International Forum on the White Paper

Type:	Associations
Industry:	International Forum
Founded:	1998
Website:	IFWP.org
Key People
Prof. Tamar Frankel, Chairman

IFWP (International Forum on the White Paper) was a globally-initiated association composed of different organizations representing the interest of the internet stakeholders. Its primary objective was to coordinate international meetings relevant to the proposed transition of the management of the Domain Name System (DNS) from the US government to a private non-government organization.

The IFWP was formed after the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) released the White Paper in 1998 and asked for public comments regarding the US government's proposal to improve the technical management of the internet by transferring the management to a new non-government corporation.

Professor Tamar Frankel of the Boston University of Law chaired the first IFWP meeting, held at Reston, Virginia. The meeting discussed significant issues brought up in the White Paper, such as the creation of a new private corporation to manage the DNS, new domain name registry and dispute resolution processes, and internet security and privacy. Three other meetings were initiated by IFWP in Geneva, Switzerland, Singapore, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Almost one thousand internet stakeholders participated in the meetings.

IFWP Regional Forums

The IFWP was divided into four regional forums:

1. IFWP Americas, representing the internet community in North and South America
2. IFWP Europe, representing internet community in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East
3. IFWP Asia & the Pacific, representing the internet community in Asia and the Pacific region
4. IFWP La & C, representing Latin America, the Caribbean, and other Spanish speaking countries

Steering Committee

The members of the Steering Committee are different non-government, legally constituted organizations supporting the initiatives of the IFWP. The Committee's primary responsibility is to facilitate the conferences of the forum. Member organizations include:

• Arizona Internet Access Association (AIAA)
• Association for Interactive Media (AIM)
• Association of Internet Professionals (AIP)
• Association of Online Professionals (AOP)
• Asia Pacific Internet Association (APIA)
• Camara Argentina de Bases de Datos y Servicios en Linea (CABASE)
• Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP)
• Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
• Commercial Internet eXchange Association (CIX)
• Computer Software and Services Association (CSSA)
• Confederation for British Industry (CBI)
• European Internet Service Providers Association (EuroISP)
• Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
• Internet Alliance (IA)
• Internet Law & Policy Forum (ILPF)
• Internet Service Providers Consortium (ISP/C)
• Internet Service Providers of the UK (ISPA-UK)
• Internet Society (ISOC)
• Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
• US Council for International Business (USCIB)