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Internet Policy

As the Executive Branch agency responsible for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues, NTIA is committed to the continued growth of the Internet. As the Internet evolves, new challenges emerge. Working with other stakeholders, NTIA is developing policies to preserve an open, interconnected global Internet that supports continued innovation and economic growth, investment, and the trust of its users. This multistakeholder model of Internet policymaking – convening government, the private sector, and civil society to address issues in a timely and flexible manner – has been responsible for the past success of the Internet and is critical to its future.

Among other efforts, NTIA plays a leading role in the Commerce Department's Internet Policy Task Force, which is conducting a comprehensive policy review related to online privacy, copyright protection, cybersecurity, and the global free flow of information with the goal of ensuring that the Internet remains open for innovation.

NTIA also actively leads and participates in interagency efforts to develop Internet policy. In addition, NTIA works with other governments and international organizations to discuss and reach consensus on relevant Internet policy issues.

Related content

The Road to IGF2023

October 2, 2023
The upcoming Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Kyoto, Japan will unfold amidst two major Internet governance milestone events. It will come on the heels of a preparatory ministerial meeting for next year’s Summit of the Future, where the Global Digital Compact is envisioned to be agreed to, and in advance of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20). 

Secure Internet Routing

May 10, 2023

By Bob Cannon, Senior Telecommunications Policy Analyst, NTIA

My name is Bob.  I am number six.

Do you believe me?

If I were wrong… would you know?

In the 1960s television show “The Prisoner,” retired secret agents are held captive in a place known only as “The Village” and assigned numbers to replace their identities.  Protagonist “Number Six” quickly learns that what one claims to be and what one is can be two different things.

Internet routing is a bit like life in The Village.  One network whispers to a second that it is number six.  The second network then tells two other networks that it can send traffic to number six.  And those two networks tell two more networks that they can reach the network that reaches number six.  And so on.  Networks make routing decisions based on these whispers, following the path back to the network that says it is number six.  Sometimes those whispers are right. Sometimes they are wrong. When they are wrong, Internet traffic can go astray.

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