Latin America Advisor 2022-07-28 – Inter-American Dialogue

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

June 13, 2022

How Is the Internet in Latin America Likely to Change?

The Internet has been splintered into “a subset of interconnected networks … to enhance surveillance and limit the free flow of information,” Pedro Less Andrade writes below. // File Photo: John Schnobrich via Unsplash.com.

Q

The technologies that underpin the global Internet are largely products of the United States and grew out of U.S. research projects and companies that commercialized and innovated the technology, the Council on Foreign Relations said in a recent report. However, the global Internet has become “less free, more fragmented and less secure,” the report says, adding that countries around the world now exert more control over the Internet by localizing data, blocking content and launching political “influence campaigns.” What is the current state of freedom and openness on the global Internet, and how is it changing? What does control over the Internet mean for politics, economics and commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean? Which big players are exerting more—and less—influence over how the global Internet operates, and what policies are needed in order to shape a future that will be most productive for the digitization of the Americas?

A

Pedro Less Andrade, vice president of public policy for Latin America at Meta: “An open Internet promotes democracy. Its importance lies in the fact that it has empowered societies and generated new checks and balances over governments and companies, increasing their accountability. Consequently, totalitarian governments feeling threatened by this democratic spirit have altered the Internet’s global multistakeholder governance model, splintering the Internet we know into a subset of interconnected networks carved within their geographies to enhance surveillance and limit the free flow of information, including content or platforms citizens can access or…”

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The Inter-American Dialogue publishes the Latin America Advisor every business day for a distinguished membership of informed corporate leaders, scholars, and government officials invested in Latin America’s development and future. The Advisor‘s highly regarded Q&A section covers questions submitted by subscribers themselves. Commentators regularly include heads of state, business leaders, diplomats, economists, analysts, and thought leaders from around the world. Many of the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies subscribe to the Advisor. To subscribe, click here. For terms and conditions, click here. For more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.

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Gene Kuleta
Editor
P. 202.463.2920
E. gkuleta@thedialogue.org

Carl David
Goette-Luciak
Reporter

Nili Blanck
Reporter

board of advisors

Diego Arria
Director,
Columbus Group

Merike Blofield
Professor of Political Science,
University of Hamburg

Devry Boughner Vorwerk
CEO,
DevryBV Sustainable Strategies

Joyce Chang
Global Head of Research,
J.P. Morgan

Marlene Fernández
Corporate Vice President for Gov’t Relations,
Arcos Dorados (McDonald’s)

Peter Hakim
President Emeritus,
Inter-American Dialogue

Donna Hrinak
Director,
Adtalem Global Education

Jon E. Huenemann
Council Member,
GLG Inc.

James R. Jones
Chairman,
Monarch Global Strategies

Craig Kelly
Senior Director,
Int’l Gov’t Relations,
Exxon Mobil

Barbara Kotschwar
Professor of Political Economy,
Georgetown University

John Maisto
Director,
US Education Finance Group

Nicolas Mariscal
Chairman,
Grupo Marhnos

Thomas F. McLarty III
Chairman,
McLarty Associates

Beatrice Rangel
Director,
AMLA Consulting

Ernesto Revilla
Head of Latin American Economics, Citi

Gustavo Roosen
President,
IESA

Andrés Rozental
President, Rozental &
Asociados

Shelly Shetty
Managing Director,
Sovereigns, Fitch

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