An independent panel, announced at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, would be investigating Internet governance and surveillance for two years.
The panel, called the Global Commission on Internet Governance, announced by Chatham House and the Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), has been assigned the task to investigate how to balance civil rights, appropriate regulation, online threats, and economic interests.
According to Politico, the panel would be specifically focusing on examining how much control authoritarian states have been exerting over critical internet resources apart from gauging the nature and extent of online surveillance has led to a loss of trust.
The 25-member commission is chaired by Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, and other members include venture capitalist and former Apple Europe manager Pascal Cagni, White House Open Government Initiative founder Beth Simone Noveck, political scientist and National Intelligence Council chair Joseph Nye, apart from other think tank members and national internet associations.
Amidst the revelations made by whistleblower Edward Snowden, few states have been up in arms against the mass surveillance programmes, touted 'necessary' by the US; while others like Russia and Turkey have tightened their control on web, the report added.