Internet Stability, Security Must Be Maintained, U.S. Says

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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From: GLIGOR1 () aol com
Date: August 25, 2005 12:54:28 PM EDT
To: vinton.g.cerf () mci com, dfarber () cs cmu edu, mslynn () mac com,  
Dennis.Jennings () ucd ie, fuchs () mellon org, kmk7 () cornell edu,  
lhl () cs wisc edu
Subject: Internet Stability, Security Must Be Maintained, U.S. Says


Text: Internet Stability, Security Must Be Maintained, U.S. Says

(State Department comments on United Nations' Internet governance  
report)
(2810)

Ensuring the stability and security of the Internet must be a primary
concern as the international community works to devise a framework  
for its
governance and operating mechanisms in the future, the United States  
said
August 15.

The comments from the U.S. State Department came in response to a July
report from the independent Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG).
That panel set to work in late 2003 after the first phase of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

The group, comprising 40 members from government, the private sector and
civil society, met four times between November 2004 and June 2005.  
Members
participated in their personal capacity, under the chairmanship of Nitin
Desai, special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general for WSIS. (See
related article
(http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2005/Jul/19-835851.html).)

Whether an international body should begin regulating the Internet in
some way is a key point of debate as the world community prepares for  
the
second phase of WSIS coming up in November in Tunis, Tunisia.

In the August 15 position paper, the United States expressed willingness
to continue discussions on technical operational standards and
transparency of governing structures. The statement also underscored  
that
“existing structures have worked effectively to make the Internet the
highly robust and geographically diverse medium that it is today. The
security and stability of the Internet must be maintained.”

The WGIG also proposed further internationalization of Internet
governance arrangements, based on a 2003 WSIS Declaration of Principles
that advocates multilateralism and the involvement of all "stakeholders"
and international organizations.

The U.S. statement said internationalization of the Internet is already
well under way, countering the argument that cyberspace and its  
governance
are too centralized in the United States.

Decentralization would engender the greatest innovation, according to  
the
U.S. statement. “It is at the edges where individuals, groups and
corporations alike have the opportunity to add value to the network
through pioneering applications and services.”

The U.S. statement also:

• Reaffirmed the U.S. belief in the fundamental right to freedom of
expression;

• Called for international collaboration on cybersecurity;

• Endorsed the continued technical coordination and management of the
domain name system by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers;

• Insisted the WSIS recognize and support the existing international
intellectual property system to provide incentive for creativity and
innovation; and

• Urged governments to support consumer protection laws.

Information (http://www.state.gov/e/eb/cip/wsis2005/) on the November
WSIS meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, is available on the State Department Web
site.

The text of the U.S. statement follows:

(begin text)

U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs

  Comments of the United States of America on Internet Governance

  Released by the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
August 15, 2005

  Introduction

  The United States of America welcomes this opportunity to provide
comments on the report of the United Nations Working Group on Internet
Governance (WGIG). We would like to take this opportunity to thank the
Chairman, Secretariat and WGIG members for their efforts to tackle  
such a
complex and challenging topic. Given the importance of the Internet to
current economic, social, and political developments, it is critical  
that
all stakeholders in the WSIS process work together collaboratively and
constructively to find a consensus at the Tunis Phase of the Summit. The
United States reiterates its commitment to the freedom of expression, to
the need to preserve the security and stability of the Internet, and to
infrastructure development. With these fundamental principles in  
mind, we
offer a series of general comments on the report as well as specific
comments on individual public policy issues referenced in the document.

  General Comments

  As stated above, the United States appreciates the hard work and
dedication of the WGIG in its efforts to produce the report. We  
recognize
the WGIG's effort to help frame the global dialogue on Internet  
governance
by providing an understandable working definition, identifying some  
of the
public policy issues, and the roles of the various stakeholders. With
respect to the roles of the stakeholders identified in the report, the
United States believes that, while governments naturally have a key role
in the development and implementation of public policy, consultation and
cooperation with the private sector and civil society are critical to
ensuring effective, efficient and representative outcomes.

  The United States remains open to discussing with all stakeholders  
ways
to improve the technical efficiency as well as the transparency and
openness of existing governance structures. However, it is important  
that
the global community recognize that the existing structures have worked
effectively to make the Internet the highly robust and geographically
diverse medium that it is today. The security and stability of the
Internet must be maintained.

  The United States continues to support ubiquitous access to the  
Internet
and the development of Internet infrastructure around the globe.  
Continued
internationalization of the Internet is evidenced by the recent creation
of Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) for Latin America and Africa and
the enhanced efforts of the Internet community to work towards an
equitable distribution of IP addresses. For example, as of June 2005,
cumulative IPv4 address allocations had the following geographical
breakdown - 33% to the Asia Pacific Region, 32% to North America, 31% to
Europe, 3% to South America and 1% to Africa. For that same period
cumulative IPv6 allocations were - 56% to Europe, 23% to the Asia  
Pacific
Region, 17% to North America, 3% to Latin American and 1% to Africa. In
addition, the establishment of 103 root servers, including mirror  
roots, a
vast majority of which are located outside of the United States,
demonstrates that the Internet and its core resources are not  
centralized
in one country.

  The decentralization of the Internet is further evidenced by the  
level
of innovation that occurs at the edges of the network. It is at the  
edges
where individuals, groups and corporations alike have the opportunity to
add value to the network through pioneering applications and services.
Local empowerment challenges traditional trade paradigms and reinforces
the importance of all stakeholders in safeguarding the security,  
stability
and robustness of this interconnected network of networks. What  
happens at
one point in the network has the potential to impact other points in the
network, highlighting the need for appropriate public policy at the  
local
and national levels, supplemented by cooperation at the international
level. It is at the edge where the true opportunity, promise and full
participatory nature of the Internet is realized.

  Finally, the United States would like to highlight a fundamental  
area of
public policy which is absent from the WGIG report - the role of an
enabling environment in Internet development and diffusion. To maximize
the economic and social benefits of the Internet, governments must focus
on creating, within their own nations, the appropriate legal,  
regulatory,
and policy environment that encourages privatization, competition, and
liberalization. In particular, the role of the private sector and civil
society as the driver of innovation and private investment in the
development of the Internet is critical. Value is added at the edges of
the network, in both developed and developing countries, when the  
domestic
policy environment encourages investment and innovation.

  Comments on specific Internet-related public policy issues

  Freedom of Expression: The United States reconfirms the importance of
the fundamental right to freedom of expression and to the free flow of
information as contained in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, as reaffirmed in the Geneva Declaration of Principles
adopted at the first phase of WSIS. A free, independent print, broadcast
and online media is one of the key institutions of democratic life. The
United States believes that no nation can develop politically or
economically without the ability of its citizens to openly and freely
express their opinions in an environment in which everyone can seek,
receive and impart information. The United States fully supports the
principle that all measures taken in relation to the Internet, in
particular those measures taken on grounds of security or to fight  
crime,
not lead to infringements on the freedom of expression.

  Internet Stability, Security and Cybercrime: Building confidence and
security in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
systems and networks is a priority of the United States. These  
systems and
networks are subject to threats and vulnerabilities from multiple  
sources
and different geographic locations; security requires a concerted
preventive effort by all stakeholders, appropriate to their roles.
National action and international collaboration across a range of legal,
enforcement, administrative and technical areas are required to build a
global culture of cybersecurity. In developing a national cybersecurity
strategy, governments should draw upon existing structures and processes
such as: the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, UNGA  
Resolutions
"Combating the criminal misuse of information technologies" (55/63 and
56/121) and "Creation of a Global Culture of Cybersecurity" (57/239),  
and
actions taken by computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs).

  The Internet Domain Name and Addressing System: The United States
continues to support the private sector led technical coordination and
management of the Internet's domain name and addressing system (DNS) in
the form of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN), with government advice on DNS issues provided by the Government
Advisory Committee (GAC). We also recognize that governments have
legitimate public policy and sovereignty concerns with respect to the
management of their country code top level domains (ccTLD) and the  
United
States is committed to working with the international community to  
address
these concerns, bearing in mind the fundamental need to ensure stability
and security of the Internet's DNS. With respect to international
coordination of the DNS, WSIS should recognize the role of existing
institutions, encourage effective, bottom up decision making at the  
local
level, the continued deployment of mirror roots and responsible address
allocation policies.

  Multilingualism: The United States believes that the development of
technologies that facilitate the use of domain names in languages other
than Latin based character sets is an important step in making the
Internet truly global. WSIS should encourage continued work and
collaboration on internationalized domain names by existing standards
bodies and processes by which agreement can be reached on appropriate
language tables.

  Interconnection Costs: The United States believes that  
arrangements for
international Internet connections should continue to be the subject of
private, commercial negotiations. The international settlement regime  
that
applies under the telecommunications regime cannot be applied to  
Internet
traffic. WSIS should look to ongoing work on this important topic in
existing institutions, such as the ITU and the OECD, and encourage
national authorities to take steps to open markets to competitive entry
and promote increased competition in the market place. A competitive
market creates an enabling environment that encourages investment and/or
international infrastructure assistance. The development of regional
Internet Exchange Points and local content should also be encouraged.

  Intellectual Property Rights: The United States attaches great
importance to a comprehensive, effective and properly enforced
intellectual property system and believes that any Information Society
envisioned by the WSIS must clearly and explicitly recognize that such a
system is essential to the Information Society because it creates an
incentive for creativity and innovation. To that end, WSIS and its
documents must recognize, respect and support the existing international
intellectual property system. The balance between owners and users of
intellectual property is an important underpinning of an effective
intellectual property system. Existing international intellectual  
property
agreements encompass and reflect the balance between owners and users of
intellectual property. Indeed, this balance is struck so that  
intellectual
property owners are encouraged to develop and disseminate their works  
and
inventions to the public for use and enjoyment. The United States  
believes
that the appropriate United Nations forum for dealing with intellectual
property issues is the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
which has regularly examined the interaction of cyberspace and
intellectual property since the early days of the Internet.

  Spam: Increasingly, spam is, in large part, a security issue: spam is
one way in which viruses and other security threats can be delivered to
computers. Industry must play a lead role in developing technical  
tools to
address this problem. In addition, many of these security threats often
result from criminal conduct. The Convention on Cybercrime provides a
comprehensive framework to address these threats. In 2003, the United
States enacted an anti-spam law established a framework of civil and
criminal enforcement tools to help America's consumers, businesses, and
families combat unsolicited commercial e-mail. However, the United  
States
does not believe that the statute alone will solve spam. The United  
States
approach to combating spam relies on a combination of legal tools for
effective law enforcement, development and deployment of technology  
tools
and best practices by the private sector, and consumer and business
education. We believe that work undertaken to combat spam should ensure
that email continues to be a viable and valuable means of communication.
Governments have a role to play in educating consumers and enforcing  
spam
laws. To this end, governments should encourage spam enforcement  
agencies
to join the London Action Plan on international spam enforcement
cooperation.

  Data Protection and Privacy: The United States appreciates the  
concerns
expressed in the report on data protection and privacy. Protecting the
privacy of individuals' sensitive personal information is a priority for
the United States government and for United States consumers. Companies
have an important role to play by implementing reasonable safeguards to
protect sensitive consumer data. The United States also believes that
multilateral and private-sector initiatives have a strong and important
role to play in encouraging the development and use of privacy-enhancing
technologies and in promoting consumer education and awareness about
online privacy issues. A deliberate and balanced approach to privacy  
that
is open to innovations offers the best environment for Internet  
expansion.
Any effective approach to ensuring protection of personal information
includes: appropriate laws to protect consumer privacy in highly  
sensitive
areas such as financial, medical, and children's privacy; government
enforcement of these laws; and encouragement of private sector  
efforts to
protect consumer privacy.

  Consumer Protection: The United States believes that a vigorous,
competitive electronic marketplace benefits consumers. Consumer  
protection
policy should ensure that consumers can make well-informed decisions  
about
their choices in this marketplace and that sellers will fulfill their
promises by the products they offer. To this end, governments should
protect consumers by: (1) enforcing laws against practices that harm
consumers; (2) disseminating information and educating consumers; and  
(3)
encouraging private sector leadership to develop codes of conduct and to
provide easy-to-use alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for
addressing consumer complaints. These principles are expressed in  
various
existing international guidelines for consumer protection, including the
United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection, the OECD Guidelines  
for
Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, and the APEC Consumer
Protection Principles.

  Human Capacity Building: The United States believes that each person
should have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and  
knowledge
in order to understand, participate actively in, and benefit fully from,
the Information Society and the knowledge economy. This requires  
increased
capacity building in the areas of ICT policy and regulation, technology
knowhow, access to information, and the application of ICT to various
development sectors. WSIS should support the continuing work of multiple
stakeholders to build capacity of professionals and institutions in
developing nations and to ensure the efforts are both technically
innovative and supportive of market-based approaches.

  Meaningful Participation in Global Public Policy Development: The  
United
States encourages the participation of developing countries in ICT  
forums
as a complement to national development efforts related to ICTs. As  
such,
it is important to develop the capacity of government officials and  
other
stakeholders who can address the complicated issues and difficult  
choices
raised by the evolving ICT environment. Through the U.S.
Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), the United States,  
together
with U.S. industry, has demonstrated its commitment to capacity building
by providing tuition free training courses for policy makers around the
world in the telecommunications, broadcast and ICT-related fields.

  Conclusion

  The United States once again thanks the WGIG for its report and
reiterates its willingness to engage in dialogue related to Internet
governance in relevant multiple fora. Given the breadth of topics
potentially encompassed under the rubric of "Internet governance"  
there is
no one venue to appropriately address the subject in its entirety. While
the United States recognizes that the current Internet system is  
working,
we encourage an ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders around the  
world in
the various fora as a way to facilitate discussion and to advance our
shared interest in the ongoing robustness and dynamism of the Internet.
The focus of these discussions should be on how all stakeholders can
continue to collaborate in addressing Internet-related issues. In these
fora, the United States will continue to support market-based approaches
and private sector leadership in Internet development broadly.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
NNNN

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