Session
International Trademark Association (INTA)
Lori Schulman, International Trademark Association, USA, WEOG; Agnese Gerharde, COBALT, Private Sector, Latvia, EEG; Christine Strutt, Von Seidels, Private Sector, South Africa, African Group; David Opijah, Bowmans, Private Sector, Kenya, African Group; Perpetua Mwangi, Simba & Simba Advocates, Private Sector, Kenya, African Group
David Opijah, Bowmans, Private Sector, Kenya, African Group
Marko Stavrou, HustlersGlobal, Private Sector, South Africa, African Group
Perpetua Mwangi, Simba & Simba Advocates, Private Sector, Kenya, African Group
Christine Strutt, Von Seidels, Private Sector, South Africa, African Group
Agnese Gerharde, COBALT, Private Sector, Latvia, EEG
Targets: Proposal links to 17.8 target by reviewing possible ways how to enhance the use of enabling technologies that can increase trust on the Internet for the largest generation. Additionally, the proposal would provide an opportunity to discuss increasing need for Internet governance policy development in regard to emerging technologies that would coherence for sustainable development (17.14 target).
Presentation with an interactive aspect for the audience to participate in the polls and share their views with the presenter.
Millennials and Gen Zers are the largest generations globally. Moreover, Gen Z is a generation of digital natives due to their upbringing closely linked to technology. Therefore, the concerns of Gen Z and Millennials should be factored into ongoing IGF discussions on creating safe online environment with advancement of technologies. Recent studies by INTA illuminate concerning trends across youth from very different geopolitical locations with respect to their trust on the Internet and concerns for sustainability. As a result of the IGF 2021 Lightning Talk #22 Online Trust: Insights from Gen Z, INTA calls IGF to continue to have a discussion, taking into account all online emerging technologies and their impact on the largest generation. The session touches on two IGF 2022 focus areas: Enabling Safety, Security and Accountability and Addressing Advanced Technologies, including AI. The IGF 2022 themes will be addressed by the following policy questions. Online Emerging technologies and their impact on Gen Z: is blockchain another way to build trust for Gen Z, a generation of digital natives? According to INTA's study, 1/3 of respondents from Gen Z and Millennials would worry products they purchase online are counterfeit. Therefore, finding ways to build trust on the Internet seems fundamental. Could blockchain non-fungible tokens (NFTs) help reduce counterfeiting and thereby bring increased trust from Gen Z and Millennials using the Internet? And in that way, could blockchain systems, which allow for enhanced controls over authenticity, be used to make the Internet more secure and safer for Gen Z and Millennials, thereby increasing their trust in the government mechanisms behind the Internet? At the same time, blockchains are beginning to be used to create a separate domain system (based on true ownership and decentralized housing as NFTs on a public blockchain) supported by private industry and outside of the norms of current internet governance structures, the so-called “blockchain domains”. Whether or not government actors move to regulate creation, use and sale of these private blockchain domains has yet to be seen. Should these domains be regulated and, if so, how? Link to background resources: 2019 https://www.inta.org/perspectives/gen-z-insights-brands-and-counterfeit… 2021 https://www.inta.org/perspective/inta-research/brand-restrictions-study/
The session will provide an engaging experience for participants joining online and onsite by using instant polling mechanisms to gauge audience members’ estimates: Gen Z views, their own level of trust with respect to emerging technologies and their understanding of current regulation for online emerging technologies, if any. The near-instant results will allow the presenter to focus on the main concerns of the public and lead the discussion on impact of emerging technologies to GenZ. We plan to use Zoom and Menti which is an online polling application. Zoom will allow the free flow of information, between onsite participants and offline participants. Menti is a simple to use polling application where we can ask interactive questions with immediate responses. If Menti is not available during the session in Ethiopia, we will find a similar app or we may use the Zoom voting feature (or whatever feature is available through the IGF platform).
Report
Gen Z comprises almost half of the consumer population and therefore government, companies, and brand owners should take into consideration characteristics of emerging technologies that appeal or concern Gen Zs. Emerging technologies are great solutions towards building Gen Z’s trust. With that in mind, there should be appropriate public and private safeguards in place to ensure trust including intellectual property protection. Moreover, there i
IGF 2022 Lightening Session Report
Session Title: Online Emerging Technologies and their Impact on Gen Z
Date: November 30, 2022
Session Organizer: International Trademark Association (INTA)
Rapporteur: Agnese Gerharde, Lori Schulman
List of Speakers:
Christine Strutt, Von Seidels, Private Sector, South Africa, African Group;
David Opijah, Bowmans, Private Sector, Kenya, African Group;
Perpetua Mwangi, Simba & Simba Advocates, Private Sector, Kenya, African Group
Marko Stavrou, HustlersGlobal, Private Sector, South Africa, African Group
Session Report
In the last several years, INTA has conducted two surveys around a perception of brands among members of Gen Z, with the recognition that Generation Z (“Gen Z”) represents a significant portion of consumers and internet users. The findings illuminated concerning trends across youth from very different geographic locations; therefore, and presented and discussed during the IGF 2021 Lightning Talk #22. INTA was encouraged to host a follow up session for IGF 2022.
The panel discussion aimed to:
- Unpack the 2012 findings further;
- Explore the perception and trust of Gen Zs in emerging online technologies; and
- Consider appropriate regulations that address the needs and concerns.
The session touched on two IGF 2022 focus areas: Enabling Safety, Security and Accountability and Addressing Advanced Technologies, including AI.
Gen Z is the age demographic of people born between 1996 and 2012 and is typically considered digitally sophisticated. Gen Z highly values trust and authenticity, are ethical shoppers, and value sustainability and brand alignment with their values. Gen Z is a generation of “digital natives” because their upbringing has been closely linked to technology. Therefore, the concerns of Gen Z should be factored into ongoing IGF discussions on creating a safe online environment as technologies advance.
The panel began with a short explanation of emerging online technologies that impact Gen Z’s internet experience including artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality (Metaverse), Internet of Things, Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), 3-Dimensional printing, and blockchain.
The panel explained the characteristics of the emerging technologies that appeal to or concern Gen Z. Thesetechnologiesallow Gen Z to be self-reliant, collaborative, achieve things at a faster rate and on a bigger scale, enable trust systems and chain of title, and individualized their online presence. For example, blockchain, NFTs and smart contracts would help verify authenticity and chain of title (for example, on counterfeit goods and online transactions) and address the issue of trust and how to increase it.
The factors influencing Gen Z’s perception and use of new online technologies include biased algorithms, limited enforcement structures, privacy concerns, lack of digital literacy, lack of access, and internet shutdowns.
During the panel discussion, the Gen Z representative shared that the survey findings confirm the actual situation, and he agrees withthe concerns presented. And, it is almost an expectation among GenZs that everything should be online. However, at the same time, it is a rising concern that the training on how to use technologies is overlooked. However, having online skills is expected in general. The focus should be more on how to integrate the technology with human interaction. Young people have internet skills, but these skills are not executed in an effective manner.
The panel concluded that several areas of internet governance could influence Gen Z’s perception and use of the new technologies. Furthermore, the panelists agreed that intellectual property has a role in creating a sense of trust in innovation, especially regarding the use of blockchain and the ability to see a complete chain of ownership. Gen Zs strongly recognize intellectual property rights, but at the same time, this generation is concerned about how to address creativity and access to individualization. The panel agreed that metaverse and its tools, like avatars, would provide privacy and increase Gen Z creativity and individualization.
Based on the concerns and current situation of emerging online technologies and Gen Zs, the panel discussed laws and regulations that could be crafted or refined to regulate the emerging technologies and their use, as well as how to increase trust among the GenZs. In particular,
- Development of policies aimed at creating institutions (especially in the global south) to lead digital literacy;
- Work at developing access to new technologies (especially in the global south) – i.e., provision of electricity, greater/more comprehensive connectivity, translation into more languages to increase access;
- Develop policies on AI and other emerging technologies;
- Data protection policies;
- Improve enforcement structures;
- Regulations that enable access to sandboxes, regulatory labs, and private-public partnerships geared at enabling testing of digital business models in experimental environments i.e., blockchain, IoT, AI, etc.;
- Specific regulations that pertain to emerging technologies e.g., AI, Blockchain, 3D printing, IoT, virtual/augmented reality, 5G, net neutrality, facial recognition;
- Regulations that allow/promote APIs that are open to third-party developers/open banking;
- Create Government Task Forces to look into immediate uses of these technologies and recommend appropriate policies and legislation regarding the trademark field.
The main key takeaways of the discussion:
- Gen Z comprises almost half of the consumer population, and therefore, government, companies, and brand owners should take into consideration characteristics of emerging technologies that appeal to or concern Gen Zs.
- Emerging technologies are great solutions for building Gen Z’s trust.
- There should be appropriate public and private safeguards in place to ensure trust, including intellectual property protection.
- There is a need to maintain a purpose and human element in how Gen Z adopts new technologies.