A talk seeking to clarify issues of multistakeholder Internet governance for a presentation at the seminar ‘Internet Governance in Latin America: Between Borderless Governance and National Initiatives’, Un. of San Andrés, Buenos Aires, 24 April 2015.

1. Multistakeholder
Internet Governance?
William H. Dutton
Quello Professor of Media and Information Policy
Quello Center, Michigan State University
Follow @QuelloCenter
Presentation for the seminar ‘Internet Governance in Latin America: Between Borderless
Governance and National Initiatives’, Un. of San Andrés, Buenos Aires, 24 April 2015.

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

3. 6%
8%
11%
12%
14%
16%
17%
20%
23%
25%
29%
32%
35%
38% 40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900
%Internetusers
Source: ITU – http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx. March 2015.
World Internet population in %
World Internet population in %

4. 172
115
1,310
4
467
159
639
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
TotalnumberofInternetusers(millions)
Source: ITU – http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx. March 2015.
Africa Arab States Asia & Pacific CIS Europe The Americas

5. 6%
29%
45%
1%
28%
16%
40%
22%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
%ofworldwideInternetpopulation
Source: ITU – http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx. March 2015.
Africa Arab States Asia & Pacific CIS Europe The Americas

6. Reshaping the Idea of the Internet
The
Internet
Business
Models
Technical
Change
Users:
Good &
Bad
Policy,
Regulation,
Rulings

7. 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

8. 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 Governance
hybrid, multi-jurisdictional, plural stakeholders,
networked (Bevir)

9. 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)

10. Governing a Global Ecology of Choices
Governmental
Policy &
Regulation
Self-Regulation
(Learning &
Education)
Bilateral &
Multilateral
Treaties, Inst.
Tech Populism
Multistakeholder
Governance

11. 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?

12. 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

13. 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

14. Role of Governments
MSG: A key category of multiple stakeholders,
with legitimacy to decide
MLG: National governments represent other
interests in intergovernmental entity

15. Process, Authority, Transparency
MSG:
• Participatory bottom up
• Horizontal across stakeholders
• Open
MLG:
• Top down consultative
• Hierarchical within states and through international
agreements / treaties
• Closed with Open Consultation

16. Problems with Multilateralism
Diminish open and global net, prioritizing national control
Reduce 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
Create a stronger ITU, but embedded in a multistakeholder
organization, such as IGF with other multilateral instiutions
Lack of an appropriate regulatory model for the Internet

17. 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)

18. The Next Decade
Last Decade’s Narrative: Technical Innovations
The Next Decade’s Narrative: Policy, Regulation &
Governance
At Stake:
• The Vitality of the Internet
• Global Economic and Social Development
• Economic and Social Development of Argentina