The Secretariat of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network launched the world’s first Internet & Jurisdiction Global Status Report at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum on November 27, 2019, during a Special Session. It presents a first-of-its-kind mapping of internet jurisdiction related policy trends, actors and initiatives.
Please note that we are offering the printed version of the Report through an external service at wholesale prices, that cover the production cost and shipment to your location. The entire publication is available for free in PDF format online.
The pioneering Internet & Jurisdiction Global Status Report 2019 is a new resource for policy makers and shapers to enable evidence-based policy innovation. It exposes a dangerous spiral of uncoordinated policy making. At a time when the world has never been so interconnected, reactive and quick-fix, unilateral regulatory initiatives proliferate to tackle new digital challenges. This legal arms race is threatening the future of the cross-border internet, unless actors actively coordinate.
KEY FINDINGS
- 79% of surveyed stakeholders consider that there is insufficient international coordination and coherence to address cross-border legal challenges on the internet.
- 95% of them agree that cross-border legal challenges on the internet will become increasingly acute in the next three years.
- Only 15% of them believe that we already have the right institutions to address these challenges.
The Internet & Jurisdiction Global Status Report 2019 combines detailed desk research with a global data collection from over 150 key stakeholders – states, internet companies, technical operators, civil society, academia and international organizations from five continents.
A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND RESOURCE FOR POLICY ACTORS INCLUDING
- Synthesized information from in-depth interviews and surveys with relevant stakeholders
- Concise infographics
- Inclusive lists of key initiatives and actors
- Analysis of current trends and future policy issues
50 years after the creation of the internet, the report reveals a growing amount of public and private regulatory initiatives, multiplying worldwide, to address transnational issues, ranging from online abuse and security to data protection and artificial intelligence. The problem is, these actions are often uncoordinated and designed under the pressure of urgency, leading to competing or conflicting policies and court decisions.
“The report is a-first-of-its-kind resource for evidence-based policy making. It illustrates the sheer scale of uncoordinated policy initiatives and the impact this is having on our ability to address cross-border legal challenges on the internet” said author of the Report, Professor Dan Jerker B. Svantesson.
The absence of coordination is leading to a divergence of standards and preventing actors from efficiently addressing online issues. The lack of legal interoperability is creating high levels of legal uncertainty and generating distrust among internet users who cannot know which rules on the cross-border internet apply.
“We are facing an institutional challenge: makeshift policy measures do not address problems in a coherent and sustainable manner. Stakeholders must develop new ways to coordinate to address their common challenges. We collectively need to move beyond governance bricolage.” said Bertrand de La Chapelle, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network.
COMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMS OF THE INTERNET & JURISDICTION POLICY NETWORK
The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is the multistakeholder organization addressing the tension between the cross-border internet and national jurisdictions. Its Secretariat facilitates a global policy process in which over 300 key entities including governments, the world’s largest internet companies, technical operators, civil society groups, academia and international organizations from over 50 countries work together.
Responding to the urgent call of senior-level stakeholders in the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, the Internet & Jurisdiction Global Status Report 2019 enables evidence-based policy innovation and provides stakeholders with the necessary information to develop frameworks and policy standards for the digital society.
The Report complements the work of key stakeholders in the three policy Programs of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, where operational Norms, Criteria and Mechanisms are actively developed to enhance legal interoperability in cyberspace.
Read the 34 Norms, 31 Criteria and 3 Mechanisms proposed by the Members of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network’s Program Contact Groups in 2019.
Download the Operational Approaches documents by clicking on the icons below:
THANK YOU TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE INTERNET & JURISDICTION GLOBAL STATUS REPORT
The Secretariat entrusted internationally renowned Professor Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, at the Faculty of Law at Bond University, with the lead authorship of the Report. A coalition of four important public actors enabled the production of this pioneering Report: the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, and the European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT).
