United Nations: Policies enabling access to the Internet should be formulated with full involvement of stakeholders from the developing countries as a majority of the next billion net users will come from these nations, India has said.
"...it is imperative that the priorities and concerns of the stakeholders from developing regions are substantively represented in all global Internet governance processes." Secretary in the Department of Electronics and Information Technology J S Deepak said.
"We, therefore, reiterate our commitment to a multi- stakeholder approach to Internet Governance and encourage it to embrace all geographies and societies," he said yesterday at the UN General Assembly meeting to review the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, also called WSIS, held 10 years ago.
The two-day event plans to adopt an outcome that identifies emerging trends, fresh priorities and innovations for advancing information and communications technologies.
He said the international community needs to acknowledge that since a large proportion of the next billion Internet users will come from developing nations, "policies which enable access to the Internet should be formulated with full involvement of all stakeholders from the developing world."
Deepak noted that as India and the world deal with changes in Internet governance, it is important to keep in mind that this is not a zero-sum game.
"Rather, it can be a win-win for all! The Internet is not a scarce resource, but a powerful, enabling, global platform that can be used for the benefit of all," he said.
Given the digital growth across the world, Deepak said nations also have to deal with challenges related to cyber security, some of which are not well understood.
"In the context of security and allied public policy concerns, we believe that governments, which bear ultimate responsibility for essential services and for public safety, have a key role to play and be central to discussions regarding security of the Internet. We should also aim to create a global convention to address issues of cyber security and cybercrime," he said.
He voiced Indias commitment towards realising the 2030 Development Agenda through active deployment of Information and Communication Technology infrastructure and services.
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