The High-Level Panel links digital cooperation with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and then answers the question what digital cooperation must be like in order to meet the SDGs. It makes sure to meticulously list all governance fields and all stakeholders. Interesting is that the ideological dispute between multi-stakeholderism and multilateralism is resolved by proposing an informed coexistence of the two. Like numerous other respectively specific UN working groups and reports, challenges to be faced are reviewed across all areas of societal and economic life, with a particular focus on the UN’s typical point of view of human rights and equality.

So, nothing but “old ideas in new boxes”?

Not quite! The report lists exemplary global projects to explain its requirements and ideas of digital cooperation as it should be.

It further addresses “contemporary” challenges, such as AI or social media, and offers equally contemporary solutions, such as agile methods and processes, but also unconventional approaches. The latter, in particular, for one of the issues that has been identified to be among the most urgent today: permissionless innovation will create de facto standards set by dominating market players, with regulations or the consideration of human rights aspects often lagging far behind. Instead of cumbersome (global) regulations, the report advocates “soft governance”, i.e. values, principles, standards and certification processes that can be tested in regional pilot zones.

A value-based approach was already proposed by the NETmundial Initiative and backed broadly, particularly by governments. But it was not followed up on. A promising approach needs to build on those values as the basis of all action and has to achieve a buy-in not only by civil society and governments but also by the private sector. This will avoid the emergence of ever new working groups, accords and calls that suffer from a lack of broad, global acceptance and therefore remain playing fields of specific interest groups or present redundant approaches.

How will urgent problems be identified and how are appropriate solutions created?

The Panel presents three potential solutions. The most tangible one is the IGF Plus, which is based on the comprehensive understanding of the shortcomings of today’s IGF.

Building on the authority of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who convened the Panel, and on the broad global experience of the high-calibre experts, the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation has the capacity to give an impetus and stimulate first active steps towards tackling the known problems and challenges. A mandatory requirement, however, is that the proposals it makes are accepted, pursued and implemented – a task that could be assumed by a potential Envoy, who unites the whole range of stakeholders in a single value-based initiative and is accountable to all of them, not only to the UN.

DENIC is the manager of one of the largest Top-Level Domains (TLD) worldwide: Germany’s country code TLD “.de”. Constituted as a not-for-profit cooperative DENIC is part of the Internet‘s infrastructural core responsible for the German namespace on the Internet.

Hence, as a technical operator, DENIC calls for a single rooted, resilient Internet based on transparent, unambiguous technical standards and policies. Socio-politically we strive towards an open, free and secure Internet. Both to be achieved by a value-based “soft governance” approach.