World Internet Forum started in China

On December 16, the World Internet Conference began in the Chinese city of Wuzhen. This conference represents an alternative to similar such events which are held under the auspices of Western countries. The conference brought together more than 10 representatives of governments, international organizations, businesses, and civil society. The forum’s main theme, “An Interconnected World Shared and Governed by All - Building a Cyberspace Community of Shared Destiny,” sparked a debate on the future of the global Internet space.

Sovereign Internet

China is a pioneer of the idea of “sovereign Internet” and successfully combines communication technology with state ideology. The Great Chinese Firewall, which filters content, is one of the main narratives of Beijing’s cyber politics. Such an approach displays determination in stressing that cyberspace boundaries are not a universal norm, but depend on civilizational identity. While Western countries, following political liberalism, might prefer to combine Internet freedom with active instruments of cyber politics (web diplomacy 2.0, virtual embassy, supporting cyber activists in other countries), non-Western governments insist on outright national control of the Internet space. In other words, the cyber domain is also a battlefield for two forces defending two different world orders: unipolarity and multipolarity.

Cyber Multipolarity

One of the key tasks facing states defending the idea of multipolarity is transferring the right to delegate and control domain names from the USA’s ICANN to the International Telecommunication Union under the auspices of the UN. Another important task is securing the right to filter content on one’s sovereign territory and hold those guilty of illegal activities on the Internet responsible. For example, while US servers allow “adult sites,” there is criminal liability for the dissemination of pornography in Iran, Russia, and other countries. Therefore, such resources should be blocked and attempts to visit them would be attended to by competent authorities.

The Deep Web

While cyberspace features a very broad range activities, it is often used for illegal operations. The sale of drugs and weapons, the arrangement of murders and other serious crimes, Internet fraud, and tools such as Bitcoin and other special programs represent the “Dark Net” that constantly challenges governments and the citizens of different countries.

Moreover, the internet is becoming increasingly used as a resource for storing classified or top secret information.

Russia’s and other partner countries’ position

The issue of the future of the Internet space has not been completely resolved Russia, as there are two groups in the country which have opposite views on it. The first group is pro-liberal and follows Western policies. The second one insists on using the Chinese experience and introducing laws and regulation concerning cyberspace designed to restrict criminal activities in the Russian sector of the global network as well as block attempts at external interference and manipulation. Given the sanctions against Russia and attempts at political manipulation via the Internet, the Kremlin carefully monitors political activity on networks. Meanwhile, the liberal lobby continues to influence policies related to the economic aspect of Internet technologies (such as the need to continue modernizing with the help of hardware and software produced abroad).

Critics of the Western approach also exist in countries such as Brazil and Iran. Already a few years ago, BRICS began working on a cable project which could become an alternative to existing Internet traffic routes.

Moreover, Color Revolutions and the Arab Spring showed that Internet technology can be used for organizing coups d’etat. Accordingly, some countries have introduced tighter control and enforced greater responsibility for network activity.

The West is concerned about Cybersecurity

Western countries use a twofold approach. On the one hand, they criticize the methods of the supporters of a sovereign cyberspace. But on the other hand, they have strengthened measures of Internet security. The European Parliament and Council of Ministers recently decided to require by law European companies to report cyber incidents to national computer emergency response teams. For two years, a draft law has been prepared under the auspices of the European Commission which proposes to develop legislation on cyber security within an overall cybersecurity strategy.

On October 27, 2015, the US Congress approved a law on sharing cybersecurity information (the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act). It called on the Director of National Intelligence, the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Department of Justice, and the US Department of Defense to jointly develop methods for cyber defense and the sharing of information between government agencies and the private and public sectors.

The US State Department is also actively involved in the development of a US cyber strategy in the international arena.

Inevitable Conflict and Utilitarian Interests

The significant increase in the number of forums on Internet regulation in recent years shows the growing cyberspace competition between different actors.

In November 2015, the Brazilian Joao Pessoa organized the Internet Governance Forum under the auspices of the United Nations. In early December, Dubai hosted the Internet of Things World Forum. Both events were dominated by the pro-liberal agenda and so-called “multistake-holderism,” a concept which expects not only government agencies, but also IT companies and corporations to participate in the governance of the global Internet and the elaboration of standards. Since the world's leading companies, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, YouTube, Yahoo, LinkedIn, eBay, Cisco and others, are American organizations, “multistake-holderism” in fact means the transfer of more decision-making tools to Washington.

The United States also continues to actively lobby their interests in Europe. On December 7, Washington hosted a meeting of the EU-US working group on cyber dialogue at which the parties agreed to continue cooperation in a number of spheres, particularly in implementing universal standards of cyber governance. At the same time, the West utilizes diplomatic rhetoric in order to create advantages for itself in cyber politics. The US regularly accuses China of violating Internet freedom. According to US experts, last year Beijing was a malicious oppressor of civil rights on the Internet and was engaged in cyber intelligence operations.

Such charges can be used to justify controlling new markets as the demand for Internet services and products connected with it (the so-called Internet of Things) is growing rapidly.

The creation of optical networks, casual gadgets, smart city technology, etc. bears great potential for big businesses and state economies. Therefore, the struggle for the right to establish sovereignty in monitoring Internet traffic is ongoing.

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World Internet Forum started in China

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