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On Monday, 21 September 2026 at 17:00 CEST / 11:00 EDT (15:00 UTC), the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet), in partnership with the Communication Law & Policy Division of the International Communication Association (ICA), hosts an online book discussion, ‘Navigating Internet Governance and the Return of Geopolitics‘,
As geopolitical competition and questions of power increasingly shape the digital landscape, Internet governance stands at a critical juncture. Benjamin Farrand and Igor Calzada present their recent books and discuss what they reveal about the changing politics of Internet governance and the future of digital governance more broadly. Farrand’s ‘Geopolitical Union: Europe’s Attempt to Take Back Control of Technology Regulation‘ (Cambridge University Press, 2026) covers how geopolitical instability is changing EU law and policy-making, including the European Commission’s pursuit of digital/technological sovereignty, technological standards, access to microchips, and rules for industrial data and AI. Calzada’s ‘Datafied Democracies & AI Economics Unplugged: Technopolitics in Smart Cities and Datafied Network States‘ (Springer, 2025) covers how AI, datafication, platform power and Web3 decentralised technologies are reshaping democracy, governance and economic life, connecting AI economics with data sovereignty, data cooperatives, Web3 and digital citizenship.
SPEAKERS
Benjamin Farrand – Professor of Law and Emerging Technologies, Newcastle University; Regulation and Governance Lead, Newcastle University Centre of Research Excellence in Cybersecurity and Resilience
Igor Calzada – Professor of AI Economics, Public Governance and Urban Economy, University of the Basque Country (EHU); Principal Investigator, Ikerbasque
MODERATOR
Min Jiang – Professor of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Vice Chair, Communication Law and Policy Division, ICA
#InternetGovernance #Geopolitics #DigitalSovereignty