A global Internet needs organizing principles

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[Commentary] Neither universalism nor Balkanism can be the guiding star for international negotiations on Internet policy. The former is unworkable given differing national politics and values, while the latter threatens the interconnectivity of the global network and can result in digital trade protectionism. An alternative approach to Internet policy is needed to combine the benefits of each approach while minimizing the drawbacks. Luckily such an intellectual framework is possible.

First, nations must agree on the fundamental principle that policies concerning how the core Internet architecture is designed and operated should be universal. We need global, commonly shared standards for the Internet's technical architecture — such as the domain name system — if there is to be a global Internet; otherwise the system would devolve into a series of national-level networks at the expense of global commerce and communications. A multi-stakeholder approach in a global forum, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), is the best way to develop such standards, since disagreements over the technical architecture of the Internet is complex and can only be resolved if expert stakeholders reach consensus.

But countries need to also recognize that for policies that go beyond the Internet's technical architecture, a pure universalist approach will often not work since countries often have different objectives.

But there are some areas where Balkanism will lead to significantly reduced global welfare, and this is particularly true with cross-border digital trade.

Finally, nations should also look for opportunities to build international consensus on common goals like combating child pornography, spam and malware. Countries interested in addressing these problems should work together to create new forums and agreements to foster cooperation on these issues.

[Castro is a senior analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation]


A global Internet needs organizing principles