Category Lobbying

Artificial Intelligence Holds Enticing Promise, Needs Framework, Say OECD, Microsoft, IEEE

As artificial intelligence technology spreads its wings, governance issues are emerging, as are international discussions, including a range of activities planned for 2018. One of the panels of the December Internet Governance Forum in Geneva explored the policy questions, as panellists said artificial intelligence is unabatedly spreading to many areas of our lives with promises of economic growth and benefits, but with few regulations to frame it. Issues include ethics, privacy, biases, and lack of transparency.

Year Ahead: US Music Sector Calls For Major Legislative Changes To Copyright In 2018

The music community is ramping up its efforts to have significant new copyright legislation approved by United States Congress in 2018, amid key changes in the legislative apparatus, with the elevation of Rep. Jerold Nadler (D-New York) as the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, a pivotal role that puts him at the heart of the US legislative system, and the retirement of the Committee's current Chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), at the end of the year.

Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2017: What Do They Tell Us About Multilateral IP Policy?

What IP-Watch stories were readers reading most in 2017, and what does it say about the state of global intellectual property policy? In this article, we look at the most-trafficked stories of last year, and make a few assumptions. Asia, Europe, trade, health. These were the top targets of interest to readers among our offerings. Interestingly, despite all the sound and fury in Washington, our coverage there was not at the top of the list. Even more interestingly, neither was our extensive and world-leading coverage of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Internet Governance Forum – An Encyclopaedic Endeavour

The 12th Internet Governance Forum has closed its doors and sent home the last of the more than 2,000 die-hard internet governance adepts from 142 countries who stayed until a mere three days before Christmas in the halls of the United Nations in Geneva. Asking the adepts and the critics about what has changed in the forum that started because governments just could not agree on how critical internet infrastructures should be managed during the 2005 UN World Summit on Information Society, the first answer always is just “big”.

With originally 3,000 registered, it is the biggest international internet politics conference. But “big” is not only the size of the meeting, it is also the number of workshops, panels, best practice forums and bi-, pluri- and (nearly) multi-lateral meetings taking place over the five days. So this year Intellectual Property Watch, having participated substantively all week, decided to make an encyclopaedic endeavour to bring you the first IGF dictionary (or to make a dictionary about that encyclopaedic endeavour) in an effort to give credit to the richness of the forum, but highlight some problems, too.

In Break From Past Leadership Role, US Gov Largely Missing From Internet Governance Forum

The United States has been a steadfast supporter of the UN-led Internet Governance Forum since its inception over a decade ago, regularly bringing large and high-level delegations to the Forum. The US must have seen the forum as the lesser evil when governments from many continents pounded the desks during the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) conference in Tunis over the US special role in overseeing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and thereby the heart of the domain name system, the root zone. But IGF 2017, held this week, saw a dramatic change in that regard.

Friends, Foes Of Big Data Discuss Its Promise For Development, Privacy Issues

Big data and artificial intelligence hold promise for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but risks associated with extensive data collection should not be minimised, according to speakers at this week’s Internet Governance Forum. Of particular concern: privacy issues, the digital divide, the need for raising awareness of internet users, and current or upcoming legislation and guidelines seeking to address challenges associated with big data.

Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Societies, But What Cost To Social Justice? Transparency Is Key

The desire of countries to hop on the train of artificial intelligence and get a piece of the pie might be contrary to democracy, according to a speaker at this week’s Internet Governance Forum. Even though artificial intelligence has the potential to improve lives around the globe, the challenges that come with it are complex and difficult to address, said the speakers.

ITU Called On To Increase Transparency, Open Doors To More Stakeholders

The UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) needs to become a 21st century organisation, and open its door to multiple stakeholders on internet governance issues and policy, according to speakers at a session of the Internet Governance Forum this week.

Internet Society Official On Internet Governance Challenges, Role In Solving Issues

The Internet Society has participated in the Internet Governance Forum since its inception. Since then, the forum has been able to build trusted relationships with the different groups of stakeholders, but it should be able to attract more participants from all those groups of stakeholders, such as ministers and CEOs, according to Constance Bommalaer, senior director of Global Policy of the Internet Society. Bommalaer sat down with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez in the margins of this week’s Internet Governance Forum in Geneva to explain the pressing issues of internet governance, such as the trust issue, and the internet of things, and the work of the Internet Society to bring tangible answers.

A Digital Geneva Convention: Nobel Prize-Worthy Or Dangerous?

Microsoft on 19 December presented its Digital Geneva Convention during the 12th Internet Governance Forum in Geneva. With cybersecurity being one of the top issues at the forum, the company received a lot of interest for the idea of developing the convention as a multi-stakeholder draft. But there were also voices of caution from individual governments as well network-operating people.