Digitisation has reached our societies, it changes our relationship to the state and the role of states globally and – like Europeanisation and Globalisation – it is compelling us to revisit our notion and concepts of "constitution". This essay was written in early 2014, in the wake of the Snowden revelations and of the publication of the German Digital Agenda and the Coalition Agreement of the German government, established after the 2013 elections. Digitisation became a top issue in politics, since it became clear that it triggers structural shifts affecting not only markets and industries, but also the society and our political systems. While the digital society is growing global, regulatory powers and the responsibilities for (cyber)security and the protection of human rights cannot be limited to the state alone. New constitutional structures, beyond the state, are necessary to provide for regulatory processes regarding certain common goods globally. The internet is not only the subject of such a global normative framework, but it also provides tools for making the establishment of legitimate global rules possible. This essay develops some ideas how a "constitution of internet governance" could be designed – as a step towards conceptualising more generally a constitution of the internet-society.
