Control and Code II: Regulation of Technology
From Technologies and Politics of Control
What happens when the government steps in to control technology directly? Why do we need government intervention at all?
Readings
- Lessig, L. (2006). Code. New York, Basic Books. pp 1-8, 120-125. pdf
- Spar, D. L. (2001). Ruling the waves : cycles of discovery, chaos, and wealth from compass to the Internet. New York, Harcourt. pp 157-173. pdf
- Starr, P. (2004). The creation of the media : political origins of modern communications. New York, Basic Books. pp 1-12. pdf
Additional Resources
- Why Have a Telecommunications Law?: Anti-Discrimination Norms in Communications - Tim Wu
- Net Neutrality Video by Arin Crumley
Class Discussion
There is a thought that the Internet will eliminate control, but that is assuming that it cannot be controlled. Regulation is relatively new on the Internet and still not done in many counties. However, the expectation is that we will see more regulation in the coming years, from the Government, private sector and Government run / private run organizations. The Government will focus on control for their opinion of right and wrong while the private sector will try to control to increase revenue and profit. Regulation has a different meaning in the cyber world. Since that world is created and controlled by code, it is the code that regulates. The questions are by whom? And how? The how can be broken into two main items, first substantive and section structural. What types of basic freedoms should be offered? Free speech, privacy, control of IP? Structure is not only the people that control the code, but also how they are controlled. What types of checks and balances should be put in place and how can it be done? It seems like we are in the age of regulation over the internet. The question is if or how it will happen.
--Zark 15:25, 11 April 2008 (EDT)
The more internet intermediaries are considered “businesses affected with a public interest,” the more they are regulated. The internet will never be free from territorial governmental regulation, and indeed has developed as a target for increasingly efficient regulation, much to the chagrin of early internet pioneers who believed government would never have the capacity to regulate what they considered a “cyberutopia.” However, the values and goals that governments would like to promote through regulation of the internet are not in line with the values and goals of the people who actually build the architecture of the internet. Aligning their conflicting interests is the major challenge.
--Mfregosi 11:02, 15 April 2008 (EDT)
In Code 2.0, Lessig uses a conceptual model to describe the control of the Internet. The dot "Internet" is regulated by these elements: market, architecture, norms and the law. Each of them is itself a regulator. The law is only one element and depending on circumstances the net is influenced or regulated by other contraints. The biggest challenge is what the members of the internet community can work together so that these forces can balance each other to create the best environment for the digital world.
--Williamctam 13:59, 15 April 2008 (EDT)
Lessig posits that the rights of individuals are regulated by four factors: law, technology, markets, and norms. On the Internet, freedoms are not a matter simply of the law -- all four factors must be considered.
In reading Spar, one sees that the current Internet environment has precedent in the world of radio. Radio started as an "open" medium -- there was no strong regulation over which users may broadcast on which frequencies; radio users envisioned a vast network of educational and community content. Over time, however, commercial broadcasters discovered that this open environment competed with their interests. The technology, markets, and norms created a framework where anyone could broadcast -- so commercial radio turned to the law for help. The Radio Act of 1927 changed the law -- and thus changed the freedoms available to users. Thirty-six educational radio stations disappeared in the two years following enactment of the Act.
The next several years will see what Starr calls a "constitutive moment" for the Internet. As Lessig's four factors conspire to regulate users' experience of freedom on the Internet, and as various interests attempt to influence those four factors, precedent will be set that will influence freedoms far into the future.
--Jparsons 17:15, 15 April 2008 (EDT)
