Collaborating for multistakeholder Internet governance

TCCM has now produced a Statement of Purpose that sets out why we are working together and what we hope to achieve

What is the coalition for?

There are a number of discussions taking place this year and next on the future of global Internet governance. This includes two United Nations (UN) processes:

• the Global Digital Compact (GDC) negotiations, expected to be concluded in September 2024 at the Summit for the Future, and
• the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS +20), which will take place in 2025.  

There is a very real risk that these processes could result in significant and irreversible changes to how the Internet is governed. A particular concern is that the outcomes of these processes will weaken multistakeholder Internet governance. This would mean that decisions about the Internet’s operations and development could increasingly be made in intergovernmental settings without the input of the technical community (and other stakeholders).

The goal of TCCM is to defend, evolve, and strengthen multistakeholderism in decision-making and dialogues about the Internet, on the basis that multistakeholder Internet governance is the best approach to ensuring that the Internet remains open, free, global, secure, resilient, and interoperable.

The coalition is filling a gap

There is a clear need for the Internet technical community to be active in these UN processes, to speak up for multistakeholderism and for the technical community’s place in that model. However, there does not appear to be a functioning mechanism for coordinating and activating the global Internet technical community for this purpose or any plans for one.

It was concern about this gap that led auDA, CIRA, InternetNZ, and Nominet to stand up a coalition that could work together to raise a collective voice in the ongoing UN dialogues about the future of Internet governance.

TCCM looks to support its members to better engage in these dialogues through sharing information and perspectives and discussing the issues to develop our understanding, and to have greater impact than we would have working alone by developing joint positions to advance as a coalition or separately.

The mahi of the coalition

While we have been forming TCCM, members have already begun collaborating through a shared mailing list and through Zoom meetings. Collaboration has mainly been in the context of the GDC, as that process is moving quickly towards its conclusion in the next few months. 

Areas of the GDC that we have been focusing on supporting include proposals that recognise multistakeholder Internet governance, the technical community as a specific stakeholder, and the importance of the role of the Internet Governance Forum in discussing public policy issues related to the Internet. Areas that we have been focussed on challenging include proposals establishing new and duplicative structures that could centre dialogues about the future of the Internet and its governance in multilateral spaces.

Take a look at:

• The joint submission made by the originating members of the coalition to the UN on the proposed elements of the GDC Zero Draft.
• A joint statement on the Zero Draft of the GDC, developed out of member discussions and presented at the UN’s GDC stakeholder engagement session on the 24th of April.
• A joint statement on Revision 1 of the GDC Zero Draft presented at the UN’s GDC stakeholder engagement session on the 21st of May. You can read Revision 1 of the GDC Zero draft on the UN’s website.

TCCM looks forward to continuing to collaborate as the GDC process continues, and to considering what we can achieve together as the process towards WSIS+20 becomes clearer and starts ramping up.

Questions or comments?

We want to ensure that New Zealand’s voice is heard and contributes to good global Internet governance. We also want to defend multistakeholderism as the foundation of an Internet that benefits everyone in Aotearoa. Partnering to establish this coalition and engaging in its work supports us in achieving this goal.

If you have any questions or comments about our Internet governance work, or if you are a member of the Internet’s technical community and would like to know more about TCCM, we would love to hear from you. Please email us at internet.governance@internetnz.net.nz.