Internet Governance

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this morning, Dr McCrea. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Alun Cairns) for calling this important debate. He said that it was a vital issue, but apparently it is not one on which our colleagues feel well briefed. As I gazed round the room and realised that we were alone, until my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies)—the one colleague who is interested in the subject—joined us, I thought that that spoke volumes about parliamentary participation. As we constantly tell our constituents, however, our physical absence does not necessarily indicate that we are not interested in an issue.

My hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan has brought this matter to the attention of the House with his absolutely superb speech. I am sure that what I am about to say will come out the wrong way, but I could not have given a better speech myself. He articulated all the key issues that surround the slightly esoteric question of internet governance, and he illustrated why it is a vital issue for politicians in this country and across the globe who value a free and open internet and who recognise the astonishing benefits that the internet has brought.

I always begin such speeches by discussing the remarkable benefits that the internet has brought, and it is a cliché and a truism to say that over the past 20 years, it has begun to completely transform the way in which we do business and communicate. It has brought the globe closer together. It will drive economic growth, not only in this country—one of the most tech-savvy and internet-engaged nations in the world; the British consumer adapts well to new technology and e-commerce is a significant part of our retail landscape—but, perhaps more importantly, in the developed world. We all know how Africa has been able to leapfrog the fixed infrastructure found in developed countries on to a mobile infrastructure, which has enabled rural businesses in Africa in particular to trade and fundamentally remodel the way in which they do business. Such rapid innovation makes a massive difference to the developing world. Our message about a free and open internet, which is often misinterpreted as being a self-interested message on behalf of the west, is actually a message to the world about how the current model for internet governance secures the innovation that is transforming lives across the world.

As a result of that model, the internet is open, global and borderless; its technical standards are open and developed by consensus; and it is open to new devices, applications and services. There is no centralised or overarching global framework of top- down intergovernmental control or oversight. The key stakeholders that have made the internet such a success continue to have a voice: businesses, civil society, the technical community and the academic institutions where the internet was born. Governments can work with those stakeholders to share knowledge, experience, skills and best practice. Governments alone would not have the expertise that other stakeholders can provide.

My hon. Friend referred to the United Nations world summit on the information society that was held in 2005, which affirmed the multi-stakeholder model as the best way forward. That model, which is based on collaboration, consensus and partnership-building, ensures that the internet continues to be dynamic, innovative and robust. He rightly highlighted the continuing challenges to the model, and the challenges faced by those of us who believe in a free and open internet. The protection of children online, for example, is a massively important issue.

[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

That is an important issue in my constituency. I hope the Minister agrees that although we need an open and dynamic internet, the Government must be aware of the areas in which there is a real danger and do what they can—within reasonable powers and without damaging the internet—to exercise control and protect children from content that is extremely damaging.

[Mr Vaizey]

My hon. Friend is completely correct. The rule of law applies to the internet, and that which is illegal in the physical world is illegal in the online world. That is why a zero-tolerance policy towards child abuse images does not pose a threat to internet freedom. Those images are vile and illegal, and we must do everything in our power to remove them from the internet and catch those who exchange them. That is why we have worked with internet service providers to give parents the tools they need to protect their children online, and we will continue to apply the law on pornography online as well as offline. There are other issues: consumer protection, intellectual property rights, data protection, legal and regulatory frameworks and business models have had to adapt. They are all factors in our approach to internet policies.

There are challenges and opportunities, such as the need to promote greater multilingualism on the internet, so that more people around the world can access it in their own language. As I said, we need to support the developing world in expanding its capacity and internet infrastructure. That is why I am delighted that the Department for International Development, for example, supports the Alliance for an Affordable Internet in that area. The key point, which our approach to child protection highlights, is that no one stakeholder or Government acting alone can tackle the issues. Everyone needs to work together and collaborate, which emphasises why we are supportive of the multi-stakeholder model.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan pointed out, there have been calls from some countries for a fundamental change in the international internet governance model. Some have called for Governments to have direct oversight of the internet and for a new intergovernmental organisation to create treaty-based rules. That sounds perfectly sensible at first blush—a superficially easy solution to some of the difficult challenges that we face with the internet and internet governance. Our strong view is that that top-down model would not work and would put the internet at risk for three reasons.

First, such formal institutional decision-making models would not be able to keep pace with the rapid technological change that is characteristic of the internet and the rapidly evolving needs and desires of internet users. Such a model would act as a brake on innovation and stifle the dynamism that has allowed the internet to deliver many benefits and opportunities for economic growth and social welfare. Secondly, the internet is an adaptive technology. It is not a single entity but a network of networks with no centralised control. It is questionable from a technical point of view how top-down control of the internet by Governments would work. Finally, as I said in my opening remarks, the internet is a tool that affects nearly all aspects of life. Any new intergovernmental organisation would at best duplicate the mandates of existing international organisations and at worst lead to significant confusion.

The World Trade Organisation, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Interpol and many other international organisations have over recent years expanded their capacity to deal with internet-related issues in their areas of expertise. That seems to be a sensible way forward. We do not support the establishment of a new intergovernmental body, but that does not mean to say that we should resist all change. The international internet governance model needs to be kept fit for purpose, and as the internet develops, we must ensure that the existing processes we support can adapt to keep pace with future opportunities. Work is already under way in that respect.

My hon. Friend mentioned the IGF. I attended the past three forums. I missed the first one when I was a Minister, but I have been to every one since. The most recent took place last month. This debate is an opportunity for me to pay tribute to a number of players. The previous Labour Minister with responsibility for telecoms, Alun Michael, now a police and crime commissioner, helped to establish the IGF after the world summit on the information society. I pay tribute to him as a former Minister who maintained his interest and expertise in the area. He kept the issue alive in Parliament as well as supporting the creation of the UK-IGF. I echo the praise that my hon. Friend lavished on Nominet, the charity responsible for UK domain names, ably led by Lesley Cowley. It does a fantastic job in showing that the multi-stakeholder model is effective and that a private not-for-profit organisation can play a key role and respond to pressures and challenges sensibly. I pay tribute to the charity and its leadership.

May I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend? Since the departure of Alun Michael, he has stepped up, as it were, to become Mr Internet Governance in Parliament. He does a superb job chairing the UK-IGF parliamentary meeting and takes a keen interest in all the issues. As his remarks show, he displays a deep understanding, which is incredibly valuable to my work and the work of other Ministers.

The IGF plays a valuable role in bringing together a broad range of stakeholders to discuss issues of common concern and, having attended the past three forums, I know that it is effective. It has taken steps, which we support, to improve its effectiveness. The UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development has established a working group to look at how enhanced co-operation with Governments works and whether changes or adaptations are needed. We look forward to seeing the results of that work next year. My hon. Friend also mentioned ICANN, which has taken steps to internationalise its presence, under the new and able leadership of Fadi Chehadé, and open up the domain name system. We encourage it to continue that process. In 2015, the United Nations will conduct a 10-year review of the actions that came out of the world summit on the information society. We hope that that work will feed into the development of the millennium development goals. We continue to support such international processes.

My hon. Friend also mentioned the Brazilian summit. The Brazilian Government are proposing further international discussions on internet governance in April or May next year. Brazil has played a positive and valuable role in internet governance for many years. The Brazilian internet steering committee has published a set of principles for the governance and use of the internet. Those principles have been a helpful contribution to the debate, which many countries, including the UK, broadly support. We look forward to hearing more details about any event in Brazil next year and we stand ready to engage in that important process.

As I have said, perhaps repeatedly, we are sceptical about greater control of the internet by Governments or by an intergovernmental organisation. We are committed to engaging in discussions about how we can ensure that the current model remains fit for purpose. The tests we should apply to any proposed change to the internet governance model must ultimately be practical. Does it allow us to maintain the internet as an open, robust and technically secure service? Does it help us to find sustainable and consensus-based solutions to the challenges that we face? Does it allow the internet to continue to develop and innovate and offer social and economic benefits to more people around the world? The internet has been a huge success and continues to transform all aspects of our lives. We must work to maintain and strengthen the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance that has sustained that success and ensure that it is fit for purpose in the future.