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Internet Society

ISOC

The Internet Society is a non-profit organization promoting an open, secure, and globally-connected internet infrastructure.

Lobbying Activity

Internet Society warns EU against blunt internet content blocking

17 Dec 2025
Topic — Evaluation of EU rules regarding audiovisual media services and digital regulation
Message — The Internet Society recommends tackling harmful content at its source instead of using blunt measures. They argue IP and DNS blocking are imprecise and cause significant technical disruptions.12
Why — This would prevent technical disruptions to the global infrastructure the organization promotes.3
Impact — Digital users and businesses lose access to legitimate content through collateral damage.45
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Meeting with Hilde Vautmans (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

14 Nov 2025 · Encryption

Meeting with Piotr Müller (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Nov 2025 · Intermediary Liability in the Digital Environment

Meeting with Georgiana Teodorescu (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Oct 2025 · Meeting relative of policy landscape on encryption and Internet governance

Meeting with Sandro Ruotolo (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

13 Oct 2025 · Age verification systems

Meeting with Sirpa Pietikäinen (Member of the European Parliament)

23 Sept 2025 · Digital Security

Meeting with Sergey Lagodinsky (Member of the European Parliament) and Access Now Europe and Future of Life Institute

19 Sept 2025 · Exchange of Views

Internet Society Warns EU Against "Fair Share" Network Rules

11 Jul 2025
Topic — The EU is consulting on legislative measures to boost digital infrastructure investment.
Message — The group opposes extending telecom-style regulations to cloud services and application providers. They specifically reject dispute resolution mechanisms that would introduce "fair share" payment models. Furthermore, they urge the Commission to maintain technology neutrality and protect the open Internet.1
Why — Avoiding these regulations prevents costly administrative burdens and protects their decentralized networking model.2
Impact — Large telecom operators lose the ability to extract mandatory payments from content providers.3
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Internet Society warns against Internet blocking to fight piracy

4 Jun 2025
Topic — EU assessment of recommendations to combat unauthorized retransmissions of live sports events.
Message — The Internet Society opposes Internet blocking and urges authorities to attack piracy at its source. They argue that filters are inefficient and cause collateral damage to innocent users.123
Why — This protects the stability and global interoperability of the Internet infrastructure.45
Impact — Broadcasters and rights holders would lose access to rapid, automated content blocking.67
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Response to International Digital Strategy

21 May 2025

The Internet Society supports the European Union's initiatives to enhance its international actions in the digital realm. The Internet is a powerful equalizer that can help address some of the worlds greatest challenges by creating opportunities for people. We support actions and policy initiatives that work in this direction. Internet Governance and WSIS+20 The EUs International Digital Strategy should strongly recognize and support the crucial role the multistakeholder model of governance plays in how the Internet is built and how it functions, as well as the Internets resilience, security, and ability to enable innovation and development. Only by reinforcing this model and maintaining the Internets core principles: open standards, collaboration, and innovation, can we build a more resilient digital future. In the crucial year of the WSIS+20 review, the EU should promote the multistakeholder approach in both the process and the outcomes. A meaningful stakeholder participation in the review, guided by NETmundial+10 principles and inclusive of all input, is essential. As to the outcomes of the WSIS+20 review, we suggest focusing on reconfirming the commitment to the multistakeholder model and sharpening the WSIS Action Lines by making them more concrete, measurable, and technology-neutral while avoiding duplication with the Global Digital Compact. We suggest as core priorities making the IGF mandate permanent and securing sustainable funding. The importance of International data flows Several countries are adopting policies that restrict cross-border data flows, mandate data localization, force the disclosure of source code, and discriminate against foreign digital products. The EU should continue working with like-minded countries to establish a framework for open data flows, with the following core principles: (1) protection of the free flow of information, respecting privacy and security; (2) adoption of strong cybersecurity standards, acknowledging that data localization requirements do not enhance security; (3) avoiding discrimination against foreign digital services and products; and (4) preventing mandated source code disclosure as a condition for doing business in a country. Internet Shutdowns We offer accurate data and analysis to understand how the Internet is evolving to protect it from the forces that threaten it. Internet Society Pulse https://pulse.internetsociety.org consolidates trusted, third-party Internet data into a single website. It includes a tracker of Internet shutdown events around the world, and has been recently complemented by (1) the NetLoss calculator, a new tool that estimates the economic cost of Internet shutdowns using an quantitative economic methodology, and (2) the Internet Resilience Index, to support the development of policies and infrastructure to improve Internet resilience at the local, regional, and global level. We encourage the European Commission and the EEAS to consult this data and reach out to the Internet Society for more information about these valuable tools. Cyber capacity-building and cooperation Ukraine and the Western Balkans are of particular importance to the European Union's International Digital Strategy. We highlight the dedicated work of our local chapters in the region (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia) as relevant partners for collaboration. These chapters actively engage in capacity building by organizing workshops and training on topics like Internet routing security, community network development, and digital literacy. They foster local expertise, ensuring sustainable growth of the Internet. Impact assessments We urge considering impact assessments to evaluate the effects of new legislation on Internet governance and operation, to help ensure alignment with the open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy Internet.
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Meeting with Emmanuelle Du Chalard (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

19 Feb 2025 · Exchange on standardisation of rights reservation mechanism for copyright protected works

Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament) and the Mozilla Foundation

16 Oct 2024 · Encryption (staff-level)

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament)

9 Oct 2024 · Encryption

Meeting with Evin Incir (Member of the European Parliament) and NOVE

2 Oct 2024 · Encryption

Meeting with Francisco Assis (Member of the European Parliament)

23 Sept 2024 · Pledge for Encryption

Internet Society warns against weakening encryption for child safety

7 Aug 2024
Topic — The Commission is developing guidelines for online platforms to protect minors.
Message — They urge policymakers to protect children without dismantling encryption, a vital preventative tool. They reject security-compromising methods like client-side scanning and advocate for a balanced approach.12
Why — This ensures the organization can maintain its support for encryption as a fundamental internet tool.3
Impact — Law enforcement agencies lose the ability to easily monitor communications for criminal activity.4
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Internet Society urges rejection of EU digital infrastructure expansion

12 Jun 2024
Topic — This consultation addresses scenarios for mastering Europe's future digital infrastructure needs.
Message — The Internet Society urges the Commission to reject expanding regulations and oppose new dispute resolution mechanisms. They argue these measures represent a 'Fair Share' tax that could harm the global Internet.12
Why — The move would preserve the Internet's voluntary networking model and prevent global fragmentation.3
Impact — Consumers and smaller providers face reduced competition and potential harm to internet access.45
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Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Oct 2023 · Preparation of Global Encryption Day

Meeting with Paul Tang (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Proton AG

3 May 2023 · Staff Level: Child Sexual Abuse Regulation

Meeting with Marcel Kolaja (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion) and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited and its various subsidiaries and

8 Mar 2023 · discussion about protection of children on-line and encryption

Internet Society: Protect encryption in child abuse proposal

9 Sept 2022
Topic — New rules requiring digital platforms to detect and report online child sexual abuse.
Message — The Internet Society recommends the proposal is redrafted to be compatible with end-to-end encryption. They urge the EU to dismiss encryption backdoors and client-side scanning as detection technologies. Finally, they ask that the upcoming impact assessment includes analysis of internet infrastructure impacts.123
Why — This prevents technical barriers for new companies and maintains global internet security standards.45
Impact — Users and vulnerable communities lose privacy and face greater threats from cyber-attacks and scams.67
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Meeting with Christiane Canenbley (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

30 Jun 2022 · Broadband Cost Reduction Directive.

Internet Society urges transparency-focused model for standard patents

22 Apr 2022
Topic — A new EU framework to regulate licensing and transparency for standard essential patents.
Message — The organization recommends adopting a transparency-focused model based on current internet standards practices. They urge the Commission to distinguish between software-led and hardware-led standardization approaches.12
Why — This model ensures that internet technology remains accessible and easy to implement without costs.3
Impact — Patent owners lose leverage as the proposed model favors royalty-free technology over protected inventions.4
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Response to Amendment to the Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 European standardisation

5 Apr 2022

We thank the commission for being able to respond to the public consultation on the European standards strategy and wish to submit the following contribution. Please, see attached file.
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Response to Declaration of Digital Principles

31 May 2021

To sustain the Internet’s value for our future, we need to recognise and protect what makes it unique. The Internet owes its success not only to the technology, but to the way it operates and evolves, providing unprecedented opportunities for advancing social and cultural understanding. There are virtually infinite opportunities in which we can use the Internet as a force for good. To make sure we can keep using it this way, we need to recognise and protect its critical properties. The European Commission’s 2030 Digital Compass pursues to set the digital policies that will effectively empower people and businesses to seize a human centred, sustainable and more prosperous digital future. At the core of these objectives, the basic infrastructure that allows for the digital transformation is a robust Internet that is open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy. The Internet Society has identified the critical properties that define the “Internet Way of Networking” (IWN) and underpin the growth and adaptability of the Internet. The benefits of these properties have enabled the economic and technological development the Internet has brought around the globe. These properties are critical both because they are necessary for the Internet’s healthy evolution and because they convey what makes the Internet unique. Each of the essential properties helps to sustain particular benefits that the Internet can produce. When they are present, they maximise both the Internet’s health and its potential to create and disseminate value. The properties are the following: (1) an accessible infrastructure with a common protocol; (2) an open architecture of interoperable and reusable building blocks; (3) a decentralised management and a single distributed routing system; (4) common global identifiers; and (5) a technology neutral, general-purpose network. What makes the IWN model unique, is that these properties create a positive framework that allows policy makers to test whether new ideas support the best potential of the Internet. It gives a stable frame of reference to evaluate current networking conditions, proposals for technological development, regulations, and technical governance arrangements. This is why we can use the IWN model as an impact assessment toolkit, that can help policymakers and digital operators take informed decisions about their actions in the digital environment. More information on the IWN model can be found here: https://www.internetsociety.org/issues/internet-way-of-networking/ Our main message for this roadmap is to highlight the importance of ensuring that the internet remains an open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy asset, and that any Digital Principles proposal is weighted upon the IWN essential properties, to ensure they do not jeopardise internet’s potential. As the Commission considers which principles should underpin its digital society, it should first look at the Internet’s. There is something profoundly human about the ability of networks to be independent yet, at the same time, collaborate, through common objectives. This human aspect of the Internet should be preserved and the only way to achieve this is by committing to upholding its own set of properties.
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Response to Commission Recommendation on ensuring safety of journalists in the European Union

12 May 2021

Feedback from the Internet Society (www.internetsociety.org) According to the 2021 Annual Report by the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, the ability to report freely has degraded dramatically. Internet Society’s recommendation is that, to enhance the security of journalists and protect freedom of the press, the European Commission must ensure journalists and the public are free to use strong end-to-end encryption. Journalists need to be safe online in order to hold governments and institutions accountable, tell important and impactful stories, and promote healthy democracies. Encryption is a tool designed to help Internet users keep their data and communications private and secure. It plays a critical role in protecting day-to-day digital activities, preventing theft of or tampering with sensitive information, and making sure private messages stay private. Encryption is essential for protecting freedom of expression and privacy. For journalists, encryption is especially crucial for keeping people safe and ensuring a healthy freedom of the press. If journalists cannot communicate in confidence with colleagues and sources, they cannot do their jobs in safety. They also are at risk if the content they produce is exposed to being deleted or manipulated. • Safely connecting with sources: Journalists’ sources will sometimes share important information about an institution or personal information about themselves only if journalists agree to protect their identity. End-to-end encryption allows journalists to build a trusted relationship with these sources. • Protecting the integrity of information: Journalists need to reliably signal to readers that they have created trustworthy content and ensure it matches what their intended audience can see online. Internet protocols like HTTPS help protect data as it passes between news websites and reader. It also protects journalism from censorship: it’s harder for censors to block messages or access to news if they cannot intercept the content. • Protection from attackers: There are many cases of journalists and news outlets having their devices and online platforms hacked and surveilled by government and private actors. Journalists also face threats such as online abuse, doxing (gathering and publishing personal information online), and stalking. End-to-end encryption helps protect their communications from surveillance and interception by third parties. • Holding governments and institutions accountable: An important component of journalism is its ability to hold people and institutions in power accountable for their decisions and actions. To do this, it is critical for journalists to have digital security tools that prevent powerful entities—domestic or foreign—from accessing and/or altering their research, conversations, and sources. • Strong encryption policy protects journalists everywhere: When countries support end-to-end encryption, they help journalists in their own nations and around the world by setting a standard for global encryption protections. There are several government efforts to mandate “backdoors” to end-to-end encrypted messaging services, which would provide law enforcement and intelligence agencies the power to either intercept and access encrypted communications or compel companies to do it for them. This weakens security on the Internet and puts journalists at risk both online and in real life. Any point of entry to a secure service is a weakness, so backdoors that allows government access to private information simultaneously creates a doorway for bad actors. There is no digital lock that only the “good guys” can open and others cannot. It is vital that the European Commission ensures that journalists, their sources, and European users have access to strong, end-to-end encryption.
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Meeting with Andrus Ansip (Vice-President) and

6 Jun 2017 · NGI, digital and development, platforms