Cyberspace Regulation

“Cyberspace” can be characterized as a multitude of individual, but interconnected, electronic communications networks. The Internet is not a physical object with a tangible existence, but is itself a set of network protocols that has been adopted by a large number of individual networks allowing the transfer of information among them. Thus, the cyberspace is made up of screens and passwords that separate the virtual world from the “real world” of atoms.

Reasons for Regulating the Cyberspace

The Net has:

‘Chaotic’ and seemingly ungovernable character.

Decentralised architecture and absence of centralised rule-making authority.

Everyone can have access to global network, and establish a node on the Net.

Some web pages can invade privacy of people, and irritate people, for example, SPAM.

There is need to control access to some information, for example, children should not get access to pornography materials.

The Net demands some form of governance or ‘order’ that prevents wrongdoings, such as electronic fraud, manipulation of data.

Implications of Regulating Cyberspace

Competing models

There are four competing models for the governance of the global net:

1. Existing territorial sovereigns can simply seek to extend their jurisdiction, and to amend their laws as necessary, to attempt to govern all actions on the Net that have substantial impacts on their own citizenry.

2. Sovereigns can enter into multilateral international agreements to establish new and uniform rules specifically applicable to conduct on the Net.

3. A new international organisation can attempt to establish new rules, and new means of enforcing those rules and of holding those who make the rules accountable to appropriate constituencies.

4. de Facto rules may emerge as a result of the complex interplay of individual decisions by:

a. Domain names and IP address registries (regarding what conditions to impose on possession of an online address);

b. Sysops (regarding what local rules to adopt, what filters to install, what users to allow to sign on, and with which other systems to connect);

c. Users (regarding which personal filters to install and which systems to patronise).