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Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum 2016 Taipei Synthesis Document – Draft v1

1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Background

2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 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.

3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 1 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.

4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 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 DURING THE TWO PUBLIC INPUT PERIODS[6] AND IS FINALIZED BY THE DRAFTING COMMITTEE ON [INSERT DATE].

5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 Purpose

6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 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.

7 Leave a comment on paragraph 7 0 Introduction

8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 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[7], renewed the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) mandate for another 10 years.  In its resolution[8], 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)[9].

9 Leave a comment on paragraph 9 1 In April this year, the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) held their first open consultation and meeting[10] 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.

10 Leave a comment on paragraph 10 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, to ultimately advance the internet governance development in the Asia Pacific region.

11 Leave a comment on paragraph 11 2 “A New Internet Era – Merging Physical Space with Cyberspace” is the main theme of the seventh APrIGF held in Taipei.  With multiple sessions spanning seven 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[11] in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

12 Leave a comment on paragraph 12 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”[12].

13 Leave a comment on paragraph 13 0 Key Issues in the Asia Pacific region and suggestions for ways forward

14 Leave a comment on paragraph 14 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.

15 Leave a comment on paragraph 15 0 As part of the IGF intersessional program: Policy Options for Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion – Phase II[13], the following set of nine guiding questions were posed:

16 Leave a comment on paragraph 16 0 Question 1: How would you define, or how do you understand, the theme “Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion”?

17 Leave a comment on paragraph 17 0 Question 2: The first phase of Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion (2015) identified a set of policy options aimed at the creation of enabling environments, including deploying infrastructure, increasing usability, enabling users, and ensuring affordability. What are the factors to consider when adopting these policy options at local levels (e.g. the state of a country’s market development, the available infrastructure, level of capacity-building, etc.).

18 Leave a comment on paragraph 18 2 Question 3: Are you aware of any specificities around connectivity at a local or regional level? (In other words, do you know of factors that impact connectivity in, for instance, rural areas but less so at an urban level? Or factors that affect connectivity at regional or larger scale, but not as noticeably at local or smaller scale?)

19 Leave a comment on paragraph 19 1 Question 4: Data shows that the growth of Internet adoption is slowing down in some areas, especially as broadband services extend to more remote, less densely populated areas (facing challenges beyond affordability and availability). What are some of the barriers or limitations preventing people who do have Internet access from being enabled or empowered through such connectivity?

20 Leave a comment on paragraph 20 0 Question 5: What does meaningful access mean?

21 Leave a comment on paragraph 21 1 Question 6: How can connectivity contribute to reaching the new SDGs?

22 Leave a comment on paragraph 22 0 Question 7: Do you know examples of stories where using ICTs to support development has not worked, and why?

23 Leave a comment on paragraph 23 0 Question 8: Can you think of ways in which ICTs or Internet connectivity could be used to help reach the SDGs?

24 Leave a comment on paragraph 24 3 Question 9: Do you know of examples of success stories that can illustrate how Internet access can help to address real-world problems (in either developed or developing countries)?

25 Leave a comment on paragraph 25 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):

26 Leave a comment on paragraph 26 7 [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, ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED TOPICS MAY BE INCLUDED]

27 Leave a comment on paragraph 27 2 Merging Physical Space with Cyberspace (main theme of APrIGF 2016)

28 Leave a comment on paragraph 28 4 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
and support innovative business models. Effort is also necessary to support local languages in all facets, as well as new emerging digital divides with new technologies.

29 Leave a comment on paragraph 29 1 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.

30 Leave a comment on paragraph 30 6 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.
The setting of global encryption standards is encouraged. At the same time, Privacy and Data Protection are also hot issues that nations are grappling with in this new era.

31 Leave a comment on paragraph 31 4 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.

32 Leave a comment on paragraph 32 6 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.

33 Leave a comment on paragraph 33 4 Universality
The next era will involve global changes to the Internet, such as the deployment of IPv6, and internationalized domain names and email addresses
, and connectivity to rural users.

34 Leave a comment on paragraph 34 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)
, the design challenges of IOT, and what policy considerations needs to be adopted. Also the ubiquitous use of technology, from the global industrial economy right down to our personal lives. Public institutions, such as libraries, can serve as connectivity hubs for citizens who would otherwise not have access to the Internet. Through teaching of ICT skills, these institutions enable digital inclusion which promotes better social inclusion, improves education outcomes and better economic life-chances for individuals.

35 Leave a comment on paragraph 35 6 Sustaining Diversity
In the movement towards including the Next Billion, it is important to provide for explicit measures to support and conserve existing diversity: linguistic (spoken languages & scripts); cultural; ethnic; and even biological/ecological).

36 Leave a comment on paragraph 36 9 Investigation and prosecution
There are mutual legal assistance agreements (MLATs) signed between countries which helps to investigate and prosecute cyber crimes. But the process is very cumbersome. What is the possibility of having a cyber crime convention at least for the AP region, with less complex procedures?

37 Leave a comment on paragraph 37 15 Respect to cultural differences
Privacy levels may depend on cultures. In the AP region culture is different than EU and USA. It is very difficult to deal with privacy violations of AP citizens, with the privacy policies of EU and USA based organizations.

38 Leave a comment on paragraph 38 10 New Security Considerations when IOT is merging with Industrial Control systems. Is it creating challenges for Critical National Infrastructure?

39 Leave a comment on paragraph 39 9 Internet blocks
Shutdown, throttling, and other disruptions of the internet or of a subset of websites, apps, and services are deeply concerning as they have tremendous, negative economic and social consequences. Governments must adhere to their international human rights commitments and ensure that any restrictions on freedom of expression—including disruptions of internet service—meet the thresholds of legality, necessity, and proportionality set out in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

40 Leave a comment on paragraph 40 8 Right to be forgotten
The Right to be Forgotten (RTBF) principle is gaining greater support in many countries. Nearly half a million people have asked Google to de-list search results about them, with the company agreeing to this in 43% of cases. While low appeal rates appear to show that the decisions made are non-controversial, there are growing questions as to whether governments have out-sourced privacy policy to the commercial sector. Should RTBF have extra-territorial application? Does it also apply to digitised newspaper archives? Where do the boundaries lie with freedom of the press, and the integrity of the historical record?

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Source: https://comment.rigf.asia/aprigf-2016-taipei-synthesis-document-pre-meeting-draft-1/