Internet Governance Workshop: A Resilient Multistakeholder Model in Times of Change

As the European Union becomes increasingly active on digital and trade issues, the i2Coalition is committed to amplifying the voices of its members across Europe. To this end, the i2Coalition will showcase its diverse membership on issues of importance ahead of the 2024 elections—when both the Parliament and the Commission will be renewed—through four thematic workshops to be held throughout the year. 

The first workshop, Internet Governance: A Resilient Multistakeholder Model in Times of Change, takes place Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 4:00 pm CET. 

Defending and Empowering the Multistakeholder Approach

The development of the Internet and digitalization of virtually every social, economic, and governmental sector has relied since its conception on self-regulation from the actors involved in the ecosystem. Some scholars claim that the multistakeholder model can be viewed as the DNA of Internet governance.

The borderless nature of these technologies required regulation of the Internet at the global level, involving as many actors from as many countries as possible. The multistakeholder model thus emerged to govern the Internet and to be recognized as the main way to adopt globally recognized and accepted decisions for a globally distributed network.

At the same time, it is necessary to assess  the current situation objectively and admit,  borrowing from Winston Churchill’s words on democracy, that this model “is the worst form of [regulation]—except for all the others that have been tried.”

It is appropriate to have a frank and open discussion of how this approach can be improved instead of defaulting to unilateral approaches. Now is a timely moment to take stock of topical challenges such as DNS abuse, domain name registration data, and the risks of moving away from this global system of governance; while appreciating that a multistakeholder approach is still valuable and beneficial for all operators in the ecosystem.

Speakers and Structure

This online workshop will discuss the importance of the multistakeholder model, highlighting its value as an approach that has been globally recognized and used and on which the Internet ecosystem relies to grow and expand. In the context of discussing future trends ahead of the EU elections, this workshop aims to bring together different viewpoints. The discussion will feature experts from academia, the industry, and EU institutions, who will bring international perspectives (including from the EU and the U.S.) into the implications of fragmentation in the Internet ecosystem, and how we can come together to revive such a fundamental pillar of Internet governance. 

The key speakers are:

• Tatiana Tropina, Assistant Professor in Cybersecurity Governance at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University
• Ajith Francis, Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network
• Esteve Sanz, Head of Sector, Internet Governance and Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue at the European Commission
• …with more to come

This workshop is open to i2C members and EU institutions representatives as well as invited members of the public.

All i2Coalition members will receive an email with details on how to join this virtual workshop.

Join the i2Coalition

The i2Coalition’s mission is to keep the Internet open as an engine for growth and innovation. i2Coalition membership is made up of diverse and innovative key players from across the Internet infrastructure industry and around the world. Our members include hosting providers, domain registries, domain registrars, cloud services providers, data centers, payment processors, software developers and more. For more in-depth updates on Internet policy, including issues that specifically impact your organization, please contact us about joining the i2Coalition.