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 Session 2: Dimensions of Internet Governance:
Use of the Internet
 ANG Peng Hwa
Nanyang Technological University
tphang@ntu.edu.sg
Internet Governance
Organized by
UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication
Technology for Development (UN-APCICT)

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Agenda
Learning Objectives: To give an overview of
the WGIG Final Report, the workaday issues
the Report raised, and the regulatory
approaches to address them
Learning Outcomes: To be aware of the
solutions to the political tensions and the
shortcomings of the solutions; to be aware
of other modes of regulation other than just
law.

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Agenda
WGIG Report
Internet Governance Definition and its Significance
The issues and the recommendations
ICANN and the role of the USA
WSIS 2 in Tunis
Compromise of ICANN and ccTLDs
4 modes of regulation
Application to e-commerce
A proposed roadmap for Internet governance

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WSIS 2 in Tunis
ICANN to continue to be in US hands
But ccTLD to be placed in the hands of
national governments
 Control over .ir to be in the hands of Iranian
government

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Exercise: ccTLD
Borat.kz? How should one
treat it?
Can Kazakhstan ask for the
Boratkz.com domain name
to be disallowed?
Can the USA disallow the
name visitcuba.com?

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The WGIG Report is . . .
 An excellent summary of key governance
issues regarding the internet
 A model for the internet governance
process
 WGIG embraced government, private sector
and civil society
 The WGIG process was open and transparent

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The WGIG Report is NOT
A roadmap
A plan for action
So how should developing countries
approach Internet governance?

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Four Clusters of Issues
1. Physical Infrastructure
 ICANN-related issues: IP addresses,
domain names and root zone server
2. Use of Internet
 Spam, network security, cybercrime
3. Issues related to Internet but with wider impact
 Competition policy, e-commerce, IPR
4. Development aspects of Internet
 Digital Solidarity Fund.
“Political” issues
Abuse/Misuse/Use
issues
Development issues

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How Does Anyone Begin to
Regulate the Internet?

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Modes of Regulating Life
(and the Internet)
1. Law: government and private sanctions
and force, including self-regulation
2. Social norms: through expectation,
encouragement, or embarrassment
3. Markets: price and availability
4. Architecture: what technology permits,
dissuades or prohibits.
Source: Lessig, 1999

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#4 Architecture
It is possible to regulate behaviour using
technology
Anti-piracy software
E.g. speed bumps
Software to block content
Honeynet
Architecture refers to basic design
E.g. making a road winding to slow down drivers
E.g. is free speech built into the internet?

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#3 Markets
Not just prices, but also rules of fair play,
clear contractual terms, competition in the
marketplace
Idea of trading, buying and selling
Should privacy on the Internet be allowed to
be governed by private agreement instead of
law?

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#2 Social Norms
Idea of social pressure
Easier when there is a social grouping
Netiquette, eg no-spam, on-topic posts, no
need for “welcome” response to “thank you”
Posts and comments should be relevant to
discussions in online fora.

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#1 Laws, including Self-Regulation
Made by parliament/national assembly
Danger of laws in fast-changing technology
Not enough experience with the technology or the
law, eg Utah’s Digital Signature Act, which became
obsolete quickly and was repealed 2005.
Need multistakeholder approach

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Self-regulation
Means industry regulating industry
Not the person or company regulating himself or
itself
Means the government delegating power to
industry to regulate itself
Ultimate power still lies with government
Needs motivated private sector

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Exercise:
To what extent are the four modes of
regulation used to regulate the Internet
in Iran?

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Recommendations to Address
Internet-related Issues
List of issues:
Administration of root zone files and root server
system of domain name system;
IP addressing;
Interconnection costs;
Internet stability, security and cybercrime; spam;
Freedom of expression;
Meaningful participation in global policy
development;
Data protection and privacy rights; consumer rights;
Multilingualism.

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Suggested Road Map
1. Access and Service Provision
2. Electronic Commerce
3. Content Regulation
4. Security
5. Intellectual Property Rights
6. Privacy

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1. Access and Service Provision
 Competitive telecommunication market
 Lowers prices and improves service quality of
information services
 Responsibilities and liabilities of access and
service providers.
 Reduced immunity from liability for intermediaries,
eg ISP, website

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2. Electronic Commerce (1)
Worth working on because solving issues
here resolves a host of problems
Legally recognise electronic environment
Admit electronic evidence
Recognise e-transactions
Recognise digital signatures and digital
certificates
Encourage electronic payment
mechanisms and their use

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2. Electronic Commerce (2)
Make contract (and other) law applicable
Clarify rights, responsibilities and liabilities of
various parties and dispute resolution
mechanisms
Empower police to enforce law in electronic
commerce
Clarify taxation in electronic commerce.

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Application: E-Commerce
Opens new markets
24-hour store
Eliminates middleman
Automates business
But not for all businesses
Customers want to test expensive items
Shopping is leisure activity

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Exercise:
What regulations are needed to enable or
enhance e-commerce in Iran?

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3. Content Regulation
Some will not subscribe to Internet because
of objectionable content
How to block objectionable materials on the
Internet—principally for children
How to protect national interests against
foreign undesirable materials
How to reconcile conflicting cultural values in
information content.

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4. Security
How to protect against breaches of security
in computer systems and networks
Need for a CERT (computer emergency
response team) or CSIRT (computer security
incident response team)
How to prevent crime in the digital
environment

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5. Intellectual Property Rights
How to acquire, protect and manage rights in
the digital environment
How to prevent piracy of copyrighted works
How to extend the current copyright regime to
include digital works.

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6. Privacy
 Probably need to draft data protection rules
 Countries gradually developing DP rules
 Necessity to comply with OECD’s Guidelines on
privacy
 EU moving from Data Protection Directive,
which demands that third-parties have
“adequate level” of data protection before
they can process data from the EU, to EU-
wide law
 How to regulate use of personal information
by public and private institutions.

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Summary
1. Policies should encourage a competitive
environment so as to lower prices for the
consumer and develop a healthy industry
2. Update laws to enable e-commerce
transactions
 Evidence Act
 Digital Signature Act
 E-Transactions Act
3. Empower law enforcement to fight online
fraud and crime and enforce the law on the
Internet.

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Summary
4. Regulate content with an eye to solving
problems, not just because the content
has been regulated;
5. Try to use international norms;
6. Consult industry widely, both to educate
and to be educated.
7. Update copyright laws as needed.
8. Look into data protection regulation.