Internet Way of Networking > Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit

Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit

If we don’t consider how our actions could impact the Internet, we risk breaking what makes it work for everyone.

The Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit can help you protect and defend the Internet we all want: one that is open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy.

This collection of practical tools helps users assess whether a law proposal, business decision or technology could impact the Internet, and how to prevent it from harming what the Internet needs to exist and thrive for all.

Read about the Toolkit

Produce Your Internet Impact Brief

Have you spotted an issue that could impact the Internet? The first thing you need is an Internet impact brief. This is a quick analysis that identifies whether a proposal, development or trend could benefit or threaten the Internet.

Whether you’re a policymaker or Internet advocate, Internet impact briefs can help you promote better decisions about the Internet in your community. They can also help determine whether certain proposals need an in-depth impact assessment to safeguard the Internet we all want–now and in the future.

Learn how to conduce your brief:

Read the Guide

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If you have any further questions, please contact us.

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Internet Impact Briefs

Internet Impact Brief: How Canada’s Online News Act Will Harm the Internet, Restricting Innovation, Security, and Growth of the Digital Economy

14 February 2023

Internet Impact Brief: How the US EARN IT Act Threatens Security, Confidentiality, and Safety Online

17 November 2022

Internet Impact Brief: Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill 2022

9 November 2022

Read All Internet Impact Briefs

Blog Posts

European Union’s Network and Information Security Directive Threatens Internet with Fragmentation and Creates Security Risks

15 October 2021

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Internet Way of Networking?

The Internet Way of Networking is a set of fundamental principles needed to protect and enhance the future of the Internet. These are the foundational properties of the global Internet infrastructure at its optimal state, even as technologies and uses evolve. The Internet Way of Networking describes the ideal form of the global Internet and the culture that it embodies – universally accessible, decentralized and open, and facilitating the free and efficient flow of knowledge, ideas and information.

How does the Internet Way of Networking and Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit help us protect and enhance the Internet?

The Internet Way of Networking can help assess whether new ideas support the best potential of the Internet. Its five critical properties are a stable frame of reference to evaluate current networking conditions, proposals for technological development, regulations and technical governance arrangements. If a new development undermines or even reverses one or more of the critical properties, we now have an easily applicable lens through which to view its effects. As the Internet evolves, the Internet Way of Networking helps us evaluate incremental changes and external trends in a forward-looking way that keeps the fundamentals of success front and centre.

For policymakers and technologists, the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit (IIAT) can act as an additional layer of accountability and provides a roadmap for conscious and informed decisions about how to keep the Internet healthy.

What’s the difference between the IWN and the IIAT?

The Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit (IIAT) is based on the the Internet Society’s vision of the Internet Way of Networking (IWN). The IWN describes the foundation and ethos underpinning the architecture of the Internet. The IIAT is a tool to help us better understand the IWN’s unchanging critical properties that describe how the Internet is built and run, even as technologies and uses evolve. It was developed to help us assess the implications of change – whether those are policy interventions or new technologies.

Why does the IIAT have such a narrow focus? It does not cover issues that can be identified higher in the Internet stack.

The Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit has a specific focus: it identifies the critical properties of the Internet Way of Networking as they relate to the Internet’s infrastructure and describes the Internet at its optimal state. It also recognizes that without this set of founding properties, we wouldn’t have the Internet we know today. The critical properties of the Internet are the foundation of everything that has been built, supported or evolved since its original inception. The Internet Way of Networking follows the Internet Society’s vision of what the Internet is – a network of networks based on interoperability and open standards.

Why is security not identified as a critical property?

The Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit identifies the necessary, but not sufficient, conditions to have a secure and trustworthy Internet. The critical properties provide an agile and interoperable way of networking that allows adequate security technologies to be added when needed. Although security is a very important part of the Internet, in such a diverse and decentralized environment it is impossible to foresee all security needs. In the context of the Internet Way of Networking, security can be seen as an interoperable building block, underpinned by the critical properties.

Why does the IIAT describe an optimal state and not the current state of the Internet?

The Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit offers intentionally a “purified” vision of the Internet as defined by the Internet Way of Networking – although these properties do still exist, they may never have been fully manifested in the whole network at any point in time. We use this vision for two reasons: first, because they provide a baseline that can be used as a stable reference point to help policymakers or technologists determine if and how their policies or technologies affect the Internet; and, second, because the properties should constitute the positive vision for anyone engaged with the Internet.

How does the Internet Way of Networking relate to the Internet invariants?

The Internet Way of Networking builds on the groundwork of research on the Internet invariants. Whereas the invariants predominantly provided the benefits and/or consequences of the Internet, the Internet Way of Networking seeks to identify the foundational properties that give birth to such benefits. The critical properties of the Internet do not exist independently of the benefits they create, and the Internet cannot be seen only through the prism of those critical properties. This is what the Internet Way of Networking does – it provides a holistic view of why the Internet is the unique technology that we claim it is. The Internet is unique because of the combination of the critical properties — the Internet Way of Networking — and the benefits it generates. In this sense, the two projects are very close and should be seen in conjunction.

How will the Internet Society keep growing the body of research on the Internet Way of Networking?

The launch of the IWN and IIAT is only just the beginning. Going forward, we will focus on developing, amplifying, and using these tools globally. We will work with policymakers, the Internet Society community of chapters and members, and the wider Internet community around the world to amplify awareness of the IIAT and the critical properties of the Internet. The Internet Society will also be a resource to help people use the the toolkit to assess the effect technology developments and policy proposals on the Internet, and other ways we can help the Internet reach its full potential.

The Internet is for everyone, and we hope this work will help bring connectivity, innovation, and empowerment to all around the world.

Unfamiliar with a term used in the Toolkit?

Visit our Glossary page and learn what it means.