Internet Governance
a global level, some ISPs, particularly from the USA and Europe, have been active in the WSIS/WGIG/IGF processes individually and through national and regional or sector-specific business organisations such as the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), and others. Telecommunication companies These companies facilitate Internet traffic and run the Internet infrastructure. The main players include companies such as Verizon and AT&T. Traditionally, telecommunication companies have been participating in international telecommunication policy through the ITU. They have been increasingly involved in the activities of ICANN and the IGF. Their primary interest in Internet governance is to ensure a business-friendly global environment for the development of an Internet telecommunication infrastructure. Software companies Companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Oracle are mainly involved in the activities of different standardisation bodies (W3C, IETF). In the early days of the WSIS process, their main concern was the possibility of opening a discussion on IPR on the Internet. After it was clear that WSIS would not move in the IPR field, the software companies’ interest in participating in the WSIS process diminished. This trend has continued since the Summit. Internet content companies These include the main Internet brand names such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter. This group of companies became increasingly important with the development of Web 2.0 applications. Their business priorities are closely linked to various Internet governance issues such as intellectual property, privacy, and cybersecurity. Their presence is increasingly noticeable in the global Internet governance processes.
Civil society Civil society has been the most vocal and active promoter of a multistakeholder approach to Internet governance. The usual criticism of civil society participation in previous multilateral forums had been a lack of proper coordination and the presence of too many, often dissonant, voices. In 180