Research paper
Published 14 November 2019
Updated 14 December 2020
ISBN: 978 1 78413 377 1
As internet governance issues emerge in the wake of innovations such as the Internet of Things and advanced artificial intelligence, there is an urgent need for the EU and US to establish a common, positive multi-stakeholder vision for regulating and governing the internet.
This research paper is part of a series commissioned by the EU Delegation to the US. The purpose of this paper is to provide new perspectives and proposals to improve the effectiveness of EU–US relations on internet governance. It explores converging and diverging ideological positions, highlights common interests, and makes recommendations to enhance cooperation. The primary audience of this paper is the EU Delegation, to whom the recommendations are addressed.
The EU Delegation was closely involved in shaping the scope and structure of the paper and provided detailed feedback on early drafts. With the agreement of the EU Delegation, the paper does not attempt to provide a comprehensive background on the current landscape. Instead, it is operational in character and provides a focus on issues that illustrate successful actions or areas of tension, which provide the motivation for recommendations that are addressed to the EU Delegation.
The paper begins with a working definition of internet governance and ‘multi-stakeholderism’, an analysis of drivers for change from the external environment, and reviews major players and processes in internet governance. It goes on to analyse areas where the EU–US relationship is working effectively, identifies the barriers to effectiveness – each illustrated with case studies – and looks ahead to the future of internet governance. The paper makes five recommendations, including the establishment of a taskforce to measure and improve the effectiveness of internet governance processes.
Any discussion of internet governance tends to be jargon-laden and acronym-heavy. This paper is no exception as its primary audience is expert in the field and its purpose is to provide strategic and operational advice. For newcomers to the subject area, the authors have provided a list of abbreviations and acronyms to explain their use in the paper.
The research draws on a variety of primary and secondary sources including interviews and documents. Interviews were conducted with individuals who are current or former officials in the US and EU administrations, and senior staff members at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The individuals agreed to speak on a non-attribution basis, and their input informs the paper’s analysis and recommendations. Desk research included resources from internet governance organizations, output documents, reports and articles regarding internet governance and international relations. The authors applied qualitative analysis techniques to determine points of convergence and divergence between the EU and US, elucidate nuances in internet governance between actors, and develop recommendations for both the EU Delegation and broader EU institutions.
