Internet Society (ISOC)

ISOC is part of a network of organizations which run the Worldwide Web. It and its affiliates are responsible for technological standards. It contracts with commercial operators for construction and maintenance of the Internet’s physical infrastructure. ³

History

The Internet Society was founded in 1992 by a group of individuals that included Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, who are considered the “fathers of the internet.” ISOC incorporated as a nonprofit in 1994. ^{4 1}

Structure

The Internet Society is headquartered in northern Virginia and operates six regional offices and 130+ chapters. ² Chapters range from ISOC Chapter Pakistan ⁵ to the Interplanetary Chapter which works to “extend terrestrial networking into interplanetary space.” ⁶

Its dues-paying organizational members include nonprofits, governments, academic organizations and the largest Internet infrastructure corporations on the planet, Google and Facebook (Meta). ⁷

There are more than 115,000 individual members whose affiliation is free of charge. ⁸

The organization is governed by 12-member board comprised of trustees from different countries. The trustees are elected by ISOC’s organizational members and chapters and appointed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), one of the standards organizations affiliated with ISOC. ^{9 10}

Tax-exempt organizations related to ISOC include the Public Interest Registry; Internet Society Asia Limited; Internet Society Foundation, ISOC’s grantmaking arm; and Connected Giving Foundation. ¹⁰

ISOC is part of a nexus of organizations which run the Worldwide Web. Technological standards are developed by the ISOC and by its affiliates, including the Internet Architecture Board (IAB); Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG); Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF); Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG); Internet Research Task Force (IRTF); and RFC Editor. Internet domain names and IP addresses are the province of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Physical infrastructure is owned by commercial operators. ³

Activities

The Internet Society pursues international policy influence. It provides expert opinion to governments on net neutrality, digital rights, and cybersecurity through testimony to governmental bodies such as the U.S. Congress, ¹¹ educational forums and workshops, and through white papers and other forms of written persuasion. Left-of-center philanthropies have participated in its international summits and workshops. Its worldwide chapters and special interest groups conduct their own influence activities. ¹

ISOC’s influences Internet governance through coalition building and partnerships with international bodies such as the United Nations and the World Bank, through determining the technical standards which underpin the Internet, through conferences and events such as the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and through joint infrastructure projects with commercial operators. ¹²

It conducts training and outreach to NGOs with emphasis on organizations with limited resources in technologically less developed countries. ¹

ISOC champions principles such as net neutrality, which stipulates all information moving across the Internet should be treated equally by Internet service providers (ISPs). This means that platforms are required to charge the same prices to all and to open access to everyone. Net neutrality protections were repealed in the United States in 2017 but reinstated by the Federal Communications Commission in 2024. ¹³

ISOC also champions cybersecurity and privacy protections. Cybersecurity is the protection of IT systems and data from attacks by malicious actors. ¹⁴ Online privacy is the protection of personal information and data while using the Internet. ¹⁵

Funding

ISOC is funded by dues, individual donations, and grants from corporations and governments. ^{10 1}

Controversies

In 2019, Internet Society announced it would sell its subsidiary, the Public Interest Registry (PIR), for $1.1 billion to Ethos Capital, a newly formed equity group. The sale would have converted PIR to a for-profit enterprise and would have solidified Internet Society’s future by “trading in profit for an endowment.” ¹⁶

The announcement triggered worldwide opposition. PIR is the nonprofit operator of the “.org” domain name, an inexpensive domain name favored by charities. It is the third largest registry in the world. PIR has been a subsidiary of the Internet Society since 2002, generating nearly $100 million in annual revenue that helps finance the Internet Society’s operations and those of the Internet Engineering Task Force. ¹⁷

PIR refused to disclose the ownership of Ethos Capital. Moreover, the investment group planned to carry out a leveraged buy-out of the “.org” registry, requiring PIR to take out a $360 million loan to finance the transaction. ¹⁸

The sale never took place as ICANN rejected the deal. ¹⁹ It cited lack of transparency, concern about the debt, concern about Ethos Capital’s qualifications to run the enormous registry, and “lack of meaningful engagement” with the “.org” community. It noted “virtually no counterbalancing support except from the parties involved in the transaction and their advisors.” ^{20 17}

Internet Society responded in an e-mail statement: “We stand by our decision in favor of the transaction to unlock the full potential of the Internet Society, PIR, .ORG community, and ultimately the Internet.” ²⁰

In 2023, ISOC announced a global partnership with Meta to develop local internet systems and cross-border connections. The work includes development of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) (physical locations at which internet providers exchange internet traffic), as well as training technical communities and measuring Internet resilience. It builds on previous IXP Meta and ISOC partnerships in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America as well as Meta’s race to build undersea cables under its own control. ²¹

Critics from two left-of-center organizations, Bot Populi and Amnesty International, and from trade association Digital Content Next allege that turning over massive sections of the Internet to Meta raises the specter of control over access for millions, destroys local competition across the globe, and risks permanent importation of Meta’s data handling model which, they allege, threatens privacy and favors socially destructive content. ^{22 23} These issues, critics argue, are worsened by weak state control and negate net neutrality. ^{24 25}

Leadership

Andrew Sullivan joined the Internet Society in 2018. He helped launch the Public Interest Registry, chaired the Internet Architecture Board, and was a central figure in efforts to create international domain standards. ²⁶