Policy Coordination and Internet Governance in Latin America

Abstract

This paper examines the roles that telecommunications regulation and Internet governance have played over the last few decades in coordinating policies that contributed to the development of todays´global communications infrastructure. Departing from two very different conceptual models, the coordination processes of the telecommunications sector and of the Internet community have had to adapt to deal with the realities of technological convergence. After the politically charged events of the ITU 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications, where the future of Internet governance was presented as a necessary choice between the existing governance arrangements or an expanded role for multilateral organizations, recent developments now appear to indicate that a more cooperative and productive approach to policy coordination has gained traction. This includes the recognition, by all those involved, that Internet governance encompasses both multilateral and multistakeholder coordination instances, with different tasks assigned to governments and multilateral organizations, the private sector and to multi-stakeholder institutions. Nonetheless, many challenges remain on the road to achieving global coordination, given the dynamic and complex nature of the issues at stake. In this context, the processes of policy coordination in this area are initially examined in relation to three current issues: connectivity costs and the role of Internet exchange points, network neutrality, and the debate on privacy, jurisdiction and data localization. In light of these examples, this paper then takes closer examination at the potential of regional public policy networks in further enhancing Internet governance policy coordination processes in Latin America. Increasingly, these public policy networks are viewed as a means to advance the regional agenda and increase participation in the multiple forums in which international Internet governance decision-making is actually taking place.