With the Internet becoming the infrastructure of an ever-increasing range of social, economic and political activities, the manner of governance of its core or critical resources – a term whose meaning itself is contested – is a matter of importance for all. Private commercial law, voluntary standards, community-based norms and practices, and national, regional and international law, may all have a role in the governance of Critical Internet Resources (CIRs). Their governance is exercised by private parties in contractual arrangements, local/ national regulators, regional and international governmental institutions, communities of Internet users and non-governmental, voluntary standards bodies of national, regional and international purview. The purpose of this workshop is to examine some key issues regarding the governance of CIRs, such as:

1. The resources critical to the working and growth of the Internet and its appropriation by all individuals and groups, including the disadvantaged
2. The level and means by which CIRs are governed/ should be governed; and
3. The normative basis of different approaches to the governance of CIRs

ITfC's Presentation from the ‘Governance of Critical Internet Resources Framework’ workshop