Enabling Multistakeholder Cooperation in Cyberspace

The Paris-based Secretariat of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network facilitates a global policy process between key stakeholders to enable transnational cooperation and foster policy coherence. Participants in the Policy Network work together to preserve the cross-border nature of the Internet, protect human rights, fight abuses, and enable the global digital economy. Since 2012, the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network has engaged more than 200 key entities from six stakeholder groups around the world: governments, international organizations, Internet companies, technical operators, academia and civil society. The regular Global Conferences of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network are organized with governmental partners such as France, Canada and Germany, and are institutionally supported by the Council of Europe, European Commission, OECD, ICANN, UN ECLAC, and UNESCO. The organization is funded through contributions by governments, international organizations, Internet companies, technical operators, and foundations. How to address cross-border jurisdictional challenges on the internet is one of the greatest global governance challenges of the digital 21st century. The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, founded in 2012, is the multistakeholder organization that enables key actors across policy and stakeholder silos to develop necessary policy standards and operational solutions. Its innovative methodology is evidence-based and outcome-oriented. As abuses on the internet grow, legal uncertainty and uncoordinated efforts to address them have high costs for cybersecurity, the digital economy and human rights. Without more transnational cooperation, the next generations of users will have a less global internet. How these challenges are addressed will determine the future of the digital society. The work of its three Programs (Data & Jurisdiction, Content & Jurisdiction, and Domains & Jurisdiction), as well as its regular Global Conferences enjoy high international recognition and institutional support from major international organizations. By enabling multistakeholder cooperation and building capacity, the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network allows stakeholders to address pressing issues such as cross-border data flows and access to user data, cross-border content restrictions, and cross-border domain suspensions.