From a Chatham House news release:
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January 2014
Carl Bildt, Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, will chair a new Global Commission on Internet Governance, launched by The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).
Announced today at the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, the Global Commission is a two-year initiative that will produce a comprehensive stand on the future of multi-stakeholder Internet governance. (emphasis added)
The commission will include about 25 members drawn from various fields and from around the world, including policy and government, academia and civil society. Currently included are, among others: Carl Bildt, Chair of the Global Commission on Internet Governance; Gordon Smith, Deputy Chair of the Global Commission on Internet Governance; Michael Chertoff; and Melissa Hathaway. A full list including biographies is available at the Commission’s website of www.ourinternet.org.
That website argues that “[t]he current mechanism of Internet governance, colloquially called the ‘multi-stakeholder’ model, is under threat.” In response:
The Global Commission on Internet Governance will encourage globally inclusive public discussions and debates on the future of Internet governance through a public consultation platform, and through other institutional, media, and academic channels. It will create and advance a strategic vision for the future of Internet governance that can act as a rallying point for states that are striving for a continued free and open Internet.
Dr. Robin Niblett, Director of Chatham House, stated:
The issue of Internet governance is set to become one of the most pressing global public policy issues of our time. The Commission will work to develop ideas and propose a policy framework that enhances the legitimacy of Internet governance whilst preserving innovation.
Readers and students of this post’s author will recall long-standing skepticism about the legitimacy of multi-stakeholder governance, so it is interesting to note Dr. Niblett’s focus on that issue. [Full disclosure: the author is a member of Chatham House.]
Dr. Patricia Lewis, also of Chatham House, stated: “Internet governance is too important to be left just to governments.”
The new Commission is a joint venture of The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).”
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