APrIGF Document Platform

APrIGF 2016 Taipei Synthesis Document – Pre-meeting Draft 0

APrIGF Secretariat

June 9, 2016

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum
2016 Taipei Synthesis Document – Draft 0

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0  I Background

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 First published in 2015[1], the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) Synthesis Document aims to identify items of common interest and relevance to Internet governance within the Asia Pacific region. Building on the momentum of the inaugural APrIGF Synthesis Document from APrIGF 2015 Macao, the process for the 2016 Synthesis document has expanded with an open call for contributions[2] and two public comment periods[3] to collect wider input from the Asia Pacific Internet community across all stakeholder groups to build a more comprehensive and collaborative open document.

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 The first draft of this document, which was circulated on the APrIGF Multistakeholder Steering Group (MSG) and Synthesis Document Drafting Committee mailing lists and posted publicly[4] to solicit comment, was based on the submitted and accepted workshop proposals for the APrIGF containing the placeholders for topics to be discussed at the APrIGF event. The second draft will incorporate comments and input from the series of “Synthesis Document Discussion” sessions at APrIGF 2016 Taipei as well as input received on the online public commenting platform, and will be published for a second public comment period[5] to garner wider input. The Drafting Committee will shepherd and finalize the Synthesis Document for publication.

¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 THIS APRIGF 2016 TAIPEI SYNTHESIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FROM COMMENTS RECEIVED DURING THE OPEN CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS BEFORE THE APRIGF, AT THE APRIGF EVENT BOTH ONSITE AND REMOTE, AS WELL AS COMMENTS RECEIVED BY [INSERT DATE] FROM THE ONLINE COMMENTING TOOL. FOLLOWED BY TWO PUBLIC INPUT PERIODS [INSERT DATE RANGES] AND IS FINALIZED BY THE DRAFTING COMMITTEE ON [INSERT DATE].

¶ 6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 0 II Purpose

¶ 7 Leave a comment on paragraph 7 0 The Synthesis Document aims to document the input from participants at the APrIGF (as well as the broader APrIGF community through remote participation and dissemination at the mailing list and online platform) and is not intended to be representative of the diverse Asia Pacific region. Nevertheless, it is anticipated by APrIGF MSG and the Drafting Committee that the development of this Synthesis Document can help drive active participation in the movement, as well as to allow for a platform to voices, views and thoughts in the Asia Pacific region as contribution to relevant global, national, local and international forums on Internet governance.

¶ 8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 0 III Introduction

¶ 9 Leave a comment on paragraph 9 0 In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) reviewed the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10) and as part of the WSIS+10 outcome[6], renewed the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) mandate for another 10 years. In its resolution[7], the UNGA called for the ‘close alignment between the [WSIS] process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ and highlighted the contribution of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[8].

¶ 10 Leave a comment on paragraph 10 0 In April this year, the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) held their first open consultation and meeting[9] under the renewed IGF mandate. The MAG recognized the importance of the intersessional work done in the National and Regional Initiatives (NRIs) and strongly supported continuing the intercessional work on ‘Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion(s) in a Phase II. Both initiatives, along with Dynamic Coalitions (DCs) and the Best Practice Forums (BPFs), will be given space to hold main sessions at the annual IGF meeting to be held from 6-9 December in Guadalajara, Mexico.

¶ 11 Leave a comment on paragraph 11 0 Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) serves as a platform for discussion, exchange and collaboration at a regional level, and also where possible to aggregate national and local IGF discussions, ultimately advance the internet governance development in the Asia Pacific region.

¶ 12 Leave a comment on paragraph 12 0 “A New Internet Era – Merging Physical Space with Cyberspace” is the main theme of the seventh APrIGF held in Taipei. With multiple sessions spanning 7 sub-themes in Cyber Connectivity, Security, Human Rights, Multi-Stakeholder Model, Universality, The Future Impact of IANA Transition, and Impact of International Agreement and Policies, there was robust discussion and comprehensive engagement of participants coming from diverse countries and territories[10] in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

¶ 13 Leave a comment on paragraph 13 0 The observations and recommendations set forth in this document summarize the collaborative efforts of the bottom-up multistakeholder community process intended to serve as the Asia Pacific regional contributions towards the international Internet Governance discourse, including the IGF, as well as towards local and national internet governance deliberations in the Asia Pacific region. This document also intends to form an input to the “IGF 2016 COMMUNITY INTERSESSIONAL PROGRAM Policy Options for Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion – Phase II”[11].

¶ 14 Leave a comment on paragraph 14 0 IV Key Issues in the Asia Pacific region and suggestions for ways forward

¶ 15 Leave a comment on paragraph 15 0 The majority of the next billion people coming online will be from the Asia Pacific region, and critical priorities need to be addressed from local to national to region-wide levels. Given the wide spectrum of social, economic, political and geographic diversity in the region, comparative analysis of cross-regional trends will allow the development of policy framework building on the momentum and knowledge of previous work.

¶ 16 Leave a comment on paragraph 16 0 Among the discussions held at the APrIGF Taipei 2016, the participants have identified the following issues and concerns for the Asia Pacific region (in no particular order):

¶ 17 Leave a comment on paragraph 17 0 [N.B. ALL THE HIGHLIGHTED TEXT BELOW IS PLACEHOLDER TEXT TAKEN FROM THE APRIGF TAIPEI WEBSITE, https://2016.aprigf.asia/program/themes/, OR 2015 SYNTHESIS DOCUMENT – SUMMARY/RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE INSERTED AFTER DISCUSSION/PUBLIC INPUT]

• ¶ 18 Leave a comment on paragraph 18 1
• Merging Physical Space with Cyberspace (main theme of APrIGF 2016)
• Continuing efforts in bringing the next billion online and bridging the digital divide:
  Combined efforts from public, private and community sectors are needed to create sustainable initiatives to solve issues of affordable accessibility and digital literacy for all. Effort is also necessary to support local languages in all facets, as well as new emerging digital divides with new technologies.

• ¶ 19 Leave a comment on paragraph 19 0
• The Future Impact of IANA Transition
  The IANA transition proposal has been submitted to USG in March 2016. There are many new designs arising from the proposals, from those related to institution to those of mechanism, some of which are very different from what we are used to.

• ¶ 20 Leave a comment on paragraph 20 1
• Security
  Cyber Security, the protection of information systems from damage and disruption, is critical not just to the stability of cyberspace, but also increasingly important to the physical world. At the same time, Privacy and Data Protection are also hot issues that nations are grappling with in this new era.

• ¶ 21 Leave a comment on paragraph 21 0
• Human Rights
  Human rights are central to a “New Internet Era.” Human rights standard should apply to the internet environment in the areas of access and development, freedom of expression, right to assembly and privacy as well as on the right to education, health,culture and to a broad range of other rights. The impacts of new laws and policies on cyber-security, data protection, surveillance, anonymity, intermediary liability on human rights have been subject to intense scrutiny and debate by all stakeholders.

• ¶ 22 Leave a comment on paragraph 22 2
• Impacts of International Agreements and Policies
  Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)’s and a couple of other multilateral free trade agreements’ impact to Cyberspace. Concluded recently, TPP’s implication extends to intellectual property (such as copyright and domain name dispute resolution) and cross-border data flow issues, while US congress did not approve SOPA.

• ¶ 23 Leave a comment on paragraph 23 3
• Universality
  The next era will involve global changes to the Internet, such as the deployment of IPv6, and internationalized domain names and email addresses.

• ¶ 24 Leave a comment on paragraph 24 2
• Cyber Connectivity
  Increased connectivity is driving digital transformation at unprecedented rates and has the potential to bridge the digital divide and even wealth gap. It is also changing traditional business models – one of the more recent developments has been the growth of IoT (Internet of Things) and ubiquitous use of technology, from the global industrial economy right down to our personal lives.

• ¶ 25 Leave a comment on paragraph 25 4
• …[ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED TOPICS MAY BE INCLUDED]