2 November 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.

In the EU this week the US-EU Privacy shield hit a new obstacle with the launch of a legal challenge by civil liberties group Digital Rights Ireland. The challenge is based on concerns for privacy and has been lodged in the European Court of Justice’s lowest court.

Elsewhere the Romanian Education Ministry has announced plans to introduce cybersecurity subjects to children as young as 11 in order to build up the country’s pool of cyber security experts.

Also on cyber security this week the UK’s Chancellor announced a new £1.9 Billion in funding to support the UK’s cyber security strategy. The announcement coincided with a warning from the head of MI5 the UK’s domestic spy agency, citing the threat of Russian hackers to UK infrastructure.

In the United States, Assistant Commerce Secrertary Lawrence E. Strickling, head of the NTIA has stated that there will be no attempt to reverse the transition of technical oversight functions from the international community back to the USA.

The FCC has this week ruled that American internet service providers must now gain client consent before sharing personal data. The decision effectively treats the private data handled by ISPs with the same rules as those for telephone communications and have been thoroughly praised by the ACLU.

In cyber security news the Obama administration have started to draw up an options paper for the next US President, urging the winner of next week’s election to further centralise government IT services to protect against data breaches.

In Asia, China’s controversial cybersecurity law has moved closer to approval following a third reading of the draft bill. The law now features an amendment that will alow the Government to seize assets and take other measures against foreign hackers that threaten Chinese infrastructure.

Airbnb have taken a significant step for Chinese cyber privacy this week by announcing that all user data will not leave China, following increasing pressure from the Chinese Government.

A new survey of IT professional by the Monster Employment Index has found that whilst demand for IT experts continues to grow in Asian countries like Singapore and the Philippines, there has been a downturn of 22% in Malaysia.

In Canada the communications regulator CRTC has this week launched a series of hearings into net neutrality, with specific focus on differential pricing.

In institutional news this week ICANN have released a new consultation focused on the organisations strategy in the middle east and adjoining countries for 2016-2019. The consultation will conclude on the 18th November 2016.