Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit

Guides and templates to help you defend the Internet

This toolkit is designed to help build strong arguments to defend and strengthen the Internet. It offers guides, templates, and an analytical framework. Use it to develop advocacy strategies, create campaigns, improve policies, or offer expert-backed guidance on decisions that affect what keeps the Internet working as one network—for all.

What Do We Mean by the Internet?

When we talk about the Internet, we’re referring to a global telecommunications network of more than 70,000 smaller networks around the world. Those thousands of networks aim to follow the same set of networking principles— that is, technical principles and practices for connecting to one another. These principles form the foundation of how the Internet has worked for decades. They’re essential to every digital service, website, app, or smart device we rely on. 

The Internet Society has developed a technical description of these foundational principles. We call this The Internet Way of Networking, a framework that describes what makes the Internet unique from other networks. We built this toolkit to help our community of technical, policy, and other experts use this framework. It can help identify where policies, business decisions, regulations, or trends may affect the Internet’s unique foundation, or the best practices that help it grow and thrive.

Want to Check Your Work?

We can help you validate your analysis, even if it’s not finished. Or we can help you decide whether an Internet Impact Assessment is needed. Contact us.

Do an Internet Impact Assessment

Just like an environmental assessment, you can do an Internet Impact Assessment on a policy creation process, to analyze a proposal, or understand the effects of a decision or trend.

Use these guides and templates to spark discussion or make better decisions. Or expand your analysis into a full Internet Impact Brief, many of which we include in the Impact Brief library.

Use a Checklist to Get Started

Use this checklist to plan and organize your Internet Impact Assessment work.

Plan Your Impact Assessment

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Use this discussion guide to set a direction and create priorities for your Internet Impact Assessment work.

Gather Collaborators

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Use this discussion guide and worksheet to help you and your collaborators start your Impact Assessment with clear expectations.

Do a Preliminary Analysis

Learn how to structure an Internet Impact Assessment analysis using the Internet Way of Networking (IWN). Connect policies, the Internet, and their impact on people with actionable steps and insights.

Introduce Other People to the Internet Way of Networking

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The Internet Way of Networking is the Internet Society’s description of the basic architecture and practices of the Internet.

Share Your Analysis with the Internet Society

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Share your results to help the Internet Society understand global Internet trends and patterns. Even unfinished assessments are valuable for spotting key insights.

Write an Internet Impact Brief

Expand your analysis into an Internet Impact Brief, a detailed document with recommendations, for the Internet Society website or internal distribution.

About the Internet Way of Networking

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The Internet provides the foundation for most of our digital lives. From communication tools to e-commerce, everything was built on top of a set of practices, rules, and technical standards. But what makes it so reliable and full of potential?

Learn how the Internet Society defines a healthy Internet.

The Internet’s Five Critical Properties

The Critical Properties are the core characteristics that make the Internet unique. Learn more about them.

The Four Goals of a Healthy Internet

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Discover the Internet Goals and Enablers—principles guiding a healthy, inclusive Internet. Learn how policies and decisions can support or hinder its growth.

Learn about the Internet Way of Networking


Find courses, workshops, and other resources to learn more about the foundations of the Internet.

Internet Impact Brief: Proposals to Regulate Digital Platforms In Brazil, Potential Impacts in the Internet
This Internet Impact Brief analyzes Bill 2630/2020 to examine how this Brazilian legislative proposal may affect the Internet in its founding characteristics and structures ...
Internet Impact Brief: Nepal’s Proposed National Internet Gateway
Learn about the implications of Nepal’s National Internet Gateway proposal on Internet access and security ...
Internet Impact Brief: How Canada’s Online News Act Will Harm the Internet, Restricting Innovation, Security, and Growth of the Digital Economy
Read how Canada’s Online News Act contributes to fragmentation by undermining encryption and splintering the relationship and experiences of people in Canada from an open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy ...
Internet Impact Brief: How the US EARN IT Act Threatens Security, Confidentiality, and Safety Online
Read how the US EARN IT Act poses an existential threat to the Internet safety and security by preventing service providers from using end-to-end encryption ...
Internet Impact Brief: Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill 2022
Read how the draft telecommunication bill may affect Internet-based services in India, and more broadly, the health of the global Internet ...
Internet Impact Brief: European Commission Proposal to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse
Read how limitations on encryption arising from the CSA Proposal would move the Internet further from its potential as an open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy resource for all ...
Internet Impact Brief: Proposals to Regulate Content Moderation on Social Media Platforms in Brazil
Read how Brazilian Bill 3227/2021 may affect the Internet by impacting what it needs to thrive as an open, globally connected, secure, and trusted resource for all people involved ...
Internet Impact Brief: India CERT-In Cybersecurity Directions 2022
Read how the draft regulation may affect Internet development in India, and more broadly, the health of the global Internet ...
Internet Impact Brief: South Korea’s Interconnection Rules
Read how a series of enacted and proposed revisions of Telecommunications Business Act in South Korea affect further Internet development ...
Internet Impact Brief: Impact of Ukraine’s Requests to Block Russia’s Access to the Internet
Learn how politically motivated actions to prevent people from accessing the global Internet would cause significant harm to the open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy Internet ...
Internet Impact Brief: How Refusing Russian Networks Will Impact the Internet
Read how actions to block networks from accessing the global Internet cause significant harm what the Internet needs to exist and thrive, and the ability of people to use it ...
Internet Impact Brief: Bangladesh: Regulation for Digital, Social Media and OTT Platforms, 2021
Finds that the provisions outlined in the draft regulation could have serious repercussions on the usefulness of the Internet for Bangladesh and its people ...