7 September 2016

The following is summary of the most recent IEEE Global Internet Governance Monitor report. To access the full reports containing additional details and other news items, please join the Internet Technology Policy Community on IEEE Collabratec.

Following the clarification of Berec’s net neutrality guidelines last week the mobile network Three has fallen foul of the regulator for its planned network level adblocker. Whilst Berec has stated that adblockers should not be available at the network level, a final decision on the issue will be made by the UK regulator Ofcom.

In cyber security news this week the UK and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to exchange information on cyber attacks regarding both countries. The UK has also signed a similar agreement with the USA, with both the Indian and American agreements designed to improve cooperation on cyber issues with the UK.

Whilst the EU-US Privacy Shield has yet to amass the level of industry support its predecessor Safe Harbor enjoyed, it has been buoyed this week by the addition of major firms, Microsoft, Salesforce and Google.

In the United States this week House and Senate Republicans have pledged to continue their efforts to prevent the transition of internet governance arrangements away from the USA. They cite an existing funding law that prevents the Commerce Department from spending money to relinquish IANA.

The Director of National Intelligence has this week revealed that the US Government are investigating whether Russia is attempting to unduly influence the country’s November Congressional and Presidential elections. The investigation follows the hacking of the Democrat party and concerns over the security of digital polling booths.

Senator Al Franken has pledged to continue his personal investigation into privacy concerns relating to the popular video game Pokemon Go. The Senator has previously written to the game’s creator Niantic to question how personal information is collected, used and shared by the company.

A report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that Chinawill experience a loss of GDP from between 1.77 - 3.44%, or almost $3 trillion annually by 2025 as a result of the country’s technology policies. The report identifies that policies designed to protect national cyber security are a particular source of negative GDP effects.

Ahead of last weekend’s G20 conference in China, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping have held a series of discussions on issues ranging from Cyber Security to human rights. The two countries are believed to have sought mutual assurances that an agreement on hacking an cybersecurity would remain in place.

In Singapore this week David Koh the Chief Executive of the national Cyber Security Agency, has stated that Sinagpore needs to reduce its cyber skills gap in the next 5 years in order to reduce security risks.

Finally in Global Institutional news this week, ITU has announced further details for their World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, set to take place in Tunisia from the 25th October to the 3rd November. Amongst the Assembly’s focuses will be an effort to establish how best to involve other standards bodies in ITU activities.