CIS submitted a response to a Notice of Enquiry by the US Government on International Internet Policy Priorities

The notice was based on different areas and we commented on the following three areas; The Free Flow of Information and Jurisdiction, The Multi-stakeholder Approach to Internet Governance, Privacy and Security. The submission was made by Swagam Dasgupta and Akriti Bopanna. Read the submission here.

The submission broadly covered the following aspects:

The Free Flow of Information and Jurisdiction

• What are the challenges to the free flow of information online?
• Which foreign laws and policies restrict the free flow of information online? What is the impact on U.S companies and users in general?
• Have courts in other countries issued internet-related judgments that apply national laws to the global internet? What have the effects been on users?
• What are the challenges to freedom of expression online?
• What should be the role of all stakeholders globally—governments, companies, technical experts, civil society and end users — in ensuring free expression online?
• What role can NTIA play in helping to reduce restrictions on the free flow of information over the internet and ensuring free expression online?
• In which international organizations or venues might NTIA most effectively advocate for the free flow of information and freedom of expression? What specific actions should NTIA and the U.S. Government take?

Multistakeholder Approach to Internet Governance

• Does the multistakeholder approach continue to support an environment for the internet to grow and thrive? If so, why? If not, why not?
• Are there public policy areas in which the multistakeholder approach works best? If yes, what are those areas and why? Are there areas in which the multistakeholder approach does not work effectively? If there are, what are those areas and why?
• Should the IANA Stewardship Transition be unwound? If yes, why and how? If not, why not?
• What should be NTIA’s priorities within ICANN and the GAC?
• Are there barriers to engagement at the IGF? If so, how can we lower these barriers?
• Are there improvements that can be made to the IGF’s structure?

Privacy and Security

• In what ways are cybersecurity threats harming international commerce? In what ways are the responses to those threats harming international commerce?