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Hundreds Gather at IGF-USA to Tackle Pressing Internet Issues

20 July 2016
By

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Photo caption: Attendees await the start of a panel at IGF-USA, held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Photo Credit: Glenn McKnight

As in recent years, ICANN issues featured prominently in the 2016 edition of the Internet Governance Forum USA (IGF-USA). The IGF-USA assembled members of business, government, civil society and technical communities to discuss solutions to common issues. Among the diverse topics: How do we counter violent extremism and promote human rights online? How do we balance privacy and security online? What does the future hold for ICANN after the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Stewardship Transition is complete?

The meeting started with a plenary session on the challenges of bringing the next billion users online. Later in the day, Lawrence Strickling, Administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), delivered remarks on the IANA Stewardship Transition. Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda from the U.S. State Department talked about Internet governance issues, highlighting where the U.S. has been and where it's going over the coming months.

Breakout sessions spanned many hot topics – expanding Internet access, transparency in trade agreements and broadband competition, to name a few.  Many participants hopped between concurrent sessions to learn from both panels of experts. As usual, the event provided an opportunity to see multistakeholder dialogue in action.

Later this year, input from the IGF-USA and other regional IGFs will feed into the 2016 global IGF in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Look at photos from the event. Watch videos on the IGF-USA website.

Authors

Joe Catapano

Joe Catapano

Stakeholder Engagement Director - North America & Global Academia