Last Thursday's Parliament and Internet conference provided reassurance that at last some of our politicians have a healthy perspective of the societal challenges presented by the Internet. Contrary to what many people might imagine, there is, in fact, a good deal of reasoned debate behind the development of public policy on Internet governance.
I mentioned earlier this month that smart observers such as Rob Carolina have already spotted that the cyberspace frontier is no longer as open as we thought. It has national boundaries, though social and commercial networks do have a sneaky habit of finding ways to circumvent political barriers. Most observers now accept that the Internet is unstoppable, but its development can certainly be slowed down. So it's important that we agree balanced international policies to guide its future development. Neither a heavy touch nor a complete free-for-all is desirable. We need to find ways of addressing issues such as e-crime, privacy and universal access, without impeding the progress and benefits that the Internet offers.
UK politicians are providing a healthy leadership in this space. They've adopted a global, multi-stakeholder approach to public policy development. But they could do with a lot more engagement and support from business stakeholders. In today's fast-changing, competitive business environment it's hard for company directors to find the time and justification to engage in slow-moving political developments. But the recent financial credit meltdown shows the importance of adopting a longer-term perspective. And the stakes are high. The future of global communications is far too important to be left in the hands of the politicians and regulators.
