Internet Governance

In the twilight of a presidency characterised by 30,573 lies and constant misinformation, most social media platforms have permanently suspended Donald Trump’s accounts – a move also known as ‘the Great Deplatforming’. In doing so, platforms have taken away the megaphone Donald Trump had been using relentlessly and without accountability for years.

DiploFoundation works on capacity development in the fields of diplomacy, Internet governance, and digital co-operation. Established in 2002 by the governments of Malta and Switzerland, Diplo, among other initiatives, works to improve the role of small and developing states in global diplomacy by:

The Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) aims to provide simple and evidence-based access to and analysis of the complex fields of Internet governance and digital policy. The GIP’s particular focus is on building the capacity of diplomatic missions, international organisations, companies, and civil society to follow digital developments in Geneva, serving as a digital hub.

For delivering secure-by-design digital products, companies currently lack market incentives. Just as governments need industry for developing smart regulations and policies, the industry needs governments for setting the tone and impetus for the market. It is difficult to disagree with Bruce Schneier when he says that, in particular, the ‘Internet of Things (IoT) will remain insecure unless the government steps in and fixes the problem’. But he said that in November 2016; four years later – this is still the case.

On 26 August 2020, the Digital Finance Task Force (DFTF) launched its report entitled ‘People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future’.  The 100-plus-page document develops on the work of the UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation and the recently published UN Secretary-General’s Report on Digital Cooperation by tackling the interplay between dig

The matters pertaining to the Internet and its ‘governance’ are broad and varied, and include aspects such as human rights, cybersecurity, infrastructure and connectivity, and skills learning, among others.

On June 11, UN Secretary General António Guterres launched the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation based on the report of the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation. The launch was accompanied by a series of discussions on the Roadmap’s key recommendations.

‘Black people live the estrangement that science fiction writers imagine.’

― Greg Tate (US writer, musician, and founding member of the Black Rock Coalition)

Tech in geopolitics, data tracing apps in focus, and cyber-attacks returning to ‘normal’ were among the main digital policy trends in May 2020.

These and many other developments were covered during May’s just-in-time briefing on Internet governance – our monthly appointment on the last Tuesday of every month – which took place on 26 May 2020. They are also summarised in the Issue 50 of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) Digital Watch newsletter.

Tackling misinformation and protecting media freedom in time of crisis and data tracing apps and privacy challenges they pose were among the main digital policy trends in April 2020.

These and many other developments were covered during April’s just-in-time briefing on Internet governance – our monthly appointment on the last Tuesday of every month – which took place on 27 April 2020. They will also be summarised in the Issue 49 of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) Digital Watch newsletter.