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IGF 2024 Launch / Award Event #68 New challenges in Internet governance

    Global Internet Governance Academic Network
    Riccardo Nanni, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Civil Society, WEOG
    Roxana Radu, Blavatnik School of Government, Civil Society, WEOG
    Jamal Shahin, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Civil Society, WEOG
    Nadia Tjahja, United Nations University-CRIS, Civil Society, WEOG

    Speakers

    Jamal Shahin, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Civil Society, WEOG (onsite)
    Nadia Tjahja, United Nations University-CRIS, Civil Society, WEOG (onsite)
    Riccardo Nanni, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Civil Society, WEOG (online)
    Roxana Radu, Blavatnik School of Government, Civil Society, WEOG (possibly onsite)

    Any other author of the articles featured in the special issue who will be able to participate (not known yet at this time). The list of authors and respective articles is below.

    Onsite Moderator

    Jamal Shahin

    Online Moderator

    Riccardo Nanni

    Rapporteur

    Roxana Radu

    SDGs

    16.6
    16.7
    17.17


    Targets: The articles featured in the special issue address the limits and potentials of existing and emerging institutions and mechanisms of internet governance, adopting a definition of “internet governance” that is not limited to infrastructure governance but also involves platform governance and regulation as well as infrastructural deployment.
    Furthermore, they address the role of various public and private stakeholders in their various capacities (e.g., governments, regulators, civil society…) and assess their influence and effectiveness in policymaking.

    Format

    Theater

    Gathering

    Duration (minutes)
    60
    Description

    The special issue “New challenges in Internet governance” is published in Telecommunication Policy, an internationally renowned journal that provides academic and policy coverage of digital infrastructure development for close to 50 years.

    It explores novel lines of inquiry in Internet governance: (1) public attempts to refocus on infrastructure (control); (2) th stricter regulation of social media, partly in response to the push from civil society to address violent behaviour online; and (3) renewed contestation over representation in Internet governance, where youth and other historically underrepresented groups seek to achieve better visibility for their interests. These new forms of contestation are emerging from “within” the existing governance mechanisms.

    During this session, the co-editors will present the special issue and explore these challenges to analyse how this will shape the future of Internet Governance.

    This is followed by an exchange with the authors of the different articles of the special issue.

    We then open this session to reflect on the role of academic research in Internet Governance and how these contributions can foster critical evaluation and meaningful participation. Here we will also dedicate time to questions from the audience.

    Published articles:
    Radu, R. et al. New challenges in Internet governance: Power shifts and contestation from “within”.

    Akcali Gur, B., & Kulesza, J. Equitable access to satellite broadband services: Challenges and opportunities for developing countries.

    Maass, S. et al. Evaluating the regulation of social media: An empirical study of the German NetzDG and Facebook.

    Arnold, S. African agency in ICT infrastructure provider choice: Navigating access to foreign finance and technology.

    Tjahja, N., & Potjomkina, D. An agent of change: Youth meta-participation at the internet governance forum.

    Rosa, F. R., et al. Citation politics: The gender gap in internet governance.

    Trithara, D. Agents of platform governance: Analyzing US civil society's role in contesting online content moderation.

    The onsite and online moderators will ensure the floor is given to online and onsite participants in a balanced way. Roughly half of the time is dedicated to interaction to ensure that the meeting is participated actively by the vast majority of the attendees.