9 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.

The US-EU Privacy shield has hit a further obstacle this week with the introduction of a second legal suit from two French internet rights associations. The major concern of the two groups is the limited protections for EU citizens with the agreement only creating an oversight body for American Businesses.

Elsewhere in the EU, national telecoms regulators have fought back against attempts by the Commission to creat a new EU wide telelcoms regulator that would amalgamate existing national bodies. This new attempt marks the latest in a succession of moves by the Commission to create a regulatory body over which they could hold a final veto power on issues like net neutrality.

In reaction to the cyberattacks that dominated the American election, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that her country could face similar Russian led attacks when it goes to the polls next year.

The major technological news this week is of course the election of Donald J Trump as the newest President of the United States. The businessman’s election has prompted a wide range of media attention in the technology sector to decipher how the new administration will react to issues such as internet governance and cyber privacy.

Separately the FCC has been petitioned to exempt small internet service providers from net neutrality rules that require ISPs to be transparent about their policies, pricings and data caps.

The FBI are facing further scrutiny over its use of digital warrants after an ACLU probe of court documents have found the FBI went beyond the limits put in place for a dark net sting operation. The original warrant allowed the FBI to target 300 specific people using its network investivative technique malware through a phony child xxxx site on the dark net.

In Asia this week the news has been dominated by the introduction by China of new Cyber Security legislation designed to protect the country from foreign hackers. The new law has been widely criticized by foreign companies however who argue that legal activities will be curtailed and will lead foreigners to be shut out of some sectors. The Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) have also warned that the new law will greatly curtail risk management in China as a result.

India’s telecoms regulator TRAI has announced that its judgement on free data as part of its net neutrality inquiry will be released within the next week. The announcement will have significant implications for companies like Facebook and Airtel, whose free internet services have previously been banned by TRAI.

Following the conclusion of ICANN 57 in Hydrabad India this week the chairman of ICANN has stated his intention to work closely with the Indian government on issues relating to net neutrality.