【Report】Summary of the seminar by Daniëlle Flonk

Liberal Erosion of Liberal Norms: Contesting Information Freedom in a Digital Age

Daniëlle Flonk (Hitotsubashi University)

On July 5, 2024, Daniëlle Flonk, Assistant Professor at Hitotsubashi University, gave a presentation at Ritsumeikan University. She explained that her main research interests lie in internet governance, specifically content control—such as internet censorship and surveillance.

The presentation consisted of three parts. The first part explained the landscape of global internet governance, which was based on Prof. Flonk’s previous research conducted with Markus Jachtenfuchs (Professor at the Hertie School) and Anke Obendiek (postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna).

After discussing the characteristics of internet governance, Prof. Flonk explained two “ideal types” of internet governance models: “liberal” and “sovereignist” spheres. These ideal types clash over appropriate institutions and norms. While the liberal sphere emphasizes the importance of self-regulations by private actors, small government regulations, and human rights to provide freedom to individuals, corporate actors, and civil society organizations, the sovereignists favor tight intergovernmental regulations to ensure states’ domestic social order by limiting external influences on their domestic policymaking.

Prof. Flonk explained the clash between the liberals and the sovereignists by analyzing the 2003 and 2005 World Summit on the Information Society and the 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications. She emphasized that the liberal sphere has been shifting towards embracing more governmental regulations.

The second part of the presentation explained the shift within the liberal sphere. Based on her ongoing paper with Scott Radnitz (Professor at the University of Washington), Prof. Flonk explained that Western states—especially the EU member states—have inadvertently eroded liberal internet governance norms, which had an unexpected outcome of strengthening the illiberal sovereignist position.

By drawing on the fourth wave of norm theory that emphasizes unintended consequences of norm promotion, the Hitotsubashi professor explained that the EU member states’ efforts to regulate harmful contents, such as dis- and misinformation, essentially showcase the contestation among liberal actors over liberal internet governance norms, weakening their position of protecting freedom on the internet. This has contributed to democratic backsliding and autocratic survival in some cases and provided ammunition for sovereignist actors—Russia and China—to legitimate their promotion of illiberal norms of tighter intergovernmental regulations.

Finally, the presentation concluded with a Q&A session. Audience members asked many interesting questions, such as the EU member states’ unity on the EU internet governance norms, dis- and misinformation, and powers of non-state actors in internet governance.