9. Concluding remarks The review identifies 40 international Internet public policy issues (Internet issues) organised in 7 clusters. The first cluster – infrastructure and standardisation – deals with technical issues related to the proper functioning of the Internet (e.g. the domain name system, the root zone, and net neutrality). The other six clusters contain traditional policy issues which have been affected to some degree by the Internet. Table 3: Summary of identified mechanisms for international Internet public policy issues (version 20 November 2014) Name of cluster Infrastructure and standardisation Security Human rights Legal Economic Development Sociocultural Other TOTAL Mechanisms Number 142 199 99 75 42 57 25 4 643 Most of the mechanisms identified within the infrastructure and standardisation cluster have developed incrementally through a process of collaborative endeavour often described as ‘running code and rough consensus’. The most elaborate set of mechanisms manages critical Internet resources (IP numbers, the domain name system and the root zone) and related technical and web standards. For other issues, including net neutrality, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, the development of governance mechanisms is at an early stage. Most of the mechanisms for managing critical Internet resources have emerged as practical solutions for specific problems (e.g. how to manage domain names). The effective governance of the Internet infrastructure has facilitated the fast growth of the Internet, making it one of the most important inventions in modern history. The very growth of the Internet – reaching towards three billion users – has posed new challenges. The more pronounced the societal impacts of the Internet technical solutions are, the more important becomes the need to introduce public policy considerations in making technical decisions, such as setting technical standards. The main challenge has become how to ensure a holistic approach aimed at protecting public interests, such as human rights, in both developing and managing Internet technical resources. The processes for addressing this challenge have already started in the activities of Internet organisations and the wider policy community. 46