e-Governance and the Governance of the Global Internet

Internet governance is 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 (WGIG 2005: 4). All major communications network innovations have given rise to new enterprises, transformed economic, social and political structures, crossed borders, created international disputes, and perhaps most important, eventually led to the development of new coordination or governance frameworks (ITU 2004: 14).