Regulating Commerce and Speech in Cyberspace

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Regulating Commerce and Speech in Cyberspace
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Internet regulation

• Can the net be regulated?
• Should the net be regulated?
• What is cyberspace?
• What is regulation?

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Internet medium or place?

• Choice influences approach to policies
• Goodwin net is a medium
• Telephone one-to-one
• TV one-to-many
• Net many-to-many
• Camp and Chien (2000) identify 4 types of media
• Publisher newspaper, magazine
• Broadcast TV, radio
• Distributor
• Common carrier telephone, cable companies
• Their conclusion spatial model more appropriate

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Figure 9-1 The Ontology of Cyberspace
Cyberspace
Public Space (or Place) Broadcast Medium
(bookstore model) (common carrier model)
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Regulate what?

• Content FDA monitors food and medicine
• Processes Health department ensures adherence to
  standards
• Physical space regulated both ways

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Figure 9-2 Two Modes of Cyberspace Regulation
Cyberspace
Regulating Content Regulating Process
Speech
Commerce
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The Lessig Model

• Cyberspace inherently decentralized
• Larry Lessig the codes the thing
• Four modalities laws, norms, market,
  architecture (physical constraints)
• For cyberspace, replace architecture with code
  (digital constraints)
• NET 95 libertarian architecture freedom and
  anonymity
• Intranet architecture code is the law

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Privatization of information policy

• New level of enforceability in cyberspace
• Prevention of behaviors via code
• Loss of autonomy?
• Coded restrictions negate public debate
• 1998 Internet becomes giant mall
• Congress passed DMCA, SBCTEA, NET Act
• Domain name control given to ICANN
• RIAA sought ban on MP3 players
• AOL Time Warner merger

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Domain names

• gTLDs generic top-level domains
• .com, .net, .org, .gov, .edu
• Prior to 1998 NSF
• First come, first served
• Cybersquatting
• 1999 Anticybersquatiing Consumer Protection Act
• 1998 ICANN

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Metatags

• Keyword metatags
• Used by search engines
• Description metatags
• Appear on search result
• Potential for abuse

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Deep linking

• Should link levels be controlled?
• Ads and hit counters usually on top level
• Can controls be enforced?

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Spam

• Unsolicited, promotional, sent in bulk
• Virtually unlimited (no postage)
• Cost shifted to ISPs and recipients
• Bandwidth and disk space wasted
• Violates individual autonomy
• Everyone a spammer?
• Filters or laws?
• Success stories

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Censorship

• First Amendment
• Right to free speech is conditional
• Regulation by social norms and market forces
• Censorship by suppression
• Censorship by deterrence

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Cyberporn

• Pornography and gambling most profitable
• Miller v. California (1973) obscenity guideline
• Prurient interest
• Reasonable person
• Community standards
• Distribution or retrieval?

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Internet pornography laws

• Communications Decency Act (1996)
• Struck down in 96/97
• CPPA portion survived (for a while)
• Child On-Line Pornography Act (1998)
• Killed in 1999
• RIP CPPA
• Died 4-16-2002
• Included virtual images

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Table 9-1 Internet-specific Child Pornography
Laws
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Cyberspeech

• U.S. has emphasized pornography, Europe more
  concerned about speech
• Germany Information and Communications Act
  (1997)
• German law holds ISPs accountable
• Biased towards violence
• Bomb-building directions
• Different rules for real space and cyberspace?

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Filtration

• Screens too much
• Screens too little
• ClearPlay
• PICS self censorship
• Reflect biases of content-labelers
• Potential for abuse
• Downstream vs. upstream filtering

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Defamation

• Libel (written) and slander (oral)
• Flames and netiquette
• Publisher liability repeater is as liable as
  originator
• Role of ISPs

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Liability vs. Accountability for ISPs

• Morally accountable despite not being liable?
• Spinello ISP is accountable if
• ISP had capability to do something, and
• Failed to act after being informed
• Spinello ISP must
• Remove defamatory remarks
• Issue a retraction
• Try to censure the originator
• Realistic expectation?