internet governance by its history (1966-2000)
TRANSCRIPT
Internet Governance by its History (1966-
2000)Jeremy Pesner
Intergalactic Network• JCR Licklider envisioned a network of computers
and pushed for it while heading ARPA
• His protégé Robert Taylor actually got it off the ground
• Leonard Kleinrock at UCLA created one of the first nodes
• In the absence of clear direction, Kleinrock’s students Vint Cerf, Steve Crocker & Jon Postel formed the Network Working Group (NWG)
• Sought Requests for Comments (RFC) on ARPANET development
Open Admission• Anyone on the network could participate
• “I did not feel excluded by a little core group of protocol kings. I felt included by a friendly group of people who recognized that the purpose of networking was to bring everybody in.” -Brian Reid
• Email was invented and developed in the collaborative network: FTP + custom messaging system
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)
• Packet-switching networks proliferated rapidly
• ARPANet, ALOHANET, CATENET, NSFNET, etc.
• Used different protocols and schema to send data
• TCP/IP developed by Vint Cerf & Bob Kahn as the “internetworking” standard
• TCP/IP just focused on transmitting data. That way the other networks could do with the data as they wanted
• Open-Source, managed by the NWG, implemented on UNIX
Privatization• In the late 80s, there were many different
packet-switching networks, with TCP/IP as the glue connecting them together
• Used almost exclusively by academics and computer geeks
• World Wide Web is emerging
• Privatization seen as means to expand access to general public
The National Information Infrastructure (NII)
• “All Americans have a stake in the construction of an advanced National Information Infrastructure, a seamless web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics […] that will change forever the way people live, work, and interact with each other.” - NII Agenda for Action Executive Summary
• Technology championed as a huge component of the Gore Vice Presidency
• US Department of Commerce set up Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) to discuss key technology policy issues
• 1996 Telecom Act happened in a different sphere
Global Information Infrastructure
• Recognized that Internet development would be global
• IITF members attended G7 meeting to coordinate international Internet development
• Strove for universal access, open competition and linguistic diversity
E-Commerce• This was big
• Internet was transitioning from academic network to the general public
• People want things
• Lots of people published opinions, but Clinton administration set up interagency group
• But how to govern such commerce? Nobody had an answer (maybe they still don’t)
Who was involved?• IITF established several committees for different
issues
• Intellectual Property, Online Privacy, Government Information
• Committees had different outputs
• Committee on privacy published report with loose guidelines, committee on IP published report with very specific recommendations in favor on copyright holders
• There was Internet outrage and coordination in the 90s
Outside Involvement• NII advisory council included high-level
stakeholders from education, libraries, media, technology and other related areas
• Published advisory reports with broad guidelines on these policy issues - represented basic levels of consensus
• IP committee’s recommendations and Sen. James Exon’s Communications Decency Act (proposed heavy Internet censorship) provoked outrage
• Had different levels of impact - laws were snuck through back doors
The Internet Society
• Founded by Cerf & Kahn in 1992
• “The Internet is for Everyone”
• Established to finance technical operations for Internet standards development
• Expanded to three main pillars - Outreach, Technology, Policy
• Now has about 100 chapters throughout the world (including right here) to address concerns of local members
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers
(ICANN)
• Established by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (part of Commerce Dept) to manage the use of Domain Name System (DNS), IP addresses & protocol port numbers
• AKA Jon Postel, Inc.
• Longstanding concerns over lack of transparency and US control
• Gained recent attention over emerging global Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) and forthcoming divestiture from Commerce (but to whom?)
The Multistakeholder
Model
• Change from multilateralism - Largely comprised of established state governments & multinational corporations
• Multistakeholderism works to bring all relevant parties to the table
• But how, exactly? A continued source of debate…
