Strickling Urges Continued Multistakeholder Support, at Internet Governance Forum Meeting
NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling urged participant nations in the Internet Governance Forum Tuesday to “step up in support of the free and open Internet and the multistakeholder process that has led to its success.” The U.S. remains committed to multistakeholderism…
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as it continues to work with ICANN to plan the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition, Strickling said during the opening ceremony of IGF’s meeting in João Pessoa, Brazil. “This work is tiring, sometimes contentious, perhaps exasperating,” he said, but “the process is working and I am confident it will be successful. It will be a testament to the strength of the multistakeholder process when the transition is completed.” Strickling warned against governments’ attempts to restrict the Internet via data localization laws and restrictions on data transfers. “Such proposals do far more harm than good,” he said. “Restricting data flows and competition between firms increase costs for Internet users and businesses, retard technological innovation, and may curb freedom of expression,” he said. IGF and other multistakeholder forums are “imperative” to “make a case for policies and practices that encourage the development of an open and innovative Internet,” Strickling said.