EuroISPA on Internet governance

Rising geopolitical tensions threaten the open and global Internet on several levels. We see global fragmentation and threats to the physical infrastructure, global fragmentation at the regulatory level, and increasing cybersecurity threats from bad actors, including states.

At the same time, overly restrictive regulations or centralised control mechanisms could stifle innovation and exclude smaller operators, which also face challenges when it comes to combatting advanced threats such as nation-state actors, ransomware, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

EuroISPA strongly supports the EU’s commitment to the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance, which has been instrumental in maintaining an open, free and secure Internet. The EU can strengthen the multistakeholder model through strong participation in and compliance with the processes of the relevant organisations, such as IGF, ICANN, IETF, etc. Future EU legislation should always be assessed in the light of extraterritoriality and its impact on the global competitiveness of the European IT industry.

At the same time, we invite the EU to encourage diversity in operators by cutting red tape and streamline cybersecurity compliance requirements, ensuring they are proportionate to the size and resources of the operators, without compromising security standards. In fact, developing and adhering to open, universally adopted standards would ensure that security measures are interoperable, scalable, and accessible to operators of all sizes.

Building collaborative frameworks that provide shared threat intelligence, affordable mitigation tools, and capacity-building support is essential to levelling the playing field and enhancing the overall security and resilience of the Internet.

EuroISPA also believe it is key to take into account emerging technologies risks, such as quantum computing ad switching, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Preparing for quantum-resilient cryptography, securing IoT devices, and ensuring ethical AI use must be priorities to prevent vulnerabilities from compromising the integrity of the Internet.

EuroISPA recently submitted its response to the European Commission’s targeted consultation on its stance on Internet
governance.