Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Internet policy and governance. Europe’s role in shaping the future of internet governance

For over fifteen years, the EU has helped to sustain and develop the Internet: as an essential part of life and a fundamental pillar of the Digital Single Market, the Internet has fostered innovation, growth, trade, democracy and Human Rights. Growth related to the Internet economy is forecast at almost 11% in the EU, with a contribution to GDP expected to rise from 3.8% in 2010 to 5.7% in 2016.

Small and medium-sized enterprises intensively using the Internet grow almost twice as fast as others. This economic potential needs to be further exploited ensuring that individuals can access the content, goods and services they want, and control which personal data they want to share or not. Secure, stable and resilient networks form the basis of a trusted and flourishing Internet economy. An open and free Internet in which all rights and freedoms that people have offline also apply online facilitates social and democratic progress worldwide.

Sustainable governance of the Internet involving all stakeholders is essential to preserve these benefits. Internet governance involves a wide variety of organisations, and is broadly understood to refer to 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".

Recently, conflicting visions on the future of the Internet and on how to strengthen its multistakeholder governance in a sustainable manner have intensified. Moreover, revelations of large-scale surveillance programmes and a fear of cybercrime have negatively affected trust in the Internet. Taken together, a continued loss of confidence in the Internet and its current governance could slow down innovation and the growth of European internet companies. It could also lead to pressure for new regional and national governance structures that might lead to a fragmentation of the Internet.

This Communication builds on the European Commission's previous Communication on Internet Governance in 2009, in particular regarding the strengthening of the multi-stakeholder model. It does not call for any new international legal instrument to address the issues of Internet governance.

This Communication focuses on the main policy areas relevant to the complex Internet governance ecosystem. The main areas of current debate, namely the development of Internet governance principles, cooperative frameworks and core Internet functions are addressed in Sections 2, 3 and 4. Section 5 makes concrete proposals for how to strengthen the current multi-stakeholder model. Sections 6, 7 and 8 look ahead to some of the key issues that must be addressed in the context of Internet governance in the future, namely the strong interplay between technical norms and Internet policy, the key challenges in rebuilding trust, and conflicts of jurisdictions and laws. Many of the issues presented will be subject further specific consultations with stakeholders.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)72: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:072:FIN

ESO: Background information: Commission to pursue role as honest broker in future global negotiations on Internet Governance http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-commission-to-pursue-role-as-honest-broker-in-future-global-negotiations-on-internet-governance/

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