The global debate on Internet Governance has come a long way since 2005. In the 12 years following the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, governments have paid more attention than ever to policies that can promote economic development, security, and innovation. You may not have felt the progress, however; if it is hard to see a reduction in the confusion and “soup of forums” described on this site nearly six years ago, this is because as we have made progress, the scope of the issues addressed have increased to match. On the spectrum between a sprint and a marathon, Internet Governance may have become the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race.

2017 may deliver progress on Internet governance issues that will have real implications for businesses, governments, and the more than 3 billion global Internet users. It’s worth taking stock of the dialogues happening around the world this year and identifying potential outcomes.

UN General Assembly

One of the most important UN proclamations on Internet Governance was made in the 2015 WSIS ten-year review, which extended the lifespan of the multistakeholder Internet Governance Forum (IGF) for another decade and focused on harnessing the power of ICTs for Development (ICT4D). More opportunities await in 2017 to explore the linkages between scientific innovation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to address policy to build sustainable financing models and bridge digital divides.

Mark your calendar: The UN will host a High-Level Political Forum on the SDGs in New York from 10-19 July. The meeting will examine progress against the SDGs and explore options for enhancing that progress. The body will also take up resolutions on ICT4D topics under its 2nd Committee for approval by the General Assembly in the November timeframe.

ICANN

Those who feel that the conclusion of the IANA transition closed the book on ICANN’s involvement in Internet Governance are wrong. Instead, some countries’ disconcerting statements on “reforming Internet Governance” are likely to lead to more tension between ICANN and elements of the international community. The board and the community have both created working groups on Internet Governance to study, if not necessarily to act, on the broader IG debate and build their defense against encroachment from other organizations. So long as ICANN remains unaffiliated with the UN System, it will be a target for those who want to see its technical resources managed by intergovernmental mechanisms.

Mark your calendar: ICANN holds three annual meetings, which will be a Community Forum from 11-16 March in Copenhagen, a Policy Forum from 26-29 June in Johannesburg, and a General Meeting from 28 October-3 November in Abu Dhabi.

IGF

As we enter the second year of the IGF’s renewed ten-year mandate, some question whether the IGF can retain its value for stakeholders. Others are promoting the WSIS Forum as an alternative to the Western (read: US) led, civil-society focused IGF. In reality, the two events can be complementary. The growth of intersessional work for the IGF appears to have stimulated meaningful conversations around issues like cybersecurity, gender issues, and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), adding yearlong value and opportunities for participation in the IGF.

Mark your calendar: The 12th WSIS Forum will be held from 12-16 June in Geneva. The 2017 IGF will be held in Geneva in late 2017 (dates TBD). Intersessional work, regional and national IGFs are held throughout the year.

ECOSOC

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will continue to monitor and report on the progress being made on the Tunis Agenda. This is done primarily via an annual resolution drafted in the Commission on Science and Technology Development (CSTD), which is later approved by ECOSOC and sent to the UNGA.

Mark your calendar: the CSTD meets from 8-12 May in Geneva and should produce a draft resolution for ECOSOC by the end of that week. ECOSOC also sponsors the Multistakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum), which will be 15-17 May in New York.

Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation

The WGEC will continue deliberations on the meaning of “Enhanced Cooperation” in the Tunis Agenda. This debate on the legitimacy of the multi-stakeholder model has gone unnoticed in the fatigue of Post-IANA Internet Governance. Following its January 2017 meeting, it is poised to begin working on concrete recommendations related to whether non-state stakeholders will have the same level of authority in Internet Governance debates at the UN as nation-states.

Mark your calendar: The WGEC will meet again from 3-5 May and 2-6 October in Geneva. If successful, it will produce a report to the CSTD and ECOSOC by 6 October.

ITU

Around the International Telecommunication Union, attention is starting to turn to the prospect of another World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT). The 2012 conference ended with a significant number of countries not agreeing to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) treaty. This left about a third of countries—including the EU and US—on the 1988 ITRs. Since there have been some changes since 1988, including issues like Over-the-Top (OTT) services, some argue that a further update to the ITRs is in order. This is premature; unsettled issues from 2012 remain and must be addressed before further regulations should be pursued. The most important question, however, that the Experts Group on the ITRs will attempt to answer in its February 2017 meeting is the legal implication of the existing two-treaty system. If the EG-ITRs can demonstrate that multiple treaty agreements can coexist and not invalidate the rationale behind them, it may push for a 2020 WCIT.

Mark your calendar: The EG-ITRs will meet from 9-10 February in Geneva. It will produce a report to the 2017 Council meeting in May 2017 as well as the 2018 Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU.

Balking at Internet Governance

The complexity and slow process of deciding how to govern the global Internet has left some governments feeling dissatisfied, and these are increasingly looking to pull away from the global dialogue at both a political and a technical level. The risk of balkanization remains. In countries that have developed robust alternative models for managing their Internet resources—such as Russia and China—balkanization is well under way. More may join them unless the international multistakeholder community can articulate a good rationale for continued cooperation and harmonization of policies in cyberspace. Let’s start this year as we mean to go on.