Which path forward at the crossroads of global internet governance?

The document reports on the Internet Governance Forum 2025, highlighting a conflict between the United States' preference for deregulated, company-led AI development and calls from other participants for a rights-based, inclusive approach that addresses the digital divide and biases affecting the Global South.

• The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2025 in Lillestrøm, Norway, emphasized the need to address AI biases and the risk of a new digital divide, specifically regarding how AI systems trained on Western datasets may reinforce inequalities and fail to reflect the linguistic and social realities of the Global South.
• A representative of the United States Department of State argued against foreign regulation of American AI companies, suggesting that U.S. technology should be the "gold standard" and criticizing the European Union's AI Act as a restriction on innovation.
• The United States advocates for "pro-innovation, pro-growth, deregulatory AI policies," asserting that excessive regulation could "paralyze" or "kill" the transformative AI industry.
• A Canadian government official advocated for a multi-stakeholder approach to AI that ensures "equitability of design," including the protection of workers and the creation of tools that are climate-conscious and free from bias.

APA

Reimann, R. P. (2025). Which path forward at the crossroads of global internet governance? World Association for Christian Communication. https://waccglobal.org/which-path-forward-at-the-crossroads-of-global-internet-governance/

Chicago

Reimann, Ralf Peter. Which path forward at the crossroads of global internet governance? World Association for Christian Communication, 2025. https://waccglobal.org/which-path-forward-at-the-crossroads-of-global-internet-governance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Reimann |first1=Ralf Peter |title=Which path forward at the crossroads of global internet governance? |publisher=World Association for Christian Communication |date=27 June 2025 |url=https://waccglobal.org/which-path-forward-at-the-crossroads-of-global-internet-governance/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{reimann2025which, author = {Reimann, Ralf Peter}, title = {{Which path forward at the crossroads of global internet governance?}}, publisher = {World Association for Christian Communication}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://waccglobal.org/which-path-forward-at-the-crossroads-of-global-internet-governance/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }