Why the Internet Infrastructure Coalition is Essential in the Post Snowden World

The way it stands today every new economic growth opportunity seems to have a large online component. Watching the Internet infrastructure industry is therefore like watching a canary in a coal mine. If it is thriving and healthy, then the rest of the digital economy – and indeed the general economy – is likely to be on a path of growth as well.

If growth slows in the industry, it tends to be as a result of one or more of these factors:
1) Existing businesses opting not to modernize or expand
2) Developing nations and communities slowing their migrations online
3) The startup economy not flourishing and innovating

While many sources contribute to influencing these three factors, consumer confidence is one of the most important. Internet legislation, and the way governments treat data, are key to consumer confidence and adoption online. This goes far beyond economically driven uses for Internet infrastructure. The Internet is changing the world in a myriad of ways, including ones that aid in the fight for human rights, the fight against war, poverty, famine and lack of education or access to information. The resources that the companies who build the Internet provide are changing the world.

Rather than focusing on an aspect or type of market within the Internet community, i2Coalition’s member companies are the root of the online ecosystem. As i2Coalition seeks to quantify the potential ramifications of the Snowden revelations on consumer confidence online, we will continue to educate lawmakers about the potential ramifications of bad Internet policy to help preserve the global Internet growth economy.