IGF 2019 WS #394
Making National Laws Good for Internet Governance 2.0

Description: “Making National Laws Good for Internet Governance 2.0: Evolution of Legislation Worldwide”

Regulation of the internet is on the rise worldwide. Legislation, public policy, judicial decisions and private rules under a structure of self-regulation, are piling up to create a growing body of rules and standards. Navigating this structure is becoming increasingly complex. Understanding the Internet’s legislative evolution in national congresses is fundamental for the protection and defense of fundamental human rights and provides insight into what the future of Internet will look like. This panel is the 2.0 version of IGF 2018 panel “Making National Laws Good for Internet Governance”. Our panel intends to continue to engage multistakeholder actors to think about legislative developments aimed to governing the Internet around the world; what they mean for local and global governance; what lessons learned may emerge for addressing some of the most pressing challenges while protecting the virtues of an open and free internet worldwide.

This workshop will aim at identifying milestones achieved in legislation over 2018 in different countries and regions; draw lessons learnt and attempt to evaluate how many of the proposals and laws that were launched prior are being implemented and what they impact on the whole ecosystem may be.

The workshop will also attempt to evaluate and track whether the conclusions reached in 2018 remain relevant in 2019; i.e. how are laws and bills being developed? Were there efforts to address the reactivity versus proactivity of Congresses in different regions? Are there new or different topics being targeted for regulation that may have been unforeseen in 2018? Do we see a greater integration of user rights and human rights in legislation?

These are triggering questions that will be addressed in this round table composed of a group of experts from multiple stakeholders.

The roundtable will begin with a 30-minute summary of some of the most recent laws passed as well as the implementation status of the most significant legislative initiatives of 2018 (including GDPR, the recent Australian law on violent content, Fiji’s online safety Act, Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, debate about privacy law in the US) to govern the Internet in national contexts with a brief analysis of their effects, both internal and external. The roundtable will focus on identifying and addressing similarities and differences in approaching the development of Internet legislation in a variety of contexts around the world. However, the central point of the round table is to address how Internet governance is increasingly regulated at the national level through national legislation and jurisprudence and how the legislation evolves from one year to the next. In turn, during the next 60 minutes we consider several of the following questions, undoubtedly necessary to consider the impact of these regulations:

+ How has the legislation evolved from one year to the next, particularly vis a vis established global human and civil rights standards?

+ Have these laws made the internet more predictable, safer for women and vulnerable groups?

Walk-in participants will be encouraged to share their experiences and lessons learned during the discussion. The final 10 minutes will be devoted to summarizing the discussion and proposing next steps. All interventions and proposed next steps will be summarized in an outcome document by the rapporteur by the end of the session and circulated to roundtable participants

Expected Outcomes: This workshop will aim at identifying milestones achieved in legislation over 2018 in different countries and regions; draw lessons learnt and attempt to evaluate how many of the proposals and laws that were launched prior are being implemented and what they impact on the whole ecosystem may be.