IGF 2022 Town Hall #80 Internet sanctions: infringement to multi-stakeholder model

In March 2022, the European Commission put in place restrictive measures to block the website of RT and Sputnik News. This could hint at a new era in Internet Governance: an era in which governmental bodies impose policies and regulations top-down, thereby bypassing the consensus driven and bottom-up multi-stakeholder model which lays at the core of Internet Governance. To what extent should governing bodies be able to impose Internet sanctions? What is an appropriate scope for sanctions? Should governing bodies be able to require Internet Service Providers to block certain websites?

In the Netherlands, AMS-IX and ECP | Platform for the Information Society brought together public and private partners in a neutral setting to create an argument map with all arguments in favor of and against this internet blockade. Using the following question as a starting point: “What are the arguments in the Netherlands for and against the EU regulation requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block the websites of RT and Sputnik News?”, experts from 30 different organizations came together in a neutral setting to create this argument map. This argument map can be used as a starting point to initiate follow-up discussion, both on a national and international level.

We will facilitate interaction and participation both onsite and online, through the use of both an onsite and an online moderator. We will make use of the chat function and other technical facilities to include participation both online and onsite.