Internet Governance

Who decides the future of the Internet?

A wide range of stakeholders in a variety of organizations - find out how you can stay informed and get involved.

What could be at stake?

• Continued innovation and evolution of the Internet
• Open and inclusive contributions to policy debates
• Consensus-based Internet number resource policies
• User access, stability, and security

Internet Governance Events

Descriptions of past Internet Governance events are available, as well a calendar of future events, including ARIN meetings and many opportunities to participate in Internet Governance activities.

Internet Governance Blogs

Check out our blog to learn more about what ARIN is currently doing in the Internet Governance space.

Contributions

Documents contributed by ARIN or with ARIN’s involvement are available on the ARIN Contributions: IO/IGO/Governments page.

What is Internet Governance?

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (Tunis Agenda 2005) defines Internet governance as:

… the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet. (see complete WSIS Outcomes Document)

ARIN’s Role

ARIN is a well-respected leader in the Internet community and likewise a thought leader in Internet governance discussion.

ARIN participated in the Tunis WSIS as part of the Number Resource Organization (NRO) and believes that this carefully-crafted statement is a comprehensive definition of Internet Governance.

For years, ARIN has played an important role within various Internet governance organizations and forums. Looking toward the future of the Internet, ARIN continues to be a valuable resource for the Internet community by participating in Internet governance to:

• Make sure the interests of the Internet community are represented in key forums
• Educate governments and international organizations on the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) structure and bottom-up community driven number resource management model
• Work within various organizations to remove barriers that result in misunderstanding
• Facilitate opportunities to exchange meaningful insight that will impact Internet number resource distribution and management not only today but in the future as well.

ARIN’s goal throughout the ever-evolving global Internet governance policy debate is to ensure that:

• The technical implications of proposed policy are clearly understood
• Dialogue from multi-stakeholder collaborations are heard
• Decisions are made with a clear understanding of the community’s interests

ARIN’s key roles in the area of Internet Governance are as follows:

On the regional level…

• ARIN fosters working relationships with the 26 countries and economies that make up the ARIN region.
• ARIN works within its region to advance understanding of the number resource management model, to provide educational opportunities, to promote awareness, and to ensure that openness and transparency are maintained in all matters.
• ARIN supports a multi-stakeholder open policy dialogue of the global Internet governance issues facing both governments and the ARIN community.
• ARIN reports back to its community on the outcome of Internet governance discussions.

On the global level…

• ARIN closely follows the regulatory decision-making processes that may affect not only the ARIN region, but the entire Internet community.
• ARIN maintains that the multi-stakeholder approach to policy development is crucial to the continued recognition, strength, and future of the Internet and the Internet community.
• ARIN strives to be a key resource for participants in the global Internet governance debate contributing information, ideas, and knowledge.
• ARIN supports cooperation and direct involvement alongside governments and international organizations in order to share and strengthen global knowledge about Internet governance issues.
• ARIN works to ensure that the technical implications of proposed Internet governance policies are clearly understood by policymakers.