Objectives
From a network of networks that existed in parallel to traditional telecommunication networks, the Internet has evolved into a general-purpose infrastructure of all-IP connectivity. As the Internet becomes ubiquitously embedded in communications and transactions, from cyber-physical systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to the pervasive reliance on algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), new governance challenges emerge. These include information and cybersecurity, data policy, and the broad challenges of harnessing technology for the social good rather than surveillance, exploitation, and political suppression. To address these challenges, the historical system of Internet governance, focused primarily on technical and operational aspects of the physical infrastructure, needs to mesh with other forms of government and non-government policy and develop new and innovative responses. Projects in this program currently focus on cybersecurity, network neutrality, and a reconceptualization of the theoretical foundations of Internet governance, broadly construed.
Project lead: Johannes M. Bauer
Publications and working papers:
- Bauer, J. M. (2019). Effects of network neutrality regulation and competition policy on the evolution of the Internet. Paper presented at the Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) on Communication, Technology and Human Dignity: Disputed Rights, Contested Truths, Madrid, Spain, July 7-11, 2019. Available here.
- Bauer, J. M. (2019). Regulation and digital innovation. In G. Knieps & V. Stocker (Eds.), The future of the Internet–innovation, integration and sustainability (pp. 58-88). Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos.