NANOG Meeting Presentation Abstract

A View of Top-Down Internet Governance
Meeting:	NANOG55
Date / Time:	2012-06-04 3:00pm - 3:30pm
Room:	Bayshore Ballroom A-C
Presenters:	Speakers: Jesse Sowell, MIT Jesse Sowell is a doctoral candidate in the Engineering Systems Division (ESD) at MIT. Jesse sits in the Advanced Network Architecture (ANA) group in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and is a member of the Explorations in Cyber-International Relations (ECIR) project, a collaborative effort between MIT and Harvard. In ESD, Jesse is largely a policy wonk that draws on comparative political economy, regulatory theory, operations strategy, and private authority to reason about bottom-up, non-state, community- drive governance patterns in the Internet. Jesse draws on his background in software engineering and networks (MS in Computer Science) and policy (SM in Technology and Policy) to understand the sociotechnical interplay between the requirements imposed by Internet architecture and protocols and the organizational modes that help keep the Internet running. In his spare time Jesse enjoys running, playing darts, and craft beer brewing, not necessarily always in that order.
Abstract:	Governance of the Internet has proceeded largely unregulated, in part due to the special status of Internet communications in the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). In particular, recent proposals, to be decided December 2012, include making ITU communications standards binding, regulation of critical resources (names and numbers), and the regulation of peering and interconnection agreements and rates. This presentation provides a view into the structure and motivations of proposals for top-down Internet governance. Starting with high-level issues from the UN, the processes that led to the creation of the Internet Governance Forum will be briefly traced. Given this background, the current renegotiation of the ITRs will be discussed, highlighting how arguments "legitimized" in state-based, top-down forums like the IGF are being used to legitimize proposed changes. The conclusion of the talk intends to (1) facilitate discussion of implications, (2) explore how the network operator community can engage with top-down processes (this does not mean become subordinate to them), and (3) identify which community efforts already satisfy original motivations such as stability and economic development.
Files:	A View of Top-Down Internet Governance(PDF) A View of Top-Down Internet Governance
Sponsors:	None.