IGF 2023 DC-CIV Evolving Regulation and its impact on Core Internet Values

The Core Internet Values, which comprise the technical architectural values by which the Internet is built and evolves, and derives what can be called ‘social’ or, in other words, ‘universal’ values that emerge from the way the Internet works. The Internet is a global medium open to all, regardless of geography or nationality. It's interoperable because it's a network of networks. It doesn't rely on a single application. It relies on open protocols such as TCP/IP and BGP. It's free of any centralized control, except for the needed coordination of the Domain Name System. It's end to end, so traffic from one end of the network to the other end of the network goes unhindered. It's user centric, and users have control over what they send and receive. And it's robust and reliable. The Dynamic Coalition on Core Internet Values held sessions at the 2020 and the 2021 IGFs discussing Internet in Crisis Management and Renewal and its evolution when faced with the Global Health Pandemic. In 2022, we discussed the Geopolitical neutrality of the Global Internet which touched on the possibility of a sanctions regime on the Internet. Every year, there seems to be another challenge one of the most basic Core Internet Values: its Uniqueness. In 2023, the world's economy having not recovered from the challenges of previous years, with a local crisis having global implications, inflation has affected the economy of many countries and with this, price pressures on services which might have been cheaper in the past. What was "free" on the Internet might no longer make sense financially for companies offering the service and might end up behind a paywall. What was "free" movement of information in the past might not be seen by governments as a good thing today. What was "free" connectivity might not be financially sustainable any longer. What was "free" might be blocked tomorrow - for whatever reason. Are the Core Values that gave Internet its "freedom" at risk? Regulation is now firmly back on the agenda - for all of the above reasons. In fact, was regulation ever off the agenda? Was it overshadowed by more pressing topics? Was it just evolving out of the public eye? How could it lead to fragmentation? After all, isn't regulation meant to serve the people?

As per previous experiences of having both online and in person participants, the main speaking queue will be held online, with the online moderator monitoring this queue. A speaking queue in the room will insert speakers in the online queue. All speakers and attendees will be prompted to introduce themselves before speaking. The session will actually have key participants that will both be present in person and online, so as to put them on a par basis with all other participants. The DC on Core Internet Values practised this in its past sessions at IGF with much success.