Internet stakeholders gathered in Geneva this week to begin talks...
Internet stakeholders gathered in Geneva this week to begin talks on the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), an entity authorized at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) last Nov. Several groups, including the Center for Democracy & Technology…
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(CDT), submitted comments hoping to steer the group’s development. The forum is a unique opportunity, but one that poses “a difficult but worthwhile challenge,” CDT said. Implemented wisely it could help to break down barriers to Internet expansion, while at the same time addressing the concerns of those who feel left out of the Internet management process, the group said. Extra care must be taken at the onset to ensure that the body is “representative, inclusive and forward thinking.” Since IGF isn’t a treaty body and won’t have the authority to alter the existing Internet management structure, the forum risks becoming “little more than a platform from which to continue the narrow debate over DNS management,” CDT said. It’s important that the IGF tackle key issues that have taken a backseat in the WSIS process -- like spam, spyware and electronic crime -- the group said.