With more than 4 billion users, the internet – the network of networks – has evolved beyond a technical system and technology. Recently in particular, internet governance has become an important political topic, as a number of countries would like to bring free, open and secure internet under government control.
Internet governance dates back to the 1970s, when TCP/IP protocol was used as a basis to develop a network that was administered without central leadership. 1998 saw the foundation of the non-profit organisation Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that became the technical coordinator of public core of the internet.
Internet governance made a more substantial appearance on the diplomatic agenda early this century, when the UN launched the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process, where two approaches clashed: intergovernmental cooperation vs cooperation including all groups. At a 2005 meeting of the WSIS, it was agreed that global internet governance must include all stakeholders. This is why the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was established. As internet governance is very complicated and includes many stakeholders, the machinery that is involved in this work today has grown significantly.
In 2018, the Secretary-General of the UN launched a process attempting to improve the existing global mechanism for digital cooperation. Estonia is actively participating in this process – we are co-chairs of the UN working group on digital cooperation on the issue of trust and security.
Supporting a free, open and secure internet is also closely linked to the protection of internet freedom. Estonia considers digital rights – such as free access to the internet, freedom of expression online, privacy – an integral part of human rights. We are active participants in international discussions on internet freedom and are a founding member of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC).
Estonia’s pioneering role has been recognised by the renowned US think tank Freedom House. According to the index published in October 2020, Estonia ranks second after Iceland in internet freedom.
