Technology: 4 tips to managing Internet governance risks
Internet governance developments have reached a tipping point
February 09, 2012 at 08:21 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
A basic point of my earlier posts is that Internet governance presents business risks. But what can counsel do to manage them?
This post offers a few suggestions. It summarizes the regulatory environment and suggests how Internet governance can be added as an element of strategic planning for any business—but especially for those businesses whose reliance on the Internet is profound, and whose risk from changed Internet policies is high.
Regulatory Environment
- ICANN is the Internet's unseen regulator. Its unique global authority allows it to set the terms by which access to the Internet is available.
- ICANN's policies can disrupt business plans. Its decisions to allow for new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), such as .Canon and .NYC, and to allow for a TLD dedicated to adult content (.XXX) are two recent examples.
- ICANN's policy-making is intensely active. Proposals, counter-proposals and modifications are happening all the time. The intensity of this activity means that anything less than total currency is inadequate to be aware of salient risks, much less to safeguard an organization from them.
Internet governance occurs in an unusually challenging regulatory environment. Managing the resulting risks suggest the need to incorporate Internet governance into an organization's strategic planning.
Incorporating Internet Governance
- Sound strategy begins with a fundamental understanding of the institutions and relationships that drive Internet policy. They have a unique history and legal framework that drive and constrain available policy choices.
- Determine how your organization relies on the Internet. What Internet policies does it depend on? Do you know the exact points where your organization is at greatest risk? Does a proposed policy offer previously unconsidered opportunities?
- Keep informed of what ICANN policies are being considered and be prepared to advocate for or against them
- Incorporate the analysis of Internet governance-related risks and opportunities into the organization's strategic plan. Clearly map out how they relate to the other risks and opportunities that confront your organization.
Managing the risks of Internet governance requires an awareness, in short, that they may impact every kind of organization relying on the Internet and the time to respond is now.
Internet governance is no longer the special concern of the information and communications technology sector (ICT). A recent study by McKinsey Global Institute finds that 75 percent of the economic growth attributable to the Internet comes from companies not directly associated with ICT. Internet governance has entered the mainstream of management issues that must be understood and mastered for an organization to effectively pursue its goals.
Developments in Internet governance have reached a tipping point. For a business whose reliance on the Internet runs deep, it is no longer prudent to stand by waiting for conflicted policy issues to be sorted out by others. Just as it would be ill-advised to operate a chemical plant without understanding the demands of the EPA and engaging the notice-and-comment process when a proposed rule will affect business operations, a similar forward-looking approach is necessary when it comes to Internet governance, and to ICANN.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFrom Reluctant Lawyer to Legal Trailblazer: Agiloft's GC on Redefining In-House Counsel With Innovation and Tech
7 minute readLegal Tech's Predictions for Legal Ops & In-House in 2025
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250