Recognizing WSIS Impacts

Month: October 2013

  • Hip Pocket Analysis of Res 1305: Internet-Related Public Policy

    ———- Forwarded message ———-
    From: Seth Johnson <[protected]>
    Date: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 4:49 AM
    Subject: Fwd: IPP: Hip Pocket Analysis of Res 1305: Internet-Related Public Policy
    To: “[protected]” <[protected]>, “Minard, Julian E” <[protected]>

    Attached please find the below commentary in Word and PDF formats
    along with the original Resolution 1305. With my apologies, please
    use these copies instead of the ones I sent within the last hour.
    Notes on Annex to Res 1305

    (Revisions in a couple of places reflect my preference to use careful
    language treating the types of networks more even-handedly.)

    Seth

    On Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 6:55 PM, Seth Johnson <[protected]> wrote:
    > Hi all, there are actually a good many more “mandate” sources that one
    > could list in the Res 1305 Annex’s second column. But I don’t think
    > adding those would do much to add insight to the IPP group’s efforts.
    >
    > In the following, I offer comments on the IPP areas that can serve as
    > the “hip pocket” analysis Paul suggested you’d want to bring. I’ll
    > turn this into a pdf tomorrow, but for now, use the following text
    > version.
    >
    > The following points are meant to present the point that the CWG may
    > undermine their own purposes if they proceed to present this list of
    > policy areas without recognizing the distinction between competing and
    > interoperating providers creating an Internet, and networks that may
    > be IP-based but are governed by a core authority that sets common
    > policy across routers that it controls.
    >
    > The policy areas in the Annex fall into three sets:
    >
    > I) Items 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12 are all cybersecurity-related. They
    > cover security, safety, continuity, sustainability, and robustness,
    > cybercrime, spam, misuse of the Internet, privacy and personal
    > information, and protecting children online. These emphases reflect
    > the points of Geneva Action Line C5, on “Building confidence and
    > security in the use of ICTs.”
    >
    > The Cybersecurity resolutions generally speak in terms of “ICTs” and
    > “telecommunications/ICTs,” and only refer to the Internet, IP-based
    > networks or Next-generation networks in a few instances. They use the
    > term Internet in relation to spam and child online protection and in
    > reference to these various areas as being Internet-related public
    > policy areas within the scope of ITU, including Council Resolution
    > 1305, which I am analyzing.
    >
    > Spam, child online protection, and general categories of concerns such
    > as security, safety, continuity, sustainability, robustness, and
    > misuse of the Internet, whether related to Internet resources such as
    > domain names and addresses or more general concerns related to the
    > Internet, can arguably be addressed by approaches that accord
    > responsibility to end users or individual networks. Enforcement of a
    > policy by a central authority across networks may have effects on the
    > autonomy and liberty of end users and network providers and the
    > flexibility of the platform produced when they interoperate.
    >
    > WTSA 50 and PP 130 refer to work being undertaken by ITU-T Study Group
    > 17 on “National IP-based Public Network Security Centers.” IP-Based
    > networks constituted of routers that are under a core policy or
    > authority can implement security measures in ways that are very
    > different from the kinds of approaches that may be taken among
    > autonomous, competing providers interoperating through the use of IP.
    > If confidence and security policies depend on forms of oversight like
    > those available within a managed service framework, the platform that
    > results will be subject to those policies rather than relying on the
    > participants in the network providing for the same purposes
    > themselves.
    >
    > No distinction is made in the ITU framing documents between these two
    > types of networks. Proceeding with implementing public policy for
    > confidence and security without recognizing the nature of the Internet
    > as distinct from an intranet that may transmit packets in specialized
    > ways among the routers it controls, will not only impact the nature of
    > the platform, but it will affect numerous WSIS goals.
    >
    >
    > 2) Items 2, 8, 9 and 10 are more “developmental.” Items 9 and 10, on
    > “Developmental aspects of the Internet” and “capacity building for
    > Internet governance in developing countries,” both reference WTDC
    > Resolutions 17 and 20. Given that WTDC 17 is cited by Plenipotentiary
    > Resolution 137, which promotes “next-generation network deployment in
    > developing countries,” we can easily see that failing to distinguish
    > the special characteristics of the Internet while addressing policy on
    > “developmental aspects of the Internet” will easily encourage the
    > implementation of NGNs without recognizing the difference. WTDC 20
    > addresses non-discriminatory access to telecom facilities and
    > applications as well as the pursuit of partnerships, and is referenced
    > by WTDC Resolutions in the areas of the enabling environment, capacity
    > building and digital inclusivity and ICT applications in general.
    > While non-discriminatory access is a critical value, competition among
    > autonomous providers can serve these same purposes through a flexible
    > and open Internet platform, supporting infrastructure development,
    > empowerment of communities and sustainability and diversity of
    > applications on a stronger basis. Non-discrimination policy is more
    > applicable to intranet offerings or a vertically integrated
    > telecommunications context, and cannot offer the advantages of real
    > competition among independent providers producing an Internet
    > platform.
    >
    > Item 2, on International Internet Connectivity, does not list WTDC 23
    > under the ITU mandate column. This should be added and it should be
    > pointed out that the provision under “recognizing” should add language
    > that recognizes that not all commercial practices to reduce costs are
    > associated with the general purpose transmissions of packets that
    > enable independent networks to interoperate. Connectivity to the
    > broader international Internet does not necessarily mean the network
    > at the national level supports general purpose internetworking between
    > autonomous network providers:
    >
    > Adding one paragraph to WTDC 23
    > (internetdistinction.com/wsisimpacts/wsis/wtdc/wtdc_23/ )
    >
    > recognizing
    > a) that commercial initiatives by service providers have the
    > potential to deliver cost savings for Internet access, for example
    > through the development of more local content and the optimization of
    > Internet traffic routing patterns in a manner that provides for a
    > greater proportion of traffic to be routed locally;
    >
    > b) that charging principles for international Internet
    > connectivity must recognize that some commercial initiatives by
    > providers of international connectivity to the broader Internet may
    > take the form of practices within their networks that must be
    > distinguished from Internet connectivity, notwithstanding cost
    > advantages of these practices, since they are not consistent with the
    > flexible mode of interoperability among competitive, autonomous
    > Internet providers that the Internet protocols make possible,
    >

    >
    > Item 8, on “availability, affordability, reliability, and quality of
    > service, especially in the developing world,” references values that
    > are often offered as advantages that managed or specialized service
    > network frameworks make possible. The ITU will easily misrepresent
    > the nature of the open Internet platform if it does not distinguish it
    > from specialized service offerings.
    >
    >
    > 3) And Items 1 and 3 fit are “more technical,” addressing
    > internationalized domain names and international public policy issues
    > pertaining to Internet resources such as domain names and addresses.
    > Under this heading, WTSA 47 and 48 note in connection with ccTLDs and
    > IDNs that intergovernmental organizations have had and should continue
    > to have a role in coordination of Internet-related public policy
    > issues, and that international organizations have had and should
    > continue to have a role in development of Internet-related technical
    > standards and relevant policies. WTSA 49, on ENUM, valorizes
    > convergence in reference to the integration of telecommunications and
    > the Internet. WTSA 64 refers to IP addresses as fundamental resources
    > key to the development of IP-based networks and the world economy.
    >
    > For these resolutions, we simply note that networks do not necessarily
    > afford the key characteristics and advantages of the Internet simply
    > by dint of their using IP addresses, and it is critical to recognize
    > that the Internet addresses the problem of interoperating between
    > autonomous networks, while other types of IP-based networks seek to
    > implement functions that do not use the Internet Protocol in this way.
    >
    >
    > That’s it! I didn’t go into specific impacts on WSIS purposes so
    > much, but the point should be plain: that it doesn’t serve the ITU or
    > the WSIS project well to fail to recognize how the Internet is unique.
    > The oversight can be shown to directly undermine numerous values that
    > the WSIS ostensibly supports.
    >
    >
    > Seth