Cyberspace was created almost 50 years ago with the first Internet enabled connection.
Recently, with the rise of the sharing-economy, and as time goes by Internet has impacted more aspect of how people find a romantic or business partner, a taxi, rent a hotel, the precision on how hospitals store our medical records, just to name a few examples.
All these changes, imply issues for public policy, Internet is now an essential part of the community stability and welfare.Internet Governance, must continue to ensure human rights such as freedom of speech, privacy and security of personal information security. Furthermore, it should encourage innovation and the creation of new market niches so the economy can to continue to grow.
Open government and data collection are trends that demand certified professionals with technical knowledge that can also understand stakeholders public policy implications.
Certainly, challenging times will remain in regards of the convergence of Public Policy and Internet Governance. Public policy administration is a matter of principles, processes and compliance while in the cyberspace, huge changes are often, a couple of clicks away.
For example, in March 2014, NTIA initiated the transition of some key Internet functions to ICANN a non-for-profit organization based in Los Angeles. This process has been known as NTIA IANA stewardship transition functions. For this matter, ICANN had to demonstrate accountability. ICANN stated a plan developed by the international Internet community that, after being approved, will lead to global stewardship. This achievement will not only impact one country but instead, the entire cyberspace, indeed. In this scenario, the processes and policies developed during this transition had at least 36 months, while the technical aspects will not take long time to process.
Global policy aspects are imminently present when different stakeholders are involved in important decisions for the cyberspace and this will only increase since Internet is impacting the society daily activities. The understanding of Internet Governance for attendants and decision makers of policies, is critical. It’s mandatory to understand the convergence of public policy and cyberspace technology, likewise.
At some point, technical careers curriculum should include governmental affairs and public policy theory to prepare professionals interested in the broad field of cyberspace regulation.
Shaping the future of Internet: everyone is responsible
Public policy and the civil society, in regards to technological innovation, require plenty of qualified professionals that are interested in this convergence of technology and governmental affairs. As a professional of the ITCs and as an immigrant engaged with different organizations in this matter, it is on my genuine interest to keep collaborating with organizations that are shaping the future of the Internet. Besides my professional interests as part of the civil society we are co-responsible as end users to understand the terms and agreements in which our information has been or could have been used, and this is a point that everyone will need to ensure.
Martha Cisneros 