Category United Nations – other

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.

State Hacking An Option To Overcome Encryption, IGF Hears

The days of unfettered access to internet content are over, Riana Pfefferkorn of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society told government representatives during a panel dedicated to state interference in encryption, organised by Brazil's registry Nic.br and CGI.br at the 12th Internet Governance Forum this week in Geneva. “Governments have to adapt,” the cryptography researcher said. A concern is, though, that governments will adapt by either lashing out to get backdoors in code, weaken encryption or legalize state hacking.

Fierce Fake News Regulation Rising From Fear Of Election Manipulation

The globally creeping fear of fake news in the wake of elections resulted in another harsh legislative proposal adopted by the Brazilian “Tribunal Superior Eleitoral” (TSE) earlier this week in Brasilia. The globally creeping fear of fake news in the wake of elections resulted in another harsh legislative proposal adopted by the Brazilian “Tribunal Superior Eleitoral” (TSE) earlier this week in Brasilia. The resolution lays out measures on how content must be removed upon notice in 24 hours by platform providers, a Brazilian activist said during one of the many debates on fake news and potential measures against it at the 12th Internet Governance Forum taking place this week in Geneva.

US Vote On Net Neutrality Could Affect The World, UN Rapporteur Says

The recent decision by the Trump administration in the United States rolling back the internet neutrality is of concern and in the long term could have effects beyond US borders, David Kaye, the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, told a press briefing today. He also commented on the negative effect of the social media model, in particular Facebook on small independent media outlets, but said the issue of the control of the internet is not limited to Silicon Valley companies.

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.

Internet Governance Forum Opening: Wish List For An Open, Trustworthy, Accessible Internet

The Internet Governance Forum opened yesterday at the United Nations in Geneva, coming back to its origins, and as the opening ceremony resounded with Swiss alphorn, speakers insisted on the urgency to find fresh solutions to internet-related new issues. Cyber security, digital divide, influence of private companies, lack of digital literacy, the challenges are numerous, and solutions require a multi-stakeholder collective effort, the speakers said in unison.

Internet Content Control Is Here, UN Special Rapporteur Warns IGF

“Internet content regulation is coming, in fact it is already here,” said David Kaye, United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, during a panel organised by the Global Network Initiative on day one of the 12th Internet Governance Forum in Geneva this week.

New UNCTAD, GIZ Toolbox: How To Achieve Policy Coherence For Local Production And Access To Medicines

What do investment, trade, intellectual property, health financing, R&D, industrial and medicines regulation policy have in common? They are all important building blocks for the successful promotion of local pharmaceutical manufacturing. As more and more countries are looking into building their own pharmaceutical production capacities, they need to ensure strong policy coherence to be successful.

Global Biotech Industry Tests Policy Waters In Geneva

A delegation of heads of biotechnology companies visited Geneva this month to present the International Confederation of Biotechnology Trade Associations (ICBA). The ICBA was created in 2012, but is now looking to make its voice heard in Geneva and inform policy discussions, and is finding it is not easy to become an observer in some organisations. They also underlined the importance of intellectual property for the biotech sector, in particular to attract indispensable capital. The delegation sat down with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez to talk about their Geneva visit.