And yet. Billions of people must navigate this seismic shift without reliable, dependable internet access.
How to ensure that everyone can access the essentials: health, work, human connection? And who stands up for the communities that are on the wrong side of this digital divide?
Fueled by a new sense of urgency, in 2021 we created a roadmap to answer these questions. He described how, together with our global community, we can develop and strengthen the Internet for future generations: an open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy Internet. This impact report is our word that we have not deviated from this course.
The world is changing.
We cannot leave anyone behind.
Protecting the Core of the Internet
The Internet has proved surprisingly resilient to the upheavals of recent years. In other words, it works exactly as it’s supposed to. To keep it that way, we’ve developed the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit to see how a policy, business decision, or technology might affect the Internet.
In 2021, we added the Internet Impact Brief: A Quick Scan to help make better decisions about the Internet and decide if further assessment is needed. With our community, we have produced Internet Impact Briefs to examine emerging policies in: Asia, North America, Europe.
The Global Encryption Coalition took part in the European Commission’s consultations on the Commission’s draft strategy to protect children online. The draft included two proposals that would weaken end-to-end encryption. In response, the Internet Society hosted a joint submission from the Global Encryption Coalition and hosted a webinar for small businesses on the importance of encryption in the European Union.
In addition, the Portugal chapter led 12 European chapters by submitting a joint letter to the Commission, drafting a position paper and doing media outreach. They also held meetings with decision-makers, including the Portuguese Presidency of the European Parliament. As a result of these advocacy efforts, the Commission postponed any announcement of its planned strategy. Additionally, crucial wins in member states have been bolstered by the new strong pro-encryption stance of the German government, creating a more favorable environment around encryption when discussions on the draft EU strategy resume.
