International Forum on the White Paper


IFWP (International Forum on the White Paper) is a global initiated composed and sponsored by different group of associations that represents the interest of the internet stakeholders. Its primary objective is 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.

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

The IFWP was formed after the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) released the White Paper in 1998 and asked for public comments regarding the governments proposal to improve the technical management of the internet by transferring the management to a new non-government corporation.[1]

Professor Tamar Frankel of the Boston University of Law chaired the first IFWP meeting held at Reston, Virginia. The meeting discussed the significant issues discussed in the White Paper such as the creation of a new private corporation to manage the DNS, new domain name registry and dispute resolution process and the issues on internet security and privacy. Three other meetings were initiated by IFWP in Geneva Switzerland, Singapore, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. There were almost one thousand internet stakeholders who participated in the meetings.[2]

IFWP Regional Forums

The IFWP was divided into four regional forums:[3]

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

IFWP Steering Committee

The members of the Steering Committee are different non-government, legally constituted organizations supporting the initiatives of the IFWP. Its primary responsibility is to facilitate all the conferences of the forum: The member organizations include:[4]

  • 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

References