Local Content The ability to create and to access relevant local online content is an important driver for the adoption and growth of the Internet. Introduction: Local content is an important driver for the adoption and growth of the Internet, particularly in developing countries. It provides an incentive for people to use the Internet, especially to those who are not currently online. This is because the content that is most important to people is typically in their own language and is relevant to the communities in which they live and work. The Internet empowers users as content creators so that they can develop and disseminate their own knowledge. It has also allowed individuals to exercise greater choice and control over the content that they consume, in contrast to the limited channels of traditional broadcasting. In order for local content to be created and accessed, a few things are critical: well-functioning local connectivity, government support of content development and training, and a clear legal and regulatory environment.

Local content is critical to bridging the digital divide. Why It Matters Local content is critical to bridging the digital divide. In many countries, the availability of Internet services far outpaces usage. Local content provides an incentive to get online. Encouraging the development and production of local content can help drive growth of the Internet. Content has to be relevant to a local community, but it does not necessarily have to be locally-generated. Why Local Content is Important: In many countries, Internet connectivity is not the biggest hurdle to be overcome in order to bring the next two billion people online. For example, in Rwanda, 88% of the population has access to a 3G signal, but less than 10% have subscribed. While affordability of service is clearly an issue, many non-Internet users claim that the Internet is simply not relevant or is not of interest to them. Locally-relevant content must thus be a critical component of efforts towards bridging the digital divide. The content that is most important to people is typically that which is relevant to the communities in which they live and work. These communities may be defined by their location, culture, language, religion, ethnicity, or area of interest, and individuals may belong to many communities at the same time. Local content can include government services, commercial content, as well as user-generated content produced by family, friends, neighbors, and other users. It includes content that preserves and helps share local, oral traditions. It offers a reason for people to use the Internet. The Internet empowers users as content creators. It is a platform for crowd-sourced content creation and community-developed and peer-reviewed knowledge bases such as Wikipedia. It allows content creators to disseminate information widely and nearly instantaneously at a very low cost. Locally relevant content does not have to be locally generated. It simply has to fulfil a local demand, often based on language or subject.

Key Considerations Language: Not all languages are equally-represented online. Development The surest way to have locally-relevant content is to encourage local content development. Content Distribution Existing commercial content may be locally-relevant, but not available for commercial reasons. There are a number of key considerations with regard to local content availability and usage: Language: The English language is significantly overrepresented in online content in comparison to the number of English speakers online. This is largely for historical reasons: the pioneering role of the United States in developing the Internet and its content, the outsized role of English in other contexts as the world’s lingua franca, and the earlier technical challenges of alphabets with non-Latin characters. Content Distribution: Existing commercial content that is locally-relevant might be produced, but not available in a given country. There are a number of business reasons why content may not be released in a market, such as because of a lack of licensing distribution agreements. Development: The Internet has created a global platform for consuming interesting content, as well as for producing, distributing, and monetizing content. Since users and entrepreneurs are likely to create content and services to fill a gap in their own environment, encouraging local content development is a key consideration in making more locally-relevant content available. Local content can be both commercially-produced and user-generated. Location: Most, if not all, countries have existing, locally-relevant content. This content may originate from international websites and/or from local websites. However, downloading content that is hosted abroad can require expensive international links. These links are not only expensive, but can incur significant latency (i.e. load slowly) and, as a result, reduce overall demand in a country for the Internet. Location Content sourced from abroad requires expensive international links and can result in significant latency.

Challenges Technical Issues Filtering and Blocking Local Hosting Dependency on Latin characters Technical Issues Laws and measures restrict the availability of online content Filtering and Blocking Cheaper to host content abroad, but this results in increased latency Local Hosting Requires knowledge, skills, and resources Need ability to fund and sell services Content Creation Challenges: Historically, Internet naming (i.e. domain names) was based on the Latin alphabet, which created challenges for many languages like Mandarin Chinese and Russian which use different alphabets. However these technical issues are increasingly being addressed. In 2009, for instance, ICANN introduced the use of Internationalized Domain Names, and today efforts are being made to enable non-Latin characters in email headers. Governments can and have enacted laws and measures that restrict online content which they deem to be undesirable. Filtering and blocking content for religious, social, legal or political reasons can potentially impact the availability of international and local content of interest. This impact is further increased by uncertainty around how these laws will be interpreted and enforced. In developing countries, it is typically cheaper to host content abroad. This is because these large, foreign data centers have significant economies of scale and lower operating costs. In addition, there is often a perception of higher technical competence and better service quality from data centers in other countries. Legislation and regulation which affects the liability of content developers, the companies hosting content, and intermediaries that distribute content, can also have an impact on hosting decisions. Encouraging, but not requiring, more local hosting will make locally-relevant content more accessible. Developing content requires Internet access and some level of technical knowledge and skill, which are not always available. The building blocks for generating new content (i.e. software development kits) may not be available in accessible languages. In addition, entrepreneurs need the ability to both fund and sell their services, which can be ensured through various means including an appropriate copyright regime. This is complicated in countries where there are few or no options for online payments (i.e. PayPal), and where mobile app stores are not allowed to sell apps or collect payments.

Guiding Principles Technical platform for the development and distribution of content Favorable policies for the creation of content Local facilities to host the resulting content Guiding Principles: There are three roadblocks which need to be overcome in order to create an enabling environment for the creation, access, use, and dissemination of locally-relevant content. 1) there needs to be a technical platform for the development and distribution of content: Open standards facilitate the use of non-Latin characters and enable a global network through which all users can communicate. This end-to-end principle provides the basis on which entrepreneurs can develop and distribute their own content. 2) there must be favorable policies for the creation of content: Governments can encourage the development of locally-relevant content by developing their own content. This will result in content of local interest, as well as help create local capabilities for developing and hosting such content and increase the usage of a local Internet Exchange Points. Governments can help to promote content creation through capacity building (to provide the needed skills in a given market) and through fostering a financial system which enables online payments. 3) there must be local facilities to host the resulting content. To enable the local hosting of locally-relevant content, a number of important issues must be addressed: There needs to be well-functioning Internet Exchange Points, through which all Internet Service Providers can efficiently access locally-stored content. Local data centers must understand the needs of the local content market, and in turn, the local content market must understand the capabilities and advantages of the local data centers. Where there are gaps in technical skills, the government can play an important role in ensuring the provision of relevant training. There needs to be clarity regarding a government’s legal and policy positions, specifically with respect to content and limited intermediary liability. The Internet Society conducted a study on local content in Rwanda. We found that when content was hosted locally, the costs and latency for viewing the content went down and the content became more accessible for users. When a large content-delivery network opened a cache in the country in late 2014, demand for content doubled within several months because the content loaded faster. Over time, this will likely increase the amount of relevant, locally-hosted content.

Download the Briefing Paper. Thank You: An open Internet, where users can access the content of their choice, depends upon permissionless innovation. Government policies that: limit open and unrestricted access to the Internet, do not offer adequate and effective intellectual property protection, do not offer appropriate limitations on liability for intermediaries that host content, and require or mandate local hosting (instead of leaving it as an option), will restrict local content production and availability. As more locally relevant content becomes available, more users will take advantage of the Internet and come online. This will help to bridge the digital divide and create a healthy ecosystem in which users are not just consuming more locally-relevant content, but also creating their own content. This, in turn, will further increase the breadth and depth of content offerings available on the Internet for everyone to access.