The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has published the RFC 8890 standard document entitled “The Internet is for End Users.”
The IAB acts as a kind of supreme control body over the technical specifications that determine how exactly the internet works.
In the document, IAB argues to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) — which in turn, is responsible for the technical standards — to consider the needs and interests of the internet users in the future.
According to IAB, “when there is a conflict between the interests of end-users of the internet and other parties, IETF decisions should favor end-users.”
However, since the IAB also exercises a control function over the IETF, it can be assumed that RFC 8890 should have a binding role for the IETF’s work — otherwise, a veto of the IAB could be expected.
The now published standard is the preliminary climax of a discussion within the IETF, which, at least since the Snowden revelations, has had to weigh more and more between the interests of companies, governments and all end users of the internet.
Among other things, a working group examined the impact of the standards on human rights. Also, certain new encryption standards and techniques are increasingly criticized or directly blocked by governments and companies.
The author of the document and member of the IAB, Mark Nottingham, explains in detail in his personal blog how the new standard came about and why it is even necessary. The standard is, therefore, “a call for IETF participants to stop pretending that they can ignore the non-technical consequences of their decisions, a call for broader consultation when making them, and one for continued focus on the end user.”