Date: 18 – 20 July 2012
Venue: Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo
Important issues of Internet governance must be addressed if we are to ensure the continued successful deployment and development of the Internet.
Globally, the Asia-Pacific region has seen the fastest growth of the Internet in recent years. Particularly in China, India and Indonesia, the first, second and fourth most populous countries on the planet –the USA is third– the Internet’s rate of growth has been dramatic. It was the consumption of IP addresses in the Asia-Pacific that triggered the final release of IPv4 addresses at the global level by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority). And yet there are still vast areas of the region where the Internet has yet to penetrate. IPv6 is now the route to future Internet use. But what must be done to facilitate this transition to IPv6?
Meanwhile, the borderless nature of the Internet and the potential extra-territorial impact of domestic legislative action were highlighted earlier this year when the U.S. proposed tough laws aimed at preventing the theft of copyright materials online; laws which would have made Internet users world-wide vulnerable to U.S. law. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) were proposed, but action by citizens and businesses stopped them becoming law. Some are now concerned that new domestic legislation, such as the U.S. Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) may have a similar global impact as international treaties, such as Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) or pending Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).
On the technical front, our use of smart phones and the development of increasingly sophisticated software on the Internet means that communication over data networks is rapidly displacing traditional telecommunications in use and therefore also as a source of profits. The ongoing struggle over control of the Internet can therefore only intensify. How should this be played out?
These are just three of the significant issues concerning the laws and policies governing the Internet, or Internet governance, that will be discussed at the Third Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum, to be held in Tokyo, Japan 18-20 July. Please join the Forum and please respond to this call for contributions to the Forum programme. Outcomes from the APrIGF will be presented at the 7th Global IGF to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, 6-9 November 2012.
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