The need for a new norm: Internet impact assessments – Bigstage 05 2022

21 June 2022 | Start 13:35 CEST | SISSA Main Auditorium | |
BigStage 2022 overview

Session teaser

In 2020 the Internet Society released the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit to support policymakers, technologists, and other Internet users and advocates to assess the implications of change – whether those are policy interventions or new technologies. Since then the Toolkit has been further developed with a new analytical lens to help assess how new technologies or policies may strengthen or weaken what the Internet needs to thrive. This presentation provides an overview of the toolkit and a presentation of one of the toolkit’s latest additions: Internet Impact Briefs.

Session description

Like any live ecosystem, the Internet is constantly evolving. This perpetual evolution without a centralized plan or control – but with thousands of people and organizations working collaboratively on standards, protocols, and their application in the real world – is what has made the Internet a success. But the fact that the Internet resembles an ecosystem, with complex relationships, also makes it hard to protect. How can we identify the policies or technologies that strengthen rather than harm the Internet?

This is why the Internet Society created the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit (IIAT).

The Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit uses two technical papers as a framework for analysing impact on the Internet. The first describes the critical properties the Internet needs to exist, and the second describes the enablers that help it thrive as open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy resource.

The goal is to inspire the Internet community to champion a new norm, similar to how policy decisions are informed in the environmental field: to conduct impact assessments with an eye towards what the Internet needs to exist and thrive.

Format

The format of this session is a traditional presentation.

Further reading

• https://www.internetsociety.org/issues/internet-way-of-networking/internet-impact-assessment-toolkit/
• https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2020/internet-impact-assessment-toolkit/critical-properties-of-the-internet/
• https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2021/enablers-of-open-globally-connected-secure-trustworthy-internet/

People

Presenter

• Carl Gahnberg

Carl Gahnberg is the Director of Policy Development and Research at the Internet Society (ISOC), where he is focused on issues related to Internet governance. In this role, Carl contributes the organization’s global policy development and its partnerships with international and regional organizations, engaging with global policy makers and non-governmental stakeholders on key Internet issues.

Video record

Will be provided here after the event.