The WSIS+20 review, set for December 2025, represents a pivotal moment for the future of global digital governance. To ensure broad stakeholder input, World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) co-facilitators organized a joint session bringing together government representatives and other stakeholders to share their perspectives on the WSIS+20 process and its key thematic areas.

The following statement was delivered by Konstantinos Komaitis, Resident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Democracy + Tech Initiative at the DFRLab.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

My name is Konstantinos Komaitis. I’m a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Democracy + Tech Initiative, where I work on global governance. Today, I speak to you in my personal capacity.

Let me start by thanking Ambassadors Janina and Lokaale. This session reflects what good governance looks like: inclusive, participatory, and grounded in dialogue.

Twenty years ago, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) captured lightning in a bottle. It envisioned an Internet centered on people, grounded in rights, and built through collaboration. That vision still matters. Perhaps now more than ever.

As we revisit WSIS two decades on, there are two urgent truths we must confront.

First, the link between the Internet and development is no longer aspirational—it’s foundational. Connectivity drives education, health, governance, and economic growth. But the digital divide remains a global fault line. Billions are still offline. Closing that gap isn’t charity—it’s a development imperative.

Second, no single actor can do this alone. Back in 2005, your governments had the foresight to embrace the multistakeholder model—bringing governments, civil society, the private sector, and the technical community together. That model isn’t a talking point. It’s the engine that powers a healthy Internet. Paragraph 34 of the Tunis Agenda must stand.

Yes, governments have a key role. But governance isn’t monopoly. Enhanced cooperation must be seen as dynamic—not confined to UN corridors, but happening across coalitions like the Freedom Online Coalition, at ICANN’s GAC, and in national and regional IGFs. The Internet’s strength lies in its diversity of voices. Let’s not silence them.

That brings me to the IGF. We don’t just need to renew it—we need to strengthen it. We need to make it permanent, fund it and support its regional and national iterations. The IGF is where we contest competing visions: open vs. controlled, global vs. fragmented. It’s not just a forum. It’s a frontline.

The future of the Internet hinges on our ability to uphold human rights online—access to information, privacy, free expression, the right to participate in the digital economy. These are not abstract ideals. They are preconditions for innovation, equity, and democracy. Ignore them, and the Internet becomes a tool for surveillance, exclusion, and control.

Twenty years ago, you promised a people-centered information society. Today, that promise is being tested. I urge you to reaffirm it—with courage, with clarity, and with commitment.

Thank you,

Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis

Konstantinos Komaitis, “‘The multistakeholder model is the engine that powers the internet’ —Konstantinos Komaitis on WSIS+20,” Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), July 31, 2025, https://dfrlab.org/2025/07/31/konstantinos-komaitis-on-wsis20/.