WEBCAST APR 23 – International Cooperation on Internet Freedom and Openness
On Wednesday April 23, 2025, at 11:00-12:30 EDT (15:00-16:30 UTC), the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, as part of its Global Digital Governance series, presents a webinar ‘International Cooperation on Internet Freedom and Openness‘.
In recent years there has been debate in U.S. foreign policy circles about ways to strengthen cooperation among democratic countries seeking to promote Internet freedom and openness. In this context, the Biden Administration considered spearheading a new alliance to work alongside other initiatives on democracy promotion and Internet freedom, and in April 2022 launched a Declaration for the Future of the Internet with sixty partner countries. But two years on, the policy environment has changed dramatically. Digital cooperation among the liberal democracies is now complicated by a host of new disagreements over trade, regulation, security, information and geopolitical alignments. At the same time, digital cooperation among nondemocratic governments is proceeding without such disruptions and is producing results. These trends raise a number of pressing questions about the future of global digital governance in general and the international coalitional dynamics around Internet freedom and openness in particular.
What has and has not been achieved in this issue-area, and what is the state of play today? How might the apparent weakening of the coalition of liberal democracies impact the international politics of Internet freedom and openness in the years ahead? How might key countries, regions and multinational companies adapt to the new environment? Can multistakeholder cooperation help to fill in any gaps and influence the trajectory of change?
This webinar will take stock of these and related questions. A panel of experts with hands-on experience in this field will lead off the conversation, and then the rest of the session will be devoted to open discussion among all interested attendees.
The session is simulcast live by ISOC LIVE.
INTRODUCTION
Eli Noam, Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia Business School.
PANEL
Eileen Donahoe – Former U.S. Special Envoy for Digital Freedom
Ambassador David A. Gross – Wiley Rein LLP / Former U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy
Jason Pielemeier – Executive Director, Global Network Initiative,
MODERATOR
William J. Drake, Director of International Studies, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
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