On the governance of the internet – renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum

B100362/2025

European Parliament resolution on the governance of the internet – renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum

(2025/2801(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the results of World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which gave rise to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as a UN-mandated multistakeholder platform for dialogue,

–having regard to the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action of the WSIS, adopted in Geneva on 12 December 2003,

–having regard to the Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, both adopted on 18 November 2005,

–having regard to the ongoing WSIS+20 review process, which will decide the future of the IGF and determine whether its mandate will be renewed,

–having regard to the joint declaration signed by Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Members of the European Parliament following the 20th IGF meeting in Lillestrøm, Norway, in June 2025,

–having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2015 on the renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum,

–having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas the purpose of the IGF is to carry out its mandate from the WSIS with regard to convening forums for democratic, transparent and multistakeholder policy dialogue;

B.whereas the main role and function of the IGF is to discuss a wide range of issues related to internet governance and, where appropriate, to make recommendations to the international community;

C.whereas on 16 December 2015, the UN General Assembly decided to extend the mandate of the IGF for a further 10 years;

D.whereas the IGF, which is currently in its third mandate, and the extension of that mandate will be a critical component of the WSIS+20 review process;

E.whereas the global landscape has shifted since the last renewal of the IGF’s mandate and the internet’s global strategic importance is greater than ever, with the internet being crucial for economic growth, social development, democratic participation and innovation all over the world;

F.whereas the IGF remains the cornerstone of the multistakeholder model and provides an indispensable venue for discussions between governments, the private sector, civil society, the technical community and academia on all policy issues relating to the internet;

G.whereas following the IGF meeting held in Norway in June 2025, the EU reaffirmed its commitment to foundational internet governance principles such as openness, the multistakeholder model and universal access grounded in human rights and fundamental freedoms;

H.whereas preserving an internet that is open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, secure, and governed for all, by all is crucial in the context of mounting challenges such as censorship, surveillance, shutdowns and restrictions on the freedom of information;

I.whereas the risk of internet fragmentation, including through protectionist policies and divergent technical standards, could dramatically shift the global digital landscape and undermine the global benefits of the internet;

J.whereas the participation in the IGF of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups and innovators, as well as representatives from developing countries, remains limited because of financial and logistical barriers;

K.whereas internet governance also has direct consequences for consistently pressing and growing issues, such as cybersecurity, resilience against increasing hybrid threats, and protection of critical infrastructure;

L.whereas the future of internet governance is intertwined with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, which present both opportunities and challenges for the future;

1.Calls on the UN General Assembly to renew the mandate of the IGF beyond 2025 and make it permanent, and to increase its resources and strengthen the multistakeholder model of internet governance;

2.Stresses its firm commitment to the multistakeholder model of internet governance; calls on the Member States, the Commission and all relevant stakeholders to further strengthen the sustainability of this model by making actors and processes at national, regional and international levels more inclusive, more transparent and more accountable;

3.Calls on the Member States and the EU institutions concerned to keep the IGF high on their agendas and to continue to support it and its secretariat, and to contribute to its development as an efficient and independent organisation capable of exercising its mandate and playing its part in the evolving model of internet governance;

4.Stresses that Parliament should continue to participate in future IGF meetings with a substantial delegation in order to contribute effectively to formulating an EU approach on internet governance together with the Member States and the Commission;

5.Recognises that the shifting landscape and new challenges posed by developing technologies mean that the IGF must continue to evolve into a more impactful, coherent and actionable space, while preserving its open, bottom-up character and safeguarding the principles that have made the internet a tool for innovation, participation and freedom;

6.Warns that emerging and rapidly evolving technologies increase the risk of widening gaps in capability, representation and protection; underlines, in this context, the importance of the participation of developing countries in multistakeholder dialogue and highlights the importance of access, affordability and digital skills, with the goal to ‘leave no one behind’ in mind;

7.Condemns all efforts to fragment the internet or replace multistakeholder governance with intergovernmental control; highlights that such efforts could undermine the global benefits of the internet; emphasises that existing mechanisms should be strengthened and developed further, not weakened;

8.Highlights the absolute necessity of defending freedom of expression, access to information and the right to privacy as non-negotiable principles of internet governance;

9.Stresses that fundamental freedoms and human rights are not negotiable and must be protected both online and offline;

10.Condemns censorship, internet shutdowns, discrimination and harm online, and online surveillance;

11.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.