The full text of the IAB's comments are available in the Datatracker, as well as copied below.

WSIS+20 Stakeholder Consultations: Inputs to the Zero Draft from the IAB

H.E. Amb. Suela Janina, Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations
H.E. Amb. Ekitela Lokaale, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations

Excellencies,

As part of the technical community, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is the leading standards development organisation for the global Internet. The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is a committee of the IETF that provides oversight of the IETF standards process and offers long-range technical direction for Internet development, ensuring that the Internet continues to grow and evolve as a platform for global communication and innovation in the interest of the end user and in support of reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together, we uphold the Internet’s foundational values of openness, trust, and inclusivity through transparent, consensus-driven processes that are open to all. Founded in 1986, the IETF today is a global community comprising network operators, engineers, vendors, researchers, academics, civil society, governments, and other stakeholders. Last year, 7,831 individuals from 77 countries participated in the IETF.

The IAB appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback on aspects of the Zero Draft that are within the remit of the IETF’s IAB, and thanks the Co-Facilitators for their leadership in guiding the WSIS+20 review process. We welcome the Zero Draft and note with appreciation that it reflects inputs from a broad range of stakeholders during the consultation on the Elements Paper, including the technical community. We also recognise with appreciation that a number of our inputs are reflected in the text and welcome the recognition of the technical and academic communities as part of the WSIS+20 Zero Draft.

As the process advances toward intergovernmental negotiations, we sincerely hope that the strong recognition of, and support for, the multistakeholder model with meaningful participation of all stakeholders, including the technical community, will be preserved and further strengthened. We caution against any formulation that shifts from the multistakeholder model to a multilateral framing, as this would undermine the WSIS commitments and the proven governance model that has sustained the Internet’s growth and resilience. It is essential that the WSIS+20 outcome establishes a permanent mandate for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), with stable funding, and reaffirms the IGF’s multistakeholder character, where governments, the technical community, civil society, the private sector and academia come together on equal footing to address Internet-related and emerging digital policy challenges.

We welcome the strong language in the Zero Draft on maintaining a single global interoperable Internet and on promoting the sustainability of digital technologies. Both are central to the continued stability and growth of the Internet. As negotiations move forward, it will be important to ensure that this recognition is not weakened or lost.

Furthermore, explicitly rejecting practices such as egregious censorship, arbitrary surveillance, and Internet shutdowns, and reaffirming commitment to sustainability, are essential to maintaining trust in the digital environment and ensuring that the Internet continues to serve as a driver of innovation and development. It is also essential to safeguard the ability of individuals and organizations to communicate securely and privately using technologies that provide trust and protection across the Internet. These capabilities are fundamental to protecting human rights online and to providing confidence in the digital environment.

From the perspective of the technical community, the intersection between AI Governance and Internet Governance merits recognition to avoid fragmenting governance discussions that overlook interdependencies between AI systems and the Internet. The IGF was established precisely to provide an inclusive multistakeholder platform for dialogue on such emerging issues, and its mandate remains directly relevant to AI and other new technologies. We therefore recommend that the WSIS+20 outcome explicitly recognise the IGF’s role in facilitating multistakeholder dialogue on emerging technologies, including AI, in connection with the broader Internet governance framework. This would avoid siloed approaches and ensure that technical community expertise continues to inform these discussions in a comprehensive and forward-looking way.

In closing, the IAB reaffirms its commitment to supporting the WSIS+20 process and contributing its technical expertise in an open and constructive manner. We urge that the final outcome not only preserve but also strengthen the multistakeholder model by ensuring the full and effective inclusion of the technical community and other stakeholders in all stages of decision-making. The Internet’s success as a global, interoperable and resilient network is the direct result of open standards and collaborative multistakeholder governance, and it is essential that this model be sustained. We thank the Co-Facilitators for their leadership and stand ready to continue our engagement to help ensure that the WSIS+20 outcome reflects these shared principles.

Respectfully,
Tommy Pauly
IAB Chair