Geneva UN summit mulls future of internet governance

GENEVA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Every current and future internet user should think about where decisions are being made in the process of internet governance, experts here said Monday.

Speaking at the 12th UN Internet Governance Forum, Kathy Brown, president and CEO at the Internet Society, stressed internet users should and have a voice in what affects them.

Discussing what global digital governance will look like in the coming years, Mariya Gabriel, commissioner for Digital Economy and Society of the European Commission, said that future would be about human-centered internet values, digital skills and transparency, while a challenge facing everyone is "how to keep a human face in front of robots and machines".

Outlining her vision, Doris Leuthard, president of the Swiss Confederation, said that confidence and trust in the internet and information were of utmost importance, especially in this "year of fake news".

Millions of objects are being connected, new technologies such as block chain being deployed, so there must be governance to create certainty and predictability, she added.

Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that internet governance in the future first and foremost would be "a global governance, rules-based governance, inclusive and transparent governance, and structured governance with institutions".

Zhao Houlin, secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union, stressed the importance of the four I's -- infrastructure, investments, innovation and inclusiveness.

The panelists suggested that governments should invest more in internet infrastructure, but added that stakeholders should also engage in discussions on whether digitization was contributing to or hindering employment, and whether the future digital world would diminish or widen divides.

The possibility of an international digital governance convention was mooted by experts.

EU commissioner Gabriel noted that such a convention could be a conversation starter on increased cooperation and on shared responsibility.

Zhao noted that there was no general agreement on a new convention, but it was possible to move on some areas of common agreement, such as child online exploitation.

More than 2,000 people, including high-level government officials, civil society leaders, private sector representatives and academic and technical experts, are taking part in the forum from Dec. 18-21. Enditem