Multi-Stakeholder Public Policy Governance and its ......Multi-Stakeholder Public Policy Governance...

Multi-Stakeholder Public Policy

Governance and its Application to

the Internet Governance Forum

Jeremy Malcolm, LLB (Hons) B Com

This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophyof Murdoch University, 2008

Multi-Stakeholder Public Policy Governance and its Application to the Internet Gover-nance Forumby Jeremy Malcolm, LLB (Hons) B Com

There are many networks of transport and communication that cross national borders, but the Internet’s

infrastructure has been designed to do so with unusual subtlety. As a result, public policy issues raised

in governance of the Internet tend to be inherently transnational in nature. This makes the legitimacy of

a purely domestic legal approach to Internet governance questionable. The fact that conflicting domestic

regimes may interfere with each other, and may clash with the transnational cultural and technical

architecture of the Internet, further complicates an approach to governance based around legal rules.

But on the other hand more traditional and decentralised mechanisms of Internet governance such as

norms, markets and architecture suffer their own deficits of both legitimacy and effectiveness.

Governance by multi-stakeholder network conceptually provides a solution in that it brings together each

of the other mechanisms of governance and the stakeholders by whom they are commonly employed. Such

a multi-stakeholder approach has begun to permeate (and in some issue areas even to supersede) the

existing international system, as partially evidenced in the Internet governance regime by reforms that

took root at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and have begun to find expression

in its product, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

Governance by network does not however emerge spontaneously, but requires supportive institutional

structures and processes. To maximise the legitimacy and effectiveness of these, and to ensure their

interoperability both with the international system and with the architecture of the Internet, requires a

balance to be struck between the anarchistic and consensual organisational models typified by “native”

Internet governance institutions such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and hierarchical

and democratic models drawn from governmental and private sector examples and from the study of

deliberative democracy.

As an early experiment in multi-stakeholder governance by network, the Internet Governance Forum

does not quite strike the correct balance: its hierarchical structure under the leadership of the United

Nations is incompatible with its multi-stakeholder democratic ambitions, and more importantly it lacks

the institutional capacity to fulfil its mandate to contribute to public policy development.

This can largely be redressed by reforming the IGF’s plenary body, and its online analogue, as venues

for democratic deliberation, subject to the oversight of an executive body or bureau to which each

stakeholder group appoints its own representatives, and which is responsible for ratifying any decisions

of the larger group by consensus. In particular, requiring this bureau to broker consensus between

stakeholder groups (as in a consociation), rather than just amongst its members at large, can assist to

diminish the power games that have limited the IGF to date.

Copyright © 2008 Jeremy Malcolm. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the

terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software

Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license

is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License.”

Declaration of originality

I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main con-

tent work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education

institution.

Jeremy Malcolm

Acknowledgements

Before commencing this thesis—originally as a seriously over-ambitious Master of Laws—I

imagined that I might be able to carry on managing my law practice and IT consultancy

part-time. My former staff, who quickly discovered with me that this was not to be the case,

are to be applauded for their forbearance and understanding.

The thesis might never in fact have come to be written at all were it not for my good fortune

to secure the supervision of Professor Roger Clarke, most relevantly Visiting Professor at

the University of New South Wales in the Baker & McKenzie Cyberspace Law & Policy

Centre. During the Masters phase he was ably assisted locally by Dr Ingrid Richardson

from Murdoch’s School of Media Communication & Culture. Following the transition to a

doctorate, Dr Richardson took a back seat to Dr Verson Nase of Murdoch’s School of Law,

who despite always downplaying his contribution, never had any cause to do so. In fact, the

support and advice of each of my supervisors has been invaluable, and unenviable given the

range of disciplines on which the thesis touches.

I have given a number of presentations on the subject matter of my thesis over the past three

years, including a Law Tech Talk hosted by David Vaile, Executive Director of the Baker

& McKenzie Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, a presentation to the inaugural GigaNet

conference held in conjunction with the Athens IGF meeting, and presentations at Murdoch

University and to the Western Australian Internet Association. I would like to thank the

organisers and the participants at each of these sessions for their comments.

I must also acknowledge those who read drafts of the thesis as it was published online,

especially my parents Ian and Kaye Malcolm, and the President of the Internet Society of

Australia, Tony Hill. The remaining errors and other inadequecies of the thesis are of course

my own.

Finally I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the many open source developers who

contributed to the software that was used to produce this thesis in its printed and online forms,

and in particular I would like to thank Markus Hoenicka, author of RefDB (http://refdb.

sourceforge.net/), Chris Karakas, author of Document processing with LyX and SGML

(http://www.karakas-online.de/mySGML/), and Dashamir Hoxha, author of DocBook Wiki

(http://doc-book.sourceforge.net/), for their personal assistance.

My thanks and apologies are extended to any others who have assisted me in the preparation

http://refdb.sourceforge.net/

http://refdb.sourceforge.net/

http://www.karakas-online.de/mySGML/

http://doc-book.sourceforge.net/

of this thesis but whom I have forgotten to mention specifically. I cannot, however, conclude

these acknowledgements without thanking my wife Dominica for her continual support and

encouragement, for which I hope I will have the pleasure of repaying her over the rest of our

lives together.

8

Table of ContentsTable of Abbreviations ................................................................................... xvii

Table of Cases................................................................................................ xlvii

Table of Statutes and International Instruments............................................ xlix

Preface................................................................................................................ li

1. Introduction.................................................................................................... 1

1.1. The hacker ethos.....................................................................................................31.2. Genesis of the Internet............................................................................................41.3. Technical and social architecture ............................................................................7

1.3.1. Shaking the architecture’s foundations........................................................81.4. Governance mechanisms .......................................................................................11

1.4.1. Rules..........................................................................................................141.4.2. Norms........................................................................................................151.4.3. Markets .....................................................................................................161.4.4. Architecture...............................................................................................181.4.5. Networks....................................................................................................18

2. Internet governance as it was ....................................................................... 21

2.1. Technical coordination..........................................................................................222.1.1. Historical development ..............................................................................23

2.1.1.1. The inception of ICANN................................................................242.1.2. Current arrangements ...............................................................................29

2.1.2.1. International ..................................................................................302.1.2.2. Regional .........................................................................................332.1.2.3. National .........................................................................................34

2.1.3. Criticisms ..................................................................................................362.2. Standards development.........................................................................................40

2.2.1. Standards bodies .......................................................................................412.2.1.1. IETF ..............................................................................................422.2.1.2. W3C...............................................................................................452.2.1.3. ITU ................................................................................................47

2.2.2. Criticisms ..................................................................................................512.2.2.1. Effectiveness...................................................................................522.2.2.2. Inclusiveness...................................................................................522.2.2.3. Legitimacy .....................................................................................53

2.3. Public policy governance ......................................................................................552.3.1. Internet-related public policy issues ..........................................................55

2.3.1.1. Internet stability, security and cybercrime ....................................582.3.1.2. Spam..............................................................................................602.3.1.3. Intellectual property rights (IPR)..................................................622.3.1.4. Freedom of expression....................................................................652.3.1.5. Data protection and privacy rights ................................................672.3.1.6. Consumer rights.............................................................................702.3.1.7. Development ..................................................................................712.3.1.8. e-commerce and e-government .......................................................74

2.3.2. Criticisms ..................................................................................................752.4. Governance mechanisms revisited.........................................................................77

ix

3. The international system.............................................................................. 83

3.1. International law and international relations........................................................833.1.1. International law .......................................................................................833.1.2. International relations ...............................................................................85

3.1.2.1. Regime theory................................................................................873.2. Actors in international law ...................................................................................87

3.2.1. Governments..............................................................................................893.2.1.1. The United Nations .......................................................................903.2.1.2. World Trade Organization .............................................................923.2.1.3. International Labour Organization ................................................953.2.1.4. The European Union .....................................................................96

3.2.2. The private sector .....................................................................................993.2.2.1. The new law merchant................................................................. 101

3.2.3. Civil society............................................................................................. 1043.2.3.1. Civil society’s influence on international law ............................... 1053.2.3.2. ECOSOC ..................................................................................... 108

3.2.4. New medievalism..................................................................................... 1093.3. Sources of international law................................................................................ 111

3.3.1. Hard law.................................................................................................. 1123.3.1.1. International conventions............................................................. 1133.3.1.2. International custom.................................................................... 1143.3.1.3. General principles of law.............................................................. 115

3.3.2. Soft law ................................................................................................... 1163.3.2.1. Resolutions................................................................................... 1173.3.2.2. Codes ........................................................................................... 1183.3.2.3. Standards ..................................................................................... 119

3.3.3. Private law .............................................................................................. 1213.3.3.1. Transnational law ........................................................................ 121

3.4. Limitations of international law.......................................................................... 1233.4.1. The legitimacy of authority..................................................................... 124

3.4.1.1. Governments ................................................................................ 1263.4.1.2. Private sector ............................................................................... 1293.4.1.3. Civil society ................................................................................. 130

3.4.2. Jurisdiction.............................................................................................. 1343.4.2.1. Enforcement of international law................................................. 1343.4.2.2. Conflict of laws ............................................................................ 1363.4.2.3. Spillover effects ............................................................................ 137

3.4.3. Universality ............................................................................................. 1413.4.3.1. Differences between legal systems................................................ 1413.4.3.2. Ideological differences .................................................................. 1443.4.3.3. Cultural differences ...................................................................... 146

3.5. Internet governance as law.................................................................................. 150

4. Designing a governance network..................................................................155

4.1. Anarchistic.......................................................................................................... 1564.1.1. Anarchy and the Internet ........................................................................ 157

4.1.1.1. Usenet .......................................................................................... 1584.1.1.2. Wikipedia..................................................................................... 161

4.1.2. Anarchistic Internet governance .............................................................. 1644.1.3. Criticisms ................................................................................................ 166

4.2. Hierarchical......................................................................................................... 1684.2.1. Bureaucracy............................................................................................. 169

x

4.2.2. Oligarchy ................................................................................................. 1714.2.2.1. ICANN as an oligarchy ................................................................ 1714.2.2.2. The IGF as an oligarchy .............................................................. 173

4.2.3. Meritocracy ............................................................................................. 1744.2.3.1. The IETF as a meritocracy ......................................................... 1754.2.3.2. The IGF as a meritocracy............................................................ 177

4.2.4. Hybrid models ......................................................................................... 1794.2.4.1. Co-regulation ............................................................................... 1794.2.4.2. Hybrid models in Internet governance ......................................... 1824.2.4.3. Governments as a proxy for the meritocracy............................... 1834.2.4.4. Hierarchy and open source software............................................. 184

4.2.5. Anarchistic–hierarchical Internet governance .......................................... 1934.2.6. Criticisms ................................................................................................ 196

4.3. Democratic.......................................................................................................... 1974.3.1. Representation......................................................................................... 200

4.3.1.1. Direct versus representative ......................................................... 2014.3.1.2. Filter versus mirror...................................................................... 2024.3.1.3. Procedural versus substantive...................................................... 2044.3.1.4. Transnational democracy ............................................................. 207

4.3.2. Consent ................................................................................................... 2104.3.2.1. Participatory democracy.............................................................. 2144.3.2.2. Deliberative democracy................................................................ 2154.3.2.3. Deliberation in the public sphere................................................. 2194.3.2.4. Deliberation in domestic politics ................................................. 2224.3.2.5. Deliberation in non-state entities................................................. 226

4.3.3. Transparency and accountability............................................................. 2284.3.3.1. Transparency ............................................................................... 2294.3.3.2. Accountability.............................................................................. 230

4.3.4. Inclusion .................................................................................................. 2344.3.4.1. e-democracy ................................................................................. 2354.3.4.2. Internet democracy ...................................................................... 2404.3.4.3. Online deliberation ...................................................................... 243

4.3.5. Criticisms ................................................................................................ 2484.3.5.1. Conceptual criticisms................................................................... 2494.3.5.2. Digital deficits.............................................................................. 2514.3.5.3. Political issues.............................................................................. 255

4.4. Consensual .......................................................................................................... 2574.4.1. Consensus between stakeholder groups ................................................... 260

4.4.1.1. Consociationalism ........................................................................ 2614.4.2. Deliberative consensus............................................................................. 264

4.4.2.1. Offline consensus.......................................................................... 2644.4.2.2. Online consensus.......................................................................... 267

4.4.3. Consensus in Internet governance ........................................................... 2694.4.3.1. ICANN......................................................................................... 2694.4.3.2. APNIC......................................................................................... 2734.4.3.3. IETF ............................................................................................ 274

4.4.4. Criticisms ................................................................................................ 2754.4.4.1. Consensus and culture ................................................................. 2764.4.4.2. Consensus and rational choice ..................................................... 2784.4.4.3. Consensual deficits....................................................................... 280

4.5. Multi-stakeholder public policy development...................................................... 282

xi

5. Reform of Internet governance ....................................................................285

5.1. WSIS................................................................................................................... 2855.1.1. Processes ................................................................................................. 287

5.1.1.1. Stakeholder institutions ............................................................... 2895.1.2. First phase............................................................................................... 291

5.1.2.1. Declaration of Principles.............................................................. 2915.1.2.2. The stakeholder groups revisited ................................................. 2935.1.2.3. Plan of Action.............................................................................. 294

5.1.3. WGIG...................................................................................................... 2955.1.3.1. Processes ...................................................................................... 2965.1.3.2. Mandate....................................................................................... 2975.1.3.3. An Internet governance forum ..................................................... 3005.1.3.4. Global public policy and oversight............................................... 300

5.1.4. Second phase ........................................................................................... 3025.1.4.1. Enhanced cooperation.................................................................. 3035.1.4.2. The Internet Governance Forum.................................................. 308

5.2. IGF ..................................................................................................................... 3095.2.1. Preparations ............................................................................................ 311

5.2.1.1. Submissions.................................................................................. 3125.2.1.2. Open consultations ...................................................................... 3145.2.1.3. Secretariat.................................................................................... 3185.2.1.4. Advisory Group ........................................................................... 319

5.2.2. The First Meeting ................................................................................... 3215.2.2.1. Submissions.................................................................................. 3215.2.2.2. Plenary sessions ........................................................................... 3245.2.2.3. Workshops.................................................................................... 3285.2.2.4. Remote participation ................................................................... 329

5.2.3. Outcomes................................................................................................. 3315.2.3.1. Dynamic coalitions....................................................................... 3325.2.3.2. Follow-up ..................................................................................... 333

5.2.4. The Second Meeting................................................................................ 3365.2.4.1. Consultations ............................................................................... 3385.2.4.2. Submissions.................................................................................. 3415.2.4.3. Plenary sessions ........................................................................... 3425.2.4.4. Workshops, open fora and best practices fora ............................. 3435.2.4.5. Dynamic coalitions....................................................................... 3445.2.4.6. Remote participation ................................................................... 345

5.3. Regional initiatives ............................................................................................. 3455.3.1. CGI.br ..................................................................................................... 347

5.4. Other proposals .................................................................................................. 3485.4.1. Anarchistic .............................................................................................. 3495.4.2. Hierarchical ............................................................................................. 3515.4.3. Democratic .............................................................................................. 3545.4.4. Consensual............................................................................................... 356

5.4.4.1. Anchored in the international system.......................................... 3565.4.4.2. Autonomous transnational law .................................................... 358

5.5. The need for further reform................................................................................ 361

xii

6. The IGF’s report card .................................................................................365

6.1. Other organisations as models ............................................................................ 3676.2. Role..................................................................................................................... 371

6.2.1. Policy-setting........................................................................................... 3736.2.1.1. Recommendations ........................................................................ 3746.2.1.2. Transnational law ........................................................................ 378

6.2.2. Coordination ........................................................................................... 3806.2.2.1. Subsidiarity.................................................................................. 3826.2.2.2. Network building ......................................................................... 3846.2.2.3. Meta-governance .......................................................................... 386

6.2.3. Development............................................................................................ 3906.3. Structure............................................................................................................. 391

6.3.1. Existing structures .................................................................................. 3936.3.1.1. Plenary......................................................................................... 3936.3.1.2. Secretariat.................................................................................... 3986.3.1.3. Advisory Group ........................................................................... 4016.3.1.4. Open consultations ...................................................................... 4046.3.1.5. Workshops and dynamic coalitions .............................................. 4066.3.1.6. Open fora ..................................................................................... 410

6.3.2. Structural reform..................................................................................... 4116.3.2.1. Consociationalism and the IGF ................................................... 4126.3.2.2. Nominating committee................................................................. 4166.3.2.3. Multi-stakeholder bureau ............................................................. 420

6.4. Processes............................................................................................................. 4236.4.1. Representation......................................................................................... 424

6.4.1.1. The UN multi-stakeholder process............................................... 4256.4.1.2. A consociational multi-stakeholder process.................................. 427

6.4.2. Consent ................................................................................................... 4316.4.2.1. Democratic deliberation............................................................... 4336.4.2.2. Assessing consensus ..................................................................... 440

6.4.3. Transparency and accountability............................................................. 4436.4.3.1. Transparency ............................................................................... 4436.4.3.2. Accountability.............................................................................. 447

6.4.4. Inclusion .................................................................................................. 4536.4.4.1. e-democracy ................................................................................. 4546.4.4.2. Internet democracy ...................................................................... 458

6.5. A new IGF.......................................................................................................... 462

A. Comparison of other organisations .............................................................471

B. GNU Free Documentation Licence .............................................................475

B.1. GNU Free Documentation Licence..................................................................... 475B.1.1. Preamble................................................................................................. 475B.1.2. Applicablility and definitions.................................................................. 475B.1.3. Verbatim copying.................................................................................... 477B.1.4. Copying in quantity................................................................................ 477B.1.5. Modifications .......................................................................................... 478B.1.6. Combining documents ............................................................................ 480B.1.7. Collections of documents ........................................................................ 480B.1.8. Aggregation with independent works ..................................................... 480B.1.9. Translation.............................................................................................. 481B.1.10. Termination .......................................................................................... 481B.1.11. Future revisions of this license.............................................................. 481

xiii

Bibliography ....................................................................................................483

Index................................................................................................................527

xiv

List of Figures2-1. Internet governance organisations .................................................................................292-2. Public policy issues .......................................................................................................562-3. Governance types and mechanisms ...............................................................................774-1. Conceptions of democracy........................................................................................... 2134-2. On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.............................................................. 2414-3. Tools for online democracy.......................................................................................... 2475-1. Substantive issues for the IGF .................................................................................... 3176-1. Organisations comparable to the IGF......................................................................... 370

xv

Table of Abbreviations

2LD

Second Level Domain

AACS

Advanced Access Content System

AAP

Alternative Approval Process (see ITU )

AARNET

Australian Academic Research Network

AC

Advisory Committee (see ICANN )

ACA

(see ACMA)

ACCC

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

ACCI

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

ACLU

American Civil Liberties Union

xvii


ACMA

Australian Communications and Media Authority

ACTU

Australian Council of Trade Unions

ADMA

Australian Direct Marketing Association

ADNA

Australian Domain Name Administration

AGIMO

Australian Government Information Managment Office

ALAC

At-Large Advisory Committee (see ICANN )

ANSI

American National Standards Institute

AOL

America Online

APC

Association for Progressive Communications

APDIP

Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (see UNDP)

xviii


APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

APNIC

Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre

APRA

Australian Performers Rights Association

APRALO

Asia-Pacific Regional At-Large Organization (see ICANN )

ARIA

Australian Recording Industry Association

ARIN

American Registry for Internet Numbers

ARPA

see DARPA

AS

Autonomous System

ASEAN

Association of South East Asian Nations

xix


ASF

Apache Software Foundation

ASIC

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

ASO

Address Supporting Organization (see ICANN )

ASRB

Accounting Standards Review Board

ASRG

Anti-Spam Research Group

ASTA

Anti-Spam Technical Alliance

auDRP

.au Dispute Resolution Policy

AUP

Acceptable Use Policy

AURSC

Australian Root Server Consortium

AusCERT

Australian Computer Emergency Response Team

xx


auWG

dot-AU Working Group

B2B

Business to business

BASIS

Business Action to Support the Information Society

BDFL

Benevolent Dictator For Life

BGP

Border Gateway Protocol

BIND

Berkeley Internet Name Daemon

BOF

Birds of a Feather (see IETF )

C-CAICE

Canadian Coalition Against Internet Child Exploitation

CA

Certification Authority

xxi


CAC

Consumer Advisory Council

CAMDUN

Campaign for a More Democratic United Nations

CCBI

Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors (see WSIS )

CCNSO

Country Code Names Supporting Organization (see ICANN )

ccTLD

Country-code Top Level Domain

CDT

Center for Democracy and Technology

CEN

European Committee for Standardization

CERT

Computer Emergency Response Team

CERT.br

Centro de Estudos, Resposta e Tratamento de Incidentes de Seguranca no Brasil

CGI.br

Comite Gestor da Internet no Brasil

xxii


CMC

Computer-Mediated Communication

CNSA

Contact Network of Anti-Spam Enforcement Authorities

CoE

Community of Expertise (see GAID)

CONGO

Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the

United Nations

COO

Chief Operating Officer

CoR

Committee of the Regions (see EU )

CORE

Council of Registrars

CPA

Certified Public Accountant

CS-IGC

Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus

xxiii


CSB

Civil Society Bureau

CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility

CSS

Content Scrambling System

DARPA

Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency

DCOS

Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards

DDoS

Distributed Denial of Service

DEMOS

Delphi Mediation Online System

DKIM

Domain Keys Identified Mail

DMCA

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

DNS

Domain Name System

xxiv


DNSSEC

DNS Security Extensions

DOT Force

Digital Opportunities Task Force

DRM

Digital Rights Management

DSF

Digital Solidarity Fund

DVD

Digital Versatile Disk

EBITT

E-Business, IT and Telecoms (see ICC )

EC

European Community

ECOSOC

Economic and Social Council (see UN )

ECSC

European Coal and Steel Community

xxv


EEC

European Economic Community

EESC

Economic and Social Committee (see EU )

EFA

Electronic Frontiers Australia

EFF

Electronic Frontiers Foundation

ENISA

European Network and Information Security Agency

ENSTA

Ecole Nationale Superieure de Techniques Avancees

ETNO

European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association

EU

European Union

EUROLINC

European Languages Internet Conference

FIRST

Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams

xxvi


FLOSS

Free/Libre/Open Source Software

FNC

Federal Network Council

FOSS

Free/Open Source Software

FSC

Forestry Stewardship Council

FSF

Free Software Foundation

FTA

Fair Trade Agreement

FTC

Federal Trade Commission

FTP

File Transfer Protocol

G77

Group of 77

xxvii


GAC

Governmental Advisory Committee (see ICANN )

GAID

Global Alliance for ICT and Development

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GBDe

Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce

GFDL

GNU Free Documentation License

GIC [1]

Global Internet Council (see WGIG)

GIC [2]

Group for the Internationalization of the Cyberspace

GIFT

Global Internet Freedom Taskforce

GKP

Global Knowledge Partnership

GNSO

Generic Names Supporting Organization (see ICANN )

xxviii


GNU

GNU’s Not Unix

GO

Geosynchronous Orbit

GONGO

Government-Organised Non-governmental Organisation

GPL

General Public License

GRASS

Group Report Authoring Support System

GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications

gTLD

Generic Top Level Domain

gTLD-MOU

Generic Top Level Domain Memorandum of Understanding

HLSOC

High-Level Summit Organizing Committee

xxix


HTML

HyperText Markup Language

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol

I18N

Internationalisation

IAHC

Internet International Ad Hoc Committee

IAIS

International Association of Insurance Supervisors

IAL

International Law Association

ICA

Institute of Cultural Affairs

ICANN

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

ICAO

International Civil Aviation Organization

ICC

International Chamber of Commerce

xxx


ICCB

Internet Configuration Control Board

ICJ

International Court of Justice

ICPEN

International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network

ICRA

Internet Content Rating Association

ICT

Information and Communication Technologies

ICT4D

ICT for Development

IEC

International Electrotechnical Commission

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IESG

Internet Engineering Steering Group

xxxi


IETF

Internet Engineering Task Force

IFWP

International Forum on the White Paper

IGF

Internet Governance Forum

IGO

Inter-Governmental Organisation

IGP

Internet Governance Project

IIA

Internet Industry Association of Australia

IIC

International Internet Council (see WGIG)

IIL

Institute of International Law

ILO

International Labour Organization

ILPF

Internet Law and Policy Forum

xxxii


IMF

International Monetary Fund

IMO

International Maritime Organization

INTA

International Trade Mark Association

InterNIC

Internet Network Information Centre

IOSCO

International Organization of Securities Commissions

IPR

Intellectual Property Rights

IRC

Internet Relay Chat

IRP

Independent Review Panel (see ICANN )

IRSG

Internet Research Steering Group

xxxiii


IRTF

Internet Research Task Force

ISI

Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California

ISO

International Organization for Standardization

ISP

Internet Service Provider

ISTF

Internet Societal Task Force

ITAA

Information Technology Association of America

ITR

International Telecommunications Regulations

ITS

Incompatible Time-sharing System

ITU

International Telecommunications Union

IWF

Internet Watch Foundation

xxxiv


JPA

Joint Project Agreement

JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group

JTC 1

Information Technology Joint Technical Committee (see ISO)

K4D

Knowledge for Development

LAP

London Action Plan

MAC

Membership Advisory Committee (see ICANN )

MAG

Multistakeholder Advisory Group (see IGF )

MBCA

Mutually Beneficial Collective Action

MDG

Millennium Development Goals

xxxv


MEP

Member of the European Parliament

MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

MINC

Multilingual Internet Names Consortium

MIPI

Music Industry Piracy Investigations

MIT

Massechusetts Institute of Technology

MMWG

Multistakeholder Modalities Working Group

MNC

Multinational Corporation

MOU

Memorandum of Understanding

MPEG

Moving Picture Experts Group

MSP

Multi-stakeholder partnership

xxxvi


NACPEC

North American Consumer Project on Electronic Commerce

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NGO

Non-Governmental Organisation

NIR

National Internet Registry

NOIE

National Office of the Information Economy

NRO

Number Resources Organization

NSF

National Science Foundation

NSI

Network Solutions Incorporated

NTIA

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

xxxvii


NWG

Network Working Group

OECD

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OHCHR

Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

OIC

Organization of the Islamic Conference

OPM

Open Policy Meeting (see APNIC )

ORDIG

Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance

OSI

Open Systems Interconnection

P2P

Peer-to-Peer

P3P

Platform for Privacy Preferences

PAB [1]

Policy Advisory Body (see gTLD-MOU )

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PAB [2]

Policy Advisory Board (see auDA)

PDP

Policy Development Process (see ICANN )

PFIR

People For Internet Responsibility

PGP

Pretty Good Privacy

PICS

Platform for Internet Content Selection

PIR

Public Interest Registry

POC

Policy Oversight Committee (see gTLD-MOU )

PPP

Public-private partnership

PSTN

Public Switched Telephone Network

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PTT

Postal Telegraph and Telephone

RALO

Regional At-Large Organization (see ICANN )

RDF

Resource Description Framework

RFC

Request For Comment

RIAA

Recording Industry Association of America

RIPE NCC

Reseaux IP Europeens Network Coordination Centre

RIR

Regional Internet Registries

RSS

Really Simple Syndication

RTF

Rich Text Format

SABDFL

Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator For Life

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SAG

Special Advisory Group (see IGF )

SEC

Securities Exchange Commission

SET

Secure Electronic Transactions

SGML

Standard Generalised Markup Language

SIA

Satellite Industry Association

SIDN

Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland

SIG

Special Interest Group

SMF

Simple Machines Forum

SMTP

Simple Mail Transport Protocol

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SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol

SO

Supporting Organization (see ICANN )

SPI

Software in the Public Interest

SPIN

Segmentary, Polycentric, Integrated Network

SRS

Shared Registry System (see gTLD-MOU )

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer

TAG

Technical Advisory Group (see W3C )

TCCC

Telstra Consumer Consultative Council

TEL

Telecommunications and Information Working Group (see APEC )

TFFM

Task Force on Financing Mechanisms

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TIO

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

TLD

Top Level Domain

TLG

Technical Liaison Group (see ICANN )

TLS

Transport Layer Security

TRIPS

Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

TSB

Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (see ITU )

UDRP

Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy

UN

United Nations

UNCITRAL

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

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UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNICTTF

United Nations ICT Task Force

UNIDROIT

International Institute for the Unification of Private Law

UNMSP

United Nations Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

UPU

Universal Postal Union

VGT

Virtual Global Taskforce

VoIP

Voice Over IP

VPN

Virtual Private Network

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W3C

World Wide Web Consortium

WAP

Wireless Application Protocol

WCIT

World Conference on International Telecommunication

WGCIG

Working Group on Constitutional Internet Governance

WGIG

Working Group on Internet Governance

WHATWG

Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group

WIPO

World Intellectual Property Organization

WITSA

World Information Technology and Services Alliance

WLL

Wireless Local Loop

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WSIS

World Summit on the Information Society

WSIS-SCT

Civil Society Subcommittee on Content and Themes

WTO

World Trade Organization

WTSA

World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly

XML

Extensibile Markup Language

YSEI

Youth Social Enterprise Initiative

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Table of Cases

1267623 Ontario Inc v Nexx Online Inc (unreported Ontario Superior Court of Justice, OJ No 2246,

decided 14 June 1999), 152

ACLU v Reno (1996) 929 F Supp 824, 1

Adams v Linsell (1818) 106 ER 250, 136

FAI Insurances Ltd v Winneke (1982) 151 CLR 342, 451

Mabo v Queensland (#2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, 153

MGM v Grokster (2005) 545 US 913, 9

MGM v Grokster (2004) 380 F 3d 1154, 9, 64

Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh (1995) 183 CLR 273, 113, 117

New York Times Company v Sullivan (1964) 376 US 254, 138

Parke v Daily News Ltd [1962] Ch 927, 227

Polyukhovich v The Commonwealth (1991) 172 CLR 501, 114

R v Hourmouzis (unreported Victorian County Court, decided 30 October 2000), 71

SEC v Hourmouzis (unreported, District Court of Colorado, no 00-N-905, decided 1 May 2000), 71

The Queen v Toohey; Ex parte Northern Land Council (1981) 151 CLR 170, 451

Universal City Studios Inc v Reimerdes (2000) 111 F Supp 2d 294, 64

Yahoo! Inc v La Ligue Contre le Racisme (2006) 433 F3d 1199, 65

Zippo Manufacturing v Zippo Dot Com, Inc (1997) 952 F Supp 1119, 140

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Table of Cases

xlviii

Table of Statutes and International

Instruments

Aarhus Convention, 25 Jun 1998, 1998 SD No 46 (entry into force 30 Oct 2001), 106, 357

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, 15 Apr 1994, 1995 ATS No 38

(entry into force for Australia 19 May 1995), 63

Anticybersquatting Protection Act 1999 (US) 113 Stat 1501, Public Law 106-113, 63

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 9 Sep 1886, as revised 13 Nov

1908, completed 20 Mar 1914, revised 2 Jun 1928 and revised 26 Jun 1948, 1969 ATS No 13 (entry

into force for Australia 1 Jun 1969), 62

Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth), 66, 180

Charter of the United Nations, 26 June 1945, 1945 ATS No 1 (entry into force for Australia 1 Nov

1945), 90, 91, 108

Constitution of the United States of America, 17 Sep 1787, 114

Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act 2003 (US) 117 Stat 2699

Public Law 108-187, 61

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 18 Dec 1979, 1983

ATS No 9 (entry into force for Australia 27 Aug 1983), 128

Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 10 Jun 1958, 1975 ATS

No 25 (entry into force for Australia 24 Jun 1975), 136

Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), 63, 64

Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), 202

Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention, 23 Nov 2001, 2003 S Treaty Doc No 108-11, 59

Cybercrime Act 2001 (Cth), 59

Decree No 4,829 of 3 Sep 2003 (Brazil), DOU of 4 Sep 2003, Section I, p 24, 347

Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US) 112 Stat 2860, Public Law 105-304, 64

Disability Convention, 6 Dec 2006, A/61/611 (not yet in force), 387, 467

EEX Convention, 27 Sep 1968, OJ L/299/32, 137

Electronic Transactions Act 2001 (Cth), 74, 119

EVEX Convention, 16 Sep 1988, 137

Extradition Act 1988 (Cth), 137

Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Cth), 137, 143

Hague Convention on Choice of Law Agreements, 30 Jun 2005, 74, 136, 141

ILO Constitution, 9 Oct 1946, 1948 ATS No 8 (entry into force 20 Apr 1948), 95

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 16 Dec 1966, 1980 ATS No 23 (entry into force

for Australia (except Article 41) 13 Nov 1980), 67, 84, 117, 142, 147, 148, 205

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 16 Dec 1966, 1976 ATS No 5 (entry

into force for Australia 10 Mar 1976), 117, 205, 254

Louisiana Revised Statutes (LA), 76

Metric Convention, 20 May 1875, 1947 ATS No 22 (entry into force 20 Dec 1875), 120

Mine Ban Treaty , 18 Sep 1997, 1999 ATS No 3 (entry into force for Australia 1 Sep 1999), 106, 387,

467

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child , 25 May 2000, 2007 ATS No 6 (entry

into force for Australia 8 Feb 2007), 60

Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property , 20 Mar 1883, as revised 14 Dec 1900, 2

Jun 1911, 6 Nov 1925, 2 Jun 1934, 31 Oct 1958, and 14 Jul 1967, 1972 ATS No 12 (entry into force

for Australia of substantive provisions 27 Sep 1975), 62

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), 68, 75

Rome Convention, 26 Oct 1961, 1992 ATS No 29 (entry into force for Australia 30 Sep 1992), 62,

136

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Table of Statutes and International Instruments

Single European Act , 17 Feb 1986, 1987 O.J (L 169) 1, 25 ILM 506, 97

Spam Act 2003 (Cth), 61, 152, 180

Statute of the International Court of Justice, 26 Jun 1945, 1975 ATS No 50 (entry into force for

Australia 1 Nov 1945), 91, 112, 134, 141

Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth), 35, 180–182, 257

Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, 29 Oct 2004, 129

Treaty of Amsterdam, 2 Oct 1997, 1997 OJ (C 340) 1, 37 ILM 56, 97

Treaty of Nice, 26 Feb 2001, 2001 OJ (C 80) 1, 97, 98

Treaty on European Union, 7 Feb 1992, 1992 O J (C 191), 31 ILM 253, 97

UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, 23 Nov 2005,

74

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 9 May 1992, 1994 ATS No 2 (entry into force 21

Mar 2004), 357

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 23 May 1969, 1974 ATS No 2 (entry into force 27 Jan

1980), 116, 142

WIPO Copyright Treaty , 20 Dec 1996, 62, 63

WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty , 20 Dec 1996, 63

l

Preface

Like many watershed moments, the establishment of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

in 2006 went unnoticed by most Internet users. But by providing an integrated forum for

considered deliberation on Internet public policy issues, the IGF has the potential to begin to

legitimately address some of the Internet’s biggest challenges—such as spam, cybercrime, and

freedom of expression online that have proved intractable for its current governance regime

(an odd patchwork of United States government fiat, decentralised private action and ad hoc

national and international regulation).

This thesis explores the potential for the IGF to act as a democratically legitimate and effec-

tive body within which for all concerned stakeholders—including those largely excluded from

the Internet governance regime until now—to collaborate on the development of public policy

concerning the Internet, following a model that draws from the decentralised governance exer-

cised by organisations involved in the development of the Internet’s technical standards, but

which also recognises the need to interoperate with other sources and subjects of international

and transnational (non-state) law.

Chapter 1 introduces the Internet, the freewheeling community of computing enthusiasts

who developed it, and the imprint that their ethos has left on its technical architecture and

culture. Five different mechanisms for governing the Internet are then described: rules, norms,

markets, architecture and the hybrid mechanism of governance by network, and some thoughts

are offered as to how well the Internet’s culture accommodates the use of each of these

mechanisms. In particular it is found that the hierarchical mechanism of rules suffers from

problems both of legitimacy and effectiveness when applied to the transnational governance

of the Internet, and that governance by network may be a more balanced mechanism for use

in this context.

Chapter 2 describes the Internet governance regime that preceded the formation of the IGF,

in each of three spheres: technical coordination (management of the Internet’s technical archi-

tecture and resources), standards development, and public policy governance (development

of Internet-related public policy). This involves consideration of the structure and activities

of the existing institutions active in each sphere, such as ICANN in technical coordination,

the IETF in standards development, and various intergovernmental organisations in public

policy governance. It is concluded that the decentralised mechanisms of governance upon

which the Internet’s technical coordination and standards development have relied are no

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Preface

more legitimate or effective in their own right than the use of hierarchical rules, reinforcing

the nomination of network governance as the most appropriate foundation for governing the

Internet.

Chapter 3 examines how the Internet governance regime fits with the present international

system, and outlines how that system has attempted to grapple with the intractable task

of legitimately developing transnational public policy principles. A survey is made of three

existing forms of international law; hard (that is, binding), soft (including various forms of

non-binding or customary law) and private (including cross-border “transnational law”). The

increasing role of non-state actors in international arena, and problems they are likely to

face, are noted. It is concluded that there is greater scope than previously recognised for the

development of the private ordering of stakeholders in Internet governance into international

or transnational law in its own right.

Chapter 4 starts from the position already developed that the legitimacy of any organisation

involved in public policy governance of the Internet requires the involvement of a network of

affected stakeholders. How this general principle translates into a specific model for collabo-

rative decision-making is then addressed. Insights are drawn both from the anarchistic and

consensual organisational models familiar to “native” Internet governance institutions such as

the IETF, and the hierarchical and democratic models more common in governmental and

intergovernmental circles. An overarching principle to be observed is found in the need for

any governance institution to operate with the consent of those it governs. The best way

to ensure this in a transnational, multi-stakeholder context is found to be by designing the

institution to bring in all affected viewpoints and subject them to reasoned deliberation.

Chapter 5 surveys the reforms to Internet governance that have actually been made in recent

years with the establishment of the Internet Governance Forum by the World Summit on the

Information Society (WSIS). Political forces are found to have limited the IGF in fulfilling

its mandate from WSIS, and this is found to have been reflected in its present structure

and processes. Various alternative proposals predating the discussions that led to the IGF,

and at a greater or lesser remove from the existing international system, are also examined,

but a reformed IGF is found to offer the best prospect of forming a legitimate and effective

multi-stakeholder network for developing public policy for the Internet governance regime.

Chapter 6 therefore draws together the conclusions of the preceding chapters and examines

exactly what reforms are necessary to accomplish this. The chapter begins by comparing

the IGF against various other governance institutions that had been discussed in previous

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Preface

chapters, and goes on to develop recommendations as to how the role, structure and processes

of the IGF should be reformed in order to improve its legitimacy and effectiveness as a multi-

stakeholder governance network. Amongst the recommendations made is the establishment

of a new multi-stakeholder bureau of the IGF, which would make formal decisions only by

the consensus of all stakeholder groups. It in turn would draw from the ultimate authority

of a reformed plenary body which would be empowered to deliberate democratically, both in

person and online.

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Preface

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