IGF-USA 2020

During this COVID crisis, online services became essential to find health and medical information, get food and supplies, educate our children, connect with friends and families, and stay productive while working from home. This panel examines ways that America’s tech industry came through for Americans, and changes that enabled that to happen. We also consider new concerns about increased tech in our lives, and ask which recent tech trends will continue when this COVID crisis wanes. We’ll use audience polling to collect a broader range of views to deliberate and debate.

During this COVID crisis, online services became essential to find health and medical information, get food and supplies, educate our children, connect with friends and families, and stay productive while working from home. This panel examines ways that America’s tech industry came through for Americans, and changes that enabled that to happen. We also consider new concerns about increased tech in our lives, and ask which recent tech trends will continue when this COVID crisis wanes. We’ll use audience polling to collect a broader range of views to deliberate and debate.

The next generation of wireless service, or 5G, is the focus of much attention and debate around the world. But while much of the focus may be on faster smartphones, 5G has gone from the subject of tech blog chatter to an essential aspect of foreign policy and international diplomacy. As the United States and China wrestle for global leadership in technology, how will national security and international standards influence the development of 5G networks? And how could virtualized and open networks impact the rollout of the Internet of Things—from connected cars to connected coffee makers—as billions of more consumer devices come online?

US law (Section 230) holds users accountable for the content they post online, rather than shifting that responsibility to internet platforms hosting that content. This law has enabled the user-created content that fuels the educational, professional, commercial, entertainment, and social networks online today. Yet this liability framework is now under fire. Some say social media platforms don’t moderate user content strictly enough, while others complain that moderation restricts their free expression online. This panel examines competing pressures on platform content moderation, and changes that could address concerns without increasing liability to the point where only the largest online platforms can afford risks of hosting user-created content and commerce.

This panel will address the shaping of digital privacy policy in the U.S. through short and long-term lenses: how privacy law and policy shifts under the circumstances of a global pandemic, and what lasting impacts of such changes might be when society eventually returns to “more normal” times. For example, “smart” thermometers, activity trackers, and location data through mobile phones are being used to map disease and for contact tracing efforts. These practices raise concerns of increased access to and use of individual data by the public and private sectors. How does one develop privacy policy during a crisis?

In March, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services announced a series of guidelines that provides enhanced flexibility and discretion on enforcement in areas such as disclosure of protected health information and telehealth. Are long standing regulations like HIPAA still fit for purpose? Furthermore, how do they fit in the overall scheme of digital privacy? This conversation will highlight examples of current and proposed digital privacy policies and practices in public health surveillance and their possible impacts in a post-pandemic world.

At times, discussions about Artificial Intelligence seem equal parts hype, fear, and confusion. This panel will focus on how and where AI is really making a difference for Internet users and Internet companies. It could help tackle many, important problems ranging from cybersecurity and content moderation to creating better online learning and discovery tools and improving e-commerce websites and apps. At the same time, the collection of massive amounts of personal data needed to train AI systems could raise privacy concerns and fears of “digital discrimination.” This roundtable will explore real-world use cases where AI could make life online much better–or much worse.

Most Internet users know what can go wrong when Internet apps and websites are not secure (e.g. stolen passwords, identity theft, etc.). But cyber attacks “lower in the stack” can have grave consequences, too: Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS), man-in-the-middle attacks, rerouting traffic halfway around the world, phishing attacks using bogus domain names, etc. The good news is that ISPs, Content Distribution Networks (CDNs), domain name providers, and other infrastructure companies are making the network more robust and safer.

The switch to studying and teaching online has hit learners and educators in underprivileged areas — such as rural, remote, tribal, and low-income communities — particularly hard. Many K-12 and college students cannot complete their schoolwork due a lack of connectivity, causing some students to accept poor grades or face absenteeism. Many educators also have quickly transitioned to online learning without the requisite training or preparation. This panel will explore the challenges that communities and anchor institutions have faced in getting their learners and educators online, their innovative solutions to keep them connected, and the adjustment to digital learning. We will also discuss transitioning from short-term to long-term solutions, the sustainability of post-COVID connectivity models, and ensuring that all Americans are connected in the case of another quarantine period.

As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread throughout the world, it is clear that the Internet has played a critical role in the pandemic response and our ability to proceed with our lives. We have witnessed an acceleration of services, applications and essential aspects of life that rely on internet access; a reality for which we were not totally prepared and necessitated urgent responses. This raises important questions about Internet and its governance: How do we balance a response to urgent needs without sacrificing the benefits of multistakeholder input and analysis? What are the risks? Are there other approaches and models that offer more effective means of guiding and regulating Internet use and development? Is Internet governance itself ready for an evolution or revolution?