Tech vendors have role in Internet governance

At the Internet Governance Forum 2013 in Bali this week, I caught up with Joe Alhadeff, chair of the ICC Commission for digital economy, and who is also Oracle’s privacy lead. Joe is leading 41 members of ICC Basis (Business Action to Support the Information Society) initiative under the International Chamber of Commerce, to IGF.

From a business perspective, the multi-stakeholder nature of IGF is unique–it is not a negotiation forum and positions are not pre-determined. Views are sought before policies are set in stone. Therefore, organizations like ICC BASIS consider this unique feature in governance and one that is well-suited for the nature of the Internet.

According to Joe, ICC Basis supports preserving this aspect of IGF and works to further encourage national and regional forums operating on a similar basis, as well as encourage stakeholders to take up active roles and engage in capacity building. He sees great value in the forum as an important platform for different sides to understand each other, with the IGF as an incubator and catalyst of ideas.

SOURCE: zdnet.com