Internet Shaping Freedom of Expression; Freedom Shaping Regulation

SUMANJEET SINGH
Ramjas College, University of Delhi, India

Abstract

Recent years have seen a sequence of “moral panics” regarding accessibility of information on the internet and its exercise for criminal/harmful activity. Such problems and wider availability of internet raises the public policy concerns among governments over whether the internet should be regulated or not. Some believe it should not, considering that internet regulation will discourage what really internet is purported to encourage i.e. ‘free flow of information’. They see internet regulation as a potential threat to the ‘freedom of expression’, which is possibly one of the most prominent aspects that are instrumental in the growth and popularity of this technology. On the other hand, the others who are against the free access of internet underscores the danger of problematic content and illegal activities on the internet. They claim that much of these activities and content are illegal in most jurisdictions. Adding to this, unrestricted right to freedom of speech and expression may possibly threaten other’s rights. Thus many government organizations and internet users call for the regulation of internet. In this backdrop, paper revisits relevant literature and attempt to respond to the contentious problem of internet regulation. In this process, the paper also examines the experiences from several countries grappling with the problem of internet regulation. It concludes that any regulation on the internet has to be multi-faceted, culturally sensitive, and globally coordinated.

Keywords: Internet, regulation, governance, freedom of expression, access, digital

References

Akdeniz, Yaman (2001). Internet Content Regulation. Computer Law and Security Report. 17 (5): 303-317.
Anthony, Falzone (2013). Technology and Regulation. Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. 36 (1): 105-107.
Australian Classification Board (1995). Classification of Material. Accessed on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Classification_Board
Australian Human Right Commission (2002) “Internet Regulation in Australia”, Race Discrimination Unit, accessed on https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/internet-regulation-australia
Avgerou, C. (2001). The Significance of Context in Information Systems and Organisational Change. Information Systems Journal 11:43-63.
Bedi, A. (1999) The Role of Information and Communication Technologies-A Partial Survey, ZEF Discussion Papers on Development Policy, No. 7, Bonn.
Bessy C. & Brousseau E., (1997), “The Governance of Intellectual Property Rights: Patents and Copyrights in France and in the US”, Inaugural Conference for The International Society for New Institutional Economics, The Present and Future of the New Institutional Economics , September 19-21, 1997, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Borkar, Neha (2015). 11 Movies and Shows that Leaked on the Net before their Release. April 12, accessed on http://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/celebs/11-movies-and-shows-that-leaked-on-the-net-before-their-release-231820.html?fb_comment_id=765000810282285_831211756994523#f33a8bd3f
Borkar, Neha (2015). 11 Movies and Shows that Leaked on the Net before their Release. Accessed on http://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/celebs/11-movies-and-shows-that-leaked-on-the-net-before-their-release-231820.html
Chin, Josh (2015). China Internet Regulators Announce more Explicit Rules on Web Censorship. The Wall Street Journal, April 28.
Clark, Paul (2015). Desirable Accessory, Technology Solution or Fad?. OSC IB Blog. Accessed on http://blogs.osc-ib.com/2015/11/ib-teacher-blogs/dp_busman/desirable-accessory-technology-solution-or-fad/
COPA Commission (2000). Key Recommendations of the Bertelsmann Foundation. Accessed on http://www.copacommission.org/meetings/hearing3/machill.test.pdf
Daniel, Kennedy (2014). The Economic Impact of a Human Rights-Based Internet. Global Partners Digital, accessed on http://www.gp-digital.org/publication/economic-impact-of-a-human-rights-internet/
Department of Justic, Equality and Law Reform (2010).Illegal and Harmful Use of Internet, First Report of the Working Group, accessed on http://www.internetsafety.ie/website/ois/oisweb.nsf/0/77B7FDAED19CE22F802574C5004E587D/$File/working%20group%20repor%20on%20illegal%20and%20harmful%20use%20of%20the%20internet.pdf
Dutton, H. William ; Anna Dopatka; Michael Hills; Ginette Law and Victoria Nash (2010). Freedom of Connection-Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet. A report prepared for UNESCO’s Division for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace. Oxford Internet Institute. Accessed on http://portal.unesco.org/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_4598876254B701E203952691673346E0E16C0E00/filename/UNESCO-19AUG10.pdf
EFA (2002). Internet Censorship: Law and Policy around the World. Electronic Frontiers Australia, accessed on https://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens3.html
Electronic Frontiers Australia (2006), ‘‘Internet Censorship Laws in Australia,” March 31.
Elkin-Koren N. et Salzberger E.M., (1999) “The Economic Analysis of Cyberspace :Challenges Posed by Cyberspace to Legal Theory and Legal Rules”, International Review of Law and Economics , Vol.19, pp. 553-582.
Ellison, L. And Akdeniz, Y. (1998). Cyber-stalking: the Regulation of Harassment on the Internet. Criminal Law Review, December Special Edition: Crime, Criminal Justice and the Internet, pp 29-48.
Eric, Pfanner (2011) “Developing Country Want More Say in Internet Regulation”, New York Times, 28th June.
EuroISPA (2015). EuroISPA Highlights the Importance of Self Regulation in Ensuring a Safe Internet Environment. Accessed on http://www.euroispa.org/safer-internet-day-euroispa-highlights-importance-self-regulation-ensuring-safe-internet-environment/
Faisal, Irshaid (2014). How ISIS is Spreading its Message Online. BBC Monitoring, BBC News, June 19.
FCC (2016). Children’s Internet Protection Act. Federal Communications Commission. Accessed on https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act
Geraldine Chin (2000) ‘‘Technological Change and the Australian Constitution,” Melbourne University Law Review, Vol. 25, No. 4.
Goldsmith, Jack (2000). Unilateral Regulation of the Internet: A Modest Defence. European Journal of International Law. 11 (1): 135-148.
Gütersloh (1999) “Self Regulation of Internet Content”, Bertelsmann Foundation.
Hamelink, C.(2000) The Ethics of Cyberspace, Sage Publications: London.
Haris, Zargar (2013). India Must Wake up to Cyber Terrorism. Indo-Asian News Service. Accessed on http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/india-must-wake-up-to-cyber-terrorism-349274
Hill, Richard (2014). Human Rights, the Internet and its Governance. Third World Resurgence. No. 278-288: 40-41.
Hirst, David (2014). Online Safety: Content Filtering by UK Internet Service Providers. Science and Environment Section, Standard Note: SN 07031.
Hofmann, Jeanette (2010). The Libertarian Origin of Cybercrime: Unintended Side Effects of a Political Utopia. Discussion Paper 62. ESRC Research Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Houng, K. Tan (2011). Should the Internet Censorship be Imposed. Accessed on https://wearticulate.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/cruelty-when-those-animals-get-abused/
Howard, Theresa (2009). Online Hate Speech: Difficult to Police…. And Define. US Today. Accessed on http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2009-09-30-hate-speech_N.htm
IAMAI (2013). India Must Wake up to the Cyber Terrorism. The Times of India, accessed on http://www.iamai.in/media/details/1737
Iginio Gagliardone; Danit Gal; Thiago Alves and Gabriela Martinez (2015). Countering Online Hate Speech. United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: Paris.
ISPAI (2002). The Code and Practice and Ethics for the Internet Service Providers. The United Vpice of ISPs in Ireland, Accessed on http://www.ispai.ie/code-of-practice/
Jason Chan, Anindya Ghose, Robert Seamans. The Internet and Hate Crime: Offline Spillovers from Online Access. MIS Quarterly, September 2015 DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2335637
Jawahitha Sarabdeen and María De-Miguel-Molina (2010). Social network sites and protection of children: regulatory framework in Malaysia, Spain and Australia. WSEAS Transactions on Computers 9(2):134-143.
Jeroen Van Laer and Peter Van Aelst (2010). Internet and Social Movement Action Repertories. Information, Communication and Society.13 (8): 1146-1171.
John, P. Hunter III (2013). America the Sleeping Giant Must Awake. Library of Congress: Washington, D.C.
Kalpan, Eben (2009). Terrorists and the Internet. Council on Foreign Relations, accessed on http://www.cfr.org/terrorism-and-technology/terrorists-internet/p10005
Kenneth, E. Himma and Herman, T. Tavani (2008). The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics.. John Wiley & Sons: New Jersey.
Kenny, Charles (2003). The Internet and Economic Growth in Less Developed Countries: A Case of Managing Expectations. Oxford Development Studies. 31 (1): 99-113.Kenny, Charles. (2002) Information and communications technologies for direct poverty alleviation: costs and benefits, Development Policy Review. 20 (2): 141-157.
Kumar, Pradip (2014). Public Opinion on Censorship of Internet in India: A View from UP. Accessed on http://www.global.asc.upenn.edu/public-opinion-on-censorship-of-internet-in-india-a-view-from-up/
Kyle, McCarth (2015). Data Breaches Larger than Sony’s in the Past Year. The Huffington Post. January 26.
London.
Mahapatra, Lisa (2014). Active Hate Groups in the US, and Here’s Where they are. International Business Times. January 17, accessed on http://www.ibtimes.com/hate-group-map-there-are-1007-active-hate-groups-us-heres-where-they-are-map-1543623\
Mahmoud, E. Abd and Philip, J. Auter (2009). The Interactive Nature of Computer-Mediated Communication. American Communication Journal. 11 (4).
Manohar, Uttara (Retrieved March 2011) Pros and Cons of Internet Regulation. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-internet-regulation.html
Marie d’Udekem-Gevers and Yves Poullet (2002). Internet Content Regulation: Concerns from a European User Empowerment Perspective about Internet Content Regulation: An Analysis of Some Recent Statements-Part II. Computer Law and Security Review. 18 (1): 11-23.
MDA (2015). MDA’s Approach to Regulating Content on Internet. Media Development Authority, Singapore Government. Accessed on http://www.mda.gov.sg/RegulationsAndLicensing/ContentStandardsAndClassification/Pages/Internet.aspx
Michael, S. (2008). Most Music Didn’t Sell a Single Copy in 2008, The Guardian, 23 December.
Milgrom P., North D., Weingast B., (1990), “The Role of Institutions in the Revival of Trade: The Law Merchant, Private Judges, and the Champagne Fairs”, Economics-and-Politics, Vol. 2, No.1 pp 1-23.
National Research Council (2001).The Internet’s Coming of Age, National Academy Press: Washington, DC.
OpenNet Initiative, “China Tightens Controls on Internet News Content Through Additional Regulations,” Bulletin 012, July 6, 2006 [online], http://www.opennet.net/bulletins/012/
Palme, Jacob (1998). Swedish Attempts to Regulate the Internet. Proceedings of IT’S Conference, accessed on http://people.dsv.su.se/~jpalme/society/swedish-attempts.html
Panos (1998). The Internet and Poverty. Panos Media Briefing, No. 28, Panos Institute,
Plumer, Brad. (2012). SOPA: How Much Does Online Piracy Really Cost the Economy? Washington Post. The Washington Post, 05 January.
Rikke, F. Jørgensen (2000-01). Internet and Freedom of Expression. European Master
Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation, Raoul Wellenberg Institute. Accessed on http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/faife/publications/ife03.pdf
Roger, Darlington (2009). How the Internet Could be Regulated. Presentation made at London School of Economics, accessed on http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Internetregulation.html
Rose, Gregory (2012). Three Reasons why Internet Regulation is Necessary. Accessed on https://roseonpolitics.com/2012/04/28/three-reasons-why-internet-regulation-is-necessary/
Roy Jordan, (2002) ‘‘Free Speech and the Constitution,” Parliamentary Library, June 4, accessed on http://www.aph.gov.au/LIBRARY/Pubs/RN/2001-02/02rn42.htm.
Ruben, Enikolopove (2015). Does Social Media Promote Protests. Free Political Series Brief. CEFIR, November 23.
Spangler, Todd (2015). Top 20 Most Pirated Movies of 2014 Led by ‘Wolf of Wall Street,’ ‘Frozen,’ ‘Gravity'” Variety. N.p., 28 December.
Srinath, Pavan (2015). Internet as a Public Goods: A Case of Net Neutrality. The Transitition State. Accessed on http://catalyst.nationalinterest.in/2015/04/19/internet-as-a-public-good-a-case-for-net-neutrality/
Stein, Laura (2009). Social Movement Web Use in Theory and Practice: A Content Analysis of US Movement Websites. New Media and Society. 11 (5): 749-777.
Sumanjeet (2006). E-Governance: An Overview in the India Context. The Indian Journal of Political Science. 67 (4): 857-866.
Sumanjeet (2008). Impact of E-Commerce on Economic Models: Little to Lose; More to Gain. International Journal of Trade and Global Markets. 1(3): 319-337.
Sweney, M. 2011. Global Recorded Music Sales Fall Almost $1.5bn Amid Increased Piracy, The Guardian, 28th March.
The Culturiest (2013) “More than 2 Billion People use the Internet. Here is What they are up to (Infographics)” accessed on http://www.thecultureist.com/2013/05/09/how-many-people-use-the-internet-more-than-2-billion-infographic/
The Guardian (2012). Battle the Internet. Accessed on https://www.theguardian.com/technology/datablog/2012/apr/16/internet-censorship-country-list
Thomas, Claburn (2006). Study: Child Porn isn’t Illegal in Most Countries. Informationweek. June 4. Accessed at http://www.informationweek.com/study-child-porn-isnt-illegal-in-most-countries/d/d-id/1042033?
Uaddit (2010). Net Neutrality Legislations: Pros and Cons?, accessed on http://uaddit.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=15417
UNHR (2011). Freedom of Expression Everywhere, Including in Cyberspace. United Nations Human Rights, accessed on http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Freedomofexpressioneverywhere.aspx
USLegal (2009). Laws Regulating Privacy on the Internet. Accessed on http://internetlaw.uslegal.com/regulation/privacy/laws-regulating-privacy-on-the-internet/
Walsham, G. (1993). The Emergence of Interpretivism in IS Research. Information Systems Research 6(4): 376-394.
Williams, Rhiannon (2014). Cybercrime Costs Global Economy $ 445 billion Annually. The Telgraph. June 9. Accessed on http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet-security/10886640/Cyber-crime-costs-global-economy-445-bn-annually.html
World CP (2014). India/ 4.2: Recent Policy Issues and Debates. Accessed on http://www.worldcp.org/india.php?aid=426
Yaman, Akdeniz (2002) “Internet Content Regulation: UK government and the Control of Internet Content”, Computer Law and Security Report, 17 (5): 303-317.

Dr. Sumanjeet Singh is an assistant professor at the Department of Commerce, Ramjas College, University of Delhi, India. He has authored more than 120 research papers for various national and international journals of repute and presented papers in many national and international conference. He has been awarded with “Rashtriya Vidhya Sarswati” Award and “Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award”, 2008 for his outstanding contribution in the field of application of ICTs and e-commerce. His areas of interest are Internet Studies, Development issues, law and economics.