i2Coalition Applauds Congressional Effort to Promote a Multi-Stakeholder Governance Model for the Internet

Washington, DC – In response to today’s joint hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce subpanel on communications and technology and the Foreign Affairs subcommittees on terrorism and human rights regarding the future of American policy and global Internet governance, Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) co-founder and Board Chair Christian Dawson released the following statement:

“The i2Coalition applauds efforts by Congress to put forth legislation declaring that U.S. policy is to promote Internet freedom and preserve the multi-stakeholder model used to govern the Internet.

“The multi-stakeholder process brings together active participants in all aspects of the Internet’s infrastructure and is used to reach a consensus on policies that promote freedom and growth.

“Like many, we were disappointed in the outcome of the recent ITU negotiations in Dubai. The lack of consensus from the conference underscores the important fact that no one group owns the Internet. Moving forward we need to encourage a better global understanding of the multi-stakeholder process because it is the only way to keep the Internet free and open.

“Ultimately the Internet has grown because of the multi-stakeholder model, and the i2Coalition looks forward to engaging further in this dialogue about the future of the Internet and to be a voice for our industry in the process.”