Internet Oversight: Keep the Internet Free, Innovative and Affordable
Statement by Wolfgang Kleinwächter, University of Aarhus,
on behalf of the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus
at the 4th meeting of the Sub-Committte A of the resumed PrepCom3,
Tunis, November, 14, 2005
Thank you Mr. Chairman for giving me the floor. My name is Wolfgang Kleinwächter. I am a professor for international communication policy at the University of Aarhus. I am also a co-founder of the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus and I was a member of UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). Let me say some words on the Internet oversight function.

Internet Oversight is certainly one of the most controversial issues in our discussions. It is controversial among governments, it is controversial among stakeholders and it is controversial among members of the civil society. Nevertheless the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus has reached a common understanding at least around two points.

First: We support the emerging consensus in the negotiations that there should be no governmental involvement in the day to day operations of the Internet. When we say no governmental involvement, we mean what we say. With other words we do not see a need, that the US government has to remain for ever involved on a day to day basis in the root zone files management. The US government promised in 1998 to terminate the full transition to the private sector until the year 2000. Since than we are waiting for the final whistle.

The US governmental involvement is, as we know, a result of history and as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said, you can [not] wish away history. But with the further development and stabilization of the existing non-governmental mechanisms there is no need anymore that the NTIA of the US Department of Commerce authorizes the publication of root zone files, which includes the authorization of additions, deletions and modifications of TLD zone files in the Master Server of the Root. While this function has been properly executed over the years to the benefit of the global Internet community and was never misused by the US government, it is today a source of mistrust. As a civil society speaker said it already during PrepCom3 in Geneva, September 2005, the CS IG Caucus would welcome a declaration of the US government re-confirming its good intention in particular with regard to the management of zone files for ccTLDs and giving a perspective for a transfer of this function to ICANN under the condition that ICANN is institutionally prepared to overtake the full responsibility, to have clear and workable arrangements with the parties involved in the process, notably the Root Server Operators and TLD managers, and have a improved mechanism for interaction with the GAC [ Government Advisory Council ] for cases where a public policy component can be clearly identified.

Second: Civil society understands that on the level of principle governmental involvement is needed to enhance the stability, security and freedom of the Internet. In the WGIG we proposed a broad definition and identified a list of about 15 top issues which fall under “Internet Governance”, much more than the so-called ICANN issues. One lesson learned is that in Internet Governance you need special arrangements for specific issues. These arrangements should be developed bottom up with the involvement of all stakeholders. Accordingly a governance mechanism to fight cybercrime or promote eCommerce should look different from a governance mechanism dealing with IP addresses or domain names.

A governmental framework on the level of principle has to offer the flexibility which is needed to stimulate further innovation and creativity with regard to the development of new opportunities, new services and new applications. It has to guarantee that the Internet remains free and all human rights are fully respected everywhere. The Internet key resources are enabling resources and it is of crucial importance for the civil society that they remain easy accessible and affordable for everyone.