Written by Katrina Cassar for JEF on internet governance

Ah, the internet: the invention that changed our lives, revolutionised communication and gave us access to mountains of data at our very fingertips.

What is Internet Governance?

Although you’re probably familiar with the internet, the term ‘Internet Governance’ might not necessarily ring a bell. Internet Governance is the development and application of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and use of the internet.

There are various approaches to Internet Governance. One such approach is that of multistakeholderism. Complex problems could be more efficiently tackled by drawing on diverse expertise and involving different stakeholders in the decision-making process. A multistakeholder framework allows for the involvement of governments, the private sector, civil society, and citizens in said process. This approach is one that aligns with JEF’s values as it promotes subsidiarity and participation.

Goal of Internet Governance

An important underlying goal of Internet Governance is that of protecting fundamental rights online. One such right is online freedom of expression. Nowadays, various parts of the internet can be considered a public forum. Today, someone without access to the internet will have little to no idea of the current events and goings-on of the world around us. Nor would they be able to reach out and make their voices heard to the voters and constituents of society. And so, an important question is put forward: is barring access to such sites a violation of freedom of expression?

Case Study

One particularly interesting case study is that of Knight v. Trump. This was a lawsuit brought forward by a group of Twitter users blocked by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal @realDonaldTrump account. They alleged that this account constituted a public forum, and that blocking access to it is a violation of their First Amendment rights. The court ruled that the Twitter account was a presidential account as opposed to a personal account, and that blocking people from it violates their rights to participate in a designated public forum. After this ruling, the 7 Twitter users that were a part of the lawsuit were unblocked.

The right to information

Furthermore, the right to information is one worth mentioning. This right is being challenged by a principle known as content curation. Content curation algorithms gather information relevant to a particular internet user, and show them the content that the algorithm considers to be of interest to that user. This is a particularly dangerous practice as it creates an echo-chamber of content. It harms democratic principles such as pluralism and diversity, and narrows the access to information.

There are a number of digital rights that have been challenged mostly in the past year and a half due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The right to disconnect is a proposed human right regarding the ability of people to disconnect from work and not to engage in work-related electronic communications such as e-mails or messages during non-work hours. The concept of working from home has blurred the lines regarding when work “ends”. In fact, Portugal has recently brought in new laws which ban employers from contacting their employees outside of working hours.

Personal Experience

As a student myself, I remember that in the early stages of Covid when both students and teachers were struggling with the transition to online learning, I was receiving school-related e-mails all day every day, even as late as 10 o’clock at night. When the new scholastic year began, administration made it a point to inform lecturers not to send us any e-mails past 5pm, which is the end of the school day.

In order to disconnect, one must be able to connect in the first place. Some might argue that internet access should be categorized as a privilege rather than a right, however, accessing the internet has become integral to human life in this day and age. Moving classes online has increased inequalities for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, who have limited or no access to a stable internet connection or to a computer. Even before Covid, the United Nations declared access to the internet a human right, and condemned any efforts to hinder people from getting online.

Of course, with rights come responsibilities, and sometimes that means regulation. Several proposals have been announced by the European Commission in order to regulate digital giants and companies. For example, the Digital Services Act will enact new legislation regarding illegal content, transparent advertising and disinformation. Furthermore, the Digital Markets Act intends to ensure a higher degree of competition in the European digital markets by preventing large companies from abusing their market power and allowing new players to enter the market.

In short, there are various approaches to Internet Governance, and some approaches benefit certain parties more than others. It is for this reason that we must find a compromise that works for everyone, respecting the rights of users and regulating tech giants accordingly.

Event Details

Join us on Saturday the 27th November at AX The Palace Hotel to discuss Internet Governance and its importance in the ever-changing digital sphere we are living in. Explore what youths’ role is in Internet Governance as well as the relationship between internet governance and democracy. Don’t forget to register using this link: https://forms.gle/L5nkcHHVyksxejxv6

This event is funded by the Council of Europe, the European Youth Foundation, and co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union.

For further article published by JEF click Here!

The post Internet Governance: What is it and how can it be tackled? appeared first on The Third Eye.

Loneliness, boredom, negative mood and depressed feelings all stem from the realisation of missing out on all the parties, drinks and mouth-watering food that others are posting about on social media platforms. The desire to avoid these negative affects drives individuals to stay up-to-date with the latest trends on social media platforms, reinforcing internet use and making people more at risk of internet addiction. This is an example of Skinner’s famous operant conditioning, specifically negative reinforcement, as the FoMO is reduced by our endless scrolling and the euphoric feeling this brings.

FoMO and problematic internet use have been found to be negatively-related to subjective positive well-being. More so, heavy use of the internet and the loneliness that this brings, are influenced by personality. Individuals with high levels of extraversion and openness to new experiences tend to require higher levels of arousal to achieve a stable level of stimulation. This may be offered through the exposure to the glamour of other people’s lives.

Wanting to know what other people are up to may help us divert our attention from our own somewhat ‘miserable’ lives. However, it is important to note that what is portrayed on Instagram feeds requires hours of picture-taking and editing to transform the miserable into the unachievable.

Self-Determination Theory views social media use as a means by which basic psychological needs are satisfied, such as the need to be included and know what is going on. FoMO is experienced when these needs are not met, for example, when your internet provider decides to switch off the WiFi for half of the Maltese Islands.

A study has found that loneliness, an effect of FoMO, is the most relevant variable associated with excessive internet use and restricted interpersonal relationships in the real world. This proves that those with poor perceived qualities of social interaction and low social competence are more likely to rely on cyber communication, increasing the risk of FoMO.

With the mobile revolution and the booming of social media, communication and knowledge have expanded rapidly. With this has come an array of opportunities that make people feel that every like, comment and share count and that no opportunity is to be missed.

The post Trust Us, It’s Not as Fun As It Looks | Fear of Missing Out [FoMO] appeared first on The Third Eye.

MSN Messenger

MSN in all its glory, remember it? It’s surprising how the transition to easy chatting took until we ended up at today’s levels. Nowadays, it’s so easy thanks to platforms like Facebook and its subsidiaries. Back then, you’d have whole chat rooms, were you’d join the room first and then talk, sort of like the in-game chats in modern titles.

Dial-Up Modems

If this wasn’t an article, right now, I would be screeching in your face. If you’re a bit younger, you might ask “WHY?”. Well, to be perfectly honest, I would be trying to replicate the horrifying sound of the old Internet. Back in the day, these fancy new modems didn’t exist, and before broadband was widespread, to connect to the internet, normally, one would have to use a generic telephone line to connect to the ISP, however, the modem would detail this process by producing sound frequencies according to the connection and it was this sound that will always remain in our minds, stamped as a reminder of the 90s and early 2000s.

Myspace

Myspace still exists, but it’s far from the days of its glory. Originally, Myspace was a website designed for the circulation of a network of blogs and accounts, a sort of beta Facebook if you please. In most of the late 00s, Myspace was the largest social media site, designed to share the vast array of files, images, music and videos put forward by the large contingent of users it shared. By 2009, Facebook had passed it by amount of unique users in the US, signalling the beginning of its decline. To this day, we can say that Myspace is a fallen titan of the social media world.

Yahoo!

Ok, to be honest, Yahoo! Is still around, but come on, when was the last time you saw someone use Yahoo!? This doesn’t just need to be about Yahoo!, but other search engines in general, that have since fallen prey to Google’s popularity. Does anyone remember “Ask Jeeves?”? Or even “Ask.com”?

The post Of Myspace and MSN | the internet before Facebook appeared first on The Third Eye.