Community Opportunities for Policy Contribution

The European Commission has launched a call for interest to participate in the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Internet Standards Deployment, which is aimed at providing guidance for the deployment of key Internet standards under NIS2 network security measures and promote wider industry uptake. According to the call for interest, the guidance developed by the Forum will support both regulatory compliance under the Implementing Regulation and voluntary industry adoption, with the aim of ensuring immediate usability by entities subject to NIS2 obligations, and will serve as a reference for the relevant entities within the scope of the Implementing Regulation, including DNS service providers and TLD registries.

Closing date of Call for Expression of Interest – 12 December 2025

The European Commission has launched a Call for Evidence and a public consultation as part of the planned revision of the Cybersecurity Act (CSA), with adoption expected in Q4 2025. The revision aims to clarify the mandate of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and enhance the European Cybersecurity Certification Framework to strengthen resilience across the EU. The initiative also seeks to streamline, simplify, and supplement relevant EU legislation while addressing challenges related to regulatory alignment and inconsistent requirements. The Commission invites stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of existing legislative tools and provide input on potential simplification measures.

Closing date of call for evidence and public comment – 20 June 2025

The European Commission has launched a Call for Evidence for a Joint Communication on an International Digital Strategy. This non-legislative initiative aims to shape the EU's external digital policy by outlining priorities and defining how the EU will cooperate with international partners, including in areas such as Internet governance.

The European Commission's public consultation page and relevant information are available here.

Closing date for public comment – 21 May 2025

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has opened a public consultation on the draft Law amending the Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China.

The relevant information and text, which is in Chinese, may be found here.

Closing date for public comment – 27 April 2025

The ITU Council Working Group on WSIS&SDGs has invited members and other stakeholders to contribute their views on the work of the ITU in the WSIS+20 review, including ideas related to the re​view of the WSIS Action Lines. The Chair of the CWG notes that “ideas and feedback are crucial to ensure a comprehensive and inclusive assessment of the WSIS process.”​

Inputs will be facilitated via an online form. For more information visit the ITU Website: https://www.itu.int/en/council/cwg-wsis/Pages/default.aspx

Closes 31 January, 2025

The European Commission has launched a consultation on its stance on Internet governance in preparation for the critical milestones foreseen in 2025 aimed at articulating the EU’s expectations for the outcome of WSIS+20. The aim of the consultation is to gather input from stakeholders across governments, business, technical experts, and civil society organisations, refine the EU’s vision for a free, secure, and open Internet and make a compelling case for why a multistakeholder governance model is essential for supporting the Internet’s open and global nature.

The European Commission’s Targeted Consultation on Internet Governance is accessible here and runs until 31 December, 2024.

Closes 14 January 2025

The ITU Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues (CWG-Internet) has launched an open stakeholder consultation on the topic, “the role of public policy in promoting multilingualization of the Internet.”

Stakeholder perspectives are sought on the following:

1. What could ITU and its members and other stakeholders do to ensure that the Internet becomes more multilingual in nature and thus accessible for more of the global population?
2. What are the benefits and challenges of multilingualization of the Internet, including through universal acceptance of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), or the lack thereof, in terms of technical, economic, security, cultural and capacity-building?

Visit the ITU website for more details including instructions on how to submit contributions.

Discussions on the basis of submissions will be held at the open physical consultation of the CWG-Internet on 1 February 2025.

Closes 13 January, 2025

Following its Communication on Web 4.0 and Virtual Worlds, the European Commission has launched a consultation seeking to gather feedback to develop guiding principles for the governance of virtual worlds and Web 4.0.

Stakeholder organisations are invited to contribute to the online consultation covering both the technical and policy aspects of Web 4.0 and virtual worlds.

The draft principles will be discussed at the High Level Conference on Governance for Web 4.0 and virtual worlds, to be hosted by the European Commission and the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU on 31 March – 1 April 2025, with the aim to be adopted at the event.

These intend to serve as inspiration for forthcoming discussions such as the 20 years review of the World Summit for Information Society (WSIS+20). The consultation runs until 20 December, 2024.

Closes 20 December 2024

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security has opened a public commenting period for the Draft Law on Personal Data Protection. The relevant webpage is here.

The Draft Law is only available in Vietnamese.

The ITU Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues (CWG-Internet) is holding an open consultation on “the developmental aspects to strengthen the Internet.” Stakeholders’ perspectives are sought on the following:

1. How relevant multilateral and multi-stakeholder processes, including but not limited to UN-based processes such as Summit of the Future, WSIS+20 and the IGF, could address aspects related to Internet development?
2. What are the challenges and opportunities, good practices and favourable policy environments to strengthen the Internet, including in areas such as: fostering meaningful connectivity; equitable access for all; promoting a secure and resilient Internet; achieving universal access, the deployment of IPv6; using satellite communication to reach remote and underserved remote areas; ensuring services are affordable for people; promoting digital inclusion and skills; fostering multi-stakeholder participation and encouraging public and private sector investment in Internet infrastructure.
3. How can we promote international multistakeholder cooperation on public policy issues that are focused on promoting the development aspects of the Internet?

Note, a physical consultation will be held in October 2024. Refer to the ITU link for more information.

ITU CWG-Internet Open Consultation Link: https://www.itu.int/en/council/cwg-internet/Pages/consultation-feb2024.aspx

Submission Form: https://www.itu.int/en/council/cwg-internet/Pages/form-feb2024.aspx

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to collect feedback on the Draft Implementing Act under the Directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (NIS2 Directive).

The NIS2 Directive strengthens cybersecurity risk-management measures and streamlines incident reporting obligations for significant incidents affecting numerous operators and entities across the European Union (EU), including Domain Name System (DNS) service providers and top-level domain (TLD) name registries.

The Implementing Act aims to further specify the cases in which an incident shall be considered significant, in addition to laying down the technical and the methodological requirements of the cybersecurity risk management measures.

The Draft Implementing Act lays down the criteria that must be met for an incident to be considered significant, and further specifies those criteria with regard to DNS service providers and TLD name registries.

The Draft Implementing Act, along with the Annex detailing the requirements for cybersecurity risk management measures, are available here and are open for feedback until 25 July.

The European Commission will adopt the Implementing Act by 17 October 2024, which is the deadline for EU Member States to transpose the NIS2 Directive into national law.

Action:
ICANN has provided feedback concerning the European Commission's Draft Implementing Regulation. The feedback is published at this link, which showcases ICANN's contributions to external bodies.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security is proposing to develop a Law on Personal Data Protection.

The opportunity to provide comment to this proposal, which is a preliminary step for lawmakers to develop the legislation, is here. The draft considerations is only available in Vietnamese.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security is proposing to develop a Data Law.

The opportunity to provide comment to this proposal, which is a preliminary step for lawmakers to develop the legislation, is here. The draft considerations is only available in Vietnamese.

The U.N. Commission of Science, Technology and Development (CSTD) launched a Questionnaire on the 20 year review of WSIS implementation. The questionnaire is open to all stakeholders.

• CSTD Link to questionnaire page: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2024/CSTDSubmissions

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) is soliciting public opinion on the “Measures for the Management of Cybersecurity Incident Reporting (Draft for Comments)”. The public is welcomed to provide feedback through the Chinese Government Legal Information Network of the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China, or by sending an email to the CAC.

• CAC’s Notice: http://www.cac.gov.cn/2023-12/08/c_1703609634347501.htm

European Commission “Call for evidence” on the review of the Regulation 1025/2012 on European standardization. The Regulation sets the legal basis and rules for the EU’s standardization policy and is currently under review. The Call seeks general feedback and a proper consultation is expected for Q3 2024.

• European Commission Link to the Call for evidence https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13446-European-standardisation-evaluation_en

The Office of the U.N. Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology launched a public consultation for ideas and suggestions for the Global Digital Compact. The Global Digital Compact is the expected outcome of the Summit of the Future in 2024. Inputs should consider “How can we best ensure an “open, free and secure digital future for all”? What shared principles should be included in the Global Digital Compact? Which issues should be addressed in the Common Agenda report or others?”

• U.N. Link to the GDC Consultation: https://www.un.org/techenvoy/global-digital-compact