"For over fifteen years, the EU has helped to sustain and develop the Internet: as an essential part of life and a fundamental pillar of the Digital Single Market, the Internet has fostered innovation, growth, trade, democracy and Human Rights.
Growth related to the Internet economy is forecast at almost 11% in the EU, with a contribution to GDP expected to rise from 3.8% in 2010 to 5.7% in 2016. Small and medium-sized enterprises intensively using the Internet grow almost twice as fast as others. This economic potential needs to be further exploited ensuring that individuals can access the content, goods and services they want, and control which personal data they want to share or not. Secure, stable and resilient networks form the basis of a trusted and flourishing Internet economy.
An open and free Internet in which all rights and freedoms that people have offline also apply online facilitates social and democratic progress worldwide.
Sustainable governance of the Internet involving all stakeholders is essential to preserve these benefits. Internet governance involves a wide variety of organisations, and is broadly understood to refer to the "development and application by Governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet".
Recently, conflicting visions on the future of the Internet and on how to strengthen its multistakeholder governance in a sustainable manner have intensified. Moreover, revelations of large-scale surveillance programmes and a fear of cybercrime have negatively affected trust in the Internet. Taken together, a continued loss of confidence in the Internet and its current governance could slow down innovation and the growth of European internet companies. It could also lead to pressure for new regional and national governance structures that might lead to a fragmentation of the Internet."
These "info-fiches" provide factual information and background explanation on 11 key aspects covered by the Communication on "Internet Policy and Governance". They describe the issues at stake, their current situation and the European Commission's perspective on them:
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/internet-policy-and-governance-plain-language
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