IGF Secretariat has published all <\/span>sessions<\/span> of this year’s<\/span> event<\/span> in its<\/span> video channel<\/span>: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCk0zf4oI0IsJLh1owvUQSfQ<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Grafik: “IGF 2014 preparations” by Sam Dickinson, Flickr.com<\/a>\/CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n