The 3rd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is coming up on 3-5 June, and will take place this time in Berlin. The eco Association will be represented there by Klaus Landefeld, Vice-Chair of the Board at eco; Lars Steffen, Director of eco International & Project Manager of Blockchain & Domains; and Henning Lesch, Head of the eco Capital Office & Head of the eco Policy, Law & Regulations Division.
In a brief interview, Lars Steffen explains eco’s reasons for attending this international event.
Lars, why is eco attending the 3rd Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network conference?
Well, the aim of the Policy Network is to address the tension between the cross-border nature of the Internet and national jurisdictions. At the conferences, key representatives of states and the Internet industry, in addition to technical operators and academics – and not to forget, international organizations such as the OECD, UNESCO, the United Nations ECLAC etc. – come together from over 40 countries to look at policy standards for pressing cross-border legal challenges, particularly in the areas of the digital economy, human rights, and cyber security.
We’ll be there to accompany the process for our members, both German and international, a large number of whom will also be on location. There will also be many organizations there with whom we work on an ongoing basis – such as ICANN, the Council of Europe, and the European Commission. We’re regularly in attendance at high-level meetings of these bodies, and our attendance at the conference is part of the seamless flow to our cooperation.
When it comes to Internet governance, where does the conference fit into the broader picture?
While the Internet & Jurisdiction conference might be its own individual event with its own individual agenda, it essentially forms part of the broader Internet governance “cosmos”. And eco has a strong footprint in this topic of Internet governance.
Ultimately, we don’t view the conference as an isolated event: it’s part of an overall process and series of events on this topic – and we want to be there side-by-side with our members for this process. For example, there are working papers that are prepared between conferences, and many of our members contribute to these working documents for each of the network’s three policy programs which are: Data & Jurisdiction; Content & Jurisdiction; and Domains & Jurisdiction.
Internet governance seems to be very much in the spotlight in Germany this year…
Yes, particularly for Germany, Internet governance is a major topic and 2019 is a special year, with several major international conferences taking place here: Following on from the Internet & Jurisdiction conference, there’s EuroDIG from 19 to 20 June; then comes the IGF-D on 11 September, followed by the Internet Governance Forum from 25 to 29 November. And on top of that, next year, Germany will be hosting the ICANN meeting in Hamburg.
For eco, as an association with its headquarters in Germany, but with an international reach and hundreds of international members, this is a very exciting year. And we’ll be at all of the aforementioned events, contributing to the process in partnership with international organizations, highlighting implications for our members of any outcomes and, naturally, always being available for our members to talk to.
A summary report on the 3rd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network will be available after the event.
