Ch. 2: Regulating and Governing the Internet

• Should we impose limits on the flow of information in cyberspace?

• Implementing restrictions:– Challenge:

Origins of the Networkpp. 29-31

• Original aim:– “Survivable communications”

• Packets, packet switching– Labeled w/ origin, destination, sequence info for

reassembling at destination– Donald Davies (beginning thru 2:09):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT4AaelwvV4 – Why is the data broken up into packets? • for Queuing (@ 1:53 in video)

Origins of the Network cont’d

• First large-scale packet switching network was ARPANET. – Initial goal: resource sharing.– Usage discovery: electronic mail• The idea of using a network to bring people together

• ARPANET and Milnet: interconnected• “A network of networks” was born – the

Internet– The “death of distance”

The Internet’s Architecture

• TCP/IP– Protocol: set of rules for communications• IP

– IP address: nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn (0-255)

• TCP– Packeting– Routers: packet switches

• NSPs

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyosOGHOBHA

Distinctive features:

• Trait of openness

• Asynchronous

• Many-to-many communications

• Distributed

• Scalable• Pp. 32-33

Facets of the Modern Internet

• WWW– Multimedia– Hypertext linking– Accessible html and http– A move to the semantic

web for coding, xml

• Pp. 33-38

• E-commerce– Trade– More products available

to the consumer– Customization– Models

• B2C• C2B• B2B• C2C

Facets cont’d

• Social Networking– Communication tools, sharing of info– See pp. 38-39 for an overview if unfamiliar– Challenges: monetizing web traffic & privacy– Ease of sharing info leads to problems

• Child porn, predators, bullying, stalking, sexting

– Should these sites be liable for the illegal activities of their users? • For the US, the Communications Decency Act §230c applies• Other countries often do not have laws to protect service

providers.– See case studies: L’Affair Yahoo and A Case of Libel pp. 50-54

Social problems of the Internet

• Erosion of privacy• Perverted forms of

speech• Illegitimate copying of

music and video files• Transaction fraud• Hackers

Regulating the Problems

• Lessig’s 4 Constraints on Behavior1. Laws2. Social Norms3. Market4. Code / Architecture

• Other considerations:– Social costs: borne involuntarily by others• Ex. Privacy

Approaches:

• Invisible hand: let it self-correct. Often best in situations where all the variables are not known/understood

– Avoids the problem of capture• “a process whereby those being regulated influence

regulators so hat they no longer act in the public interest”– Funny aside:

http://motherjones.com/media/2010/06/mark-fiore-voluntary-regulation

Approaches: cont’d

• Visible hand: regulate it• Difficulties inherent in Internet regulation:– Open architecture designed for sharing

• John Gilmore: “Information can take so many alt routes when one node is removed that the Net is almost immortally flexible … the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.” p. 42

– Digital content difficult to contain– Jurisdiction is based on geography, Internet has no

boundaries.– Do we net Net/tech specific laws?

Internet Regulation and Ethics

• A mix of approaches is likely• The effectiveness of code to control behavior.• The need for regulation to consider autonomy,

privacy and security– Embracing values for human flourishing p. 50