Regulation of Internet Content in a Digital World - Assignment Example

Can Internet Content can be Regulated in a Digital World? Introduction Whether a person call the technology good or bad, computer machines have simply become inevitable in the running of any business be it a small business or a business with annual revenue of billions of dollars. Connected machines are fast becoming the eyes and ears of the enterprise. By adding devices and networking tools to the products they sell and the apparatus they use, corporate businesses are finding new methods to get powerful visions for themselves and use new forms of data. IT management is the basic requirement of business to keep the data safe and handy. Whenever setting up a network for the company, it should be kept in mind that the hardware and software must be compatible with each other. Same is the rule for peripheral devices as they are frequently used in business processes. The drivers for these devices must be easily accessible. Networking is then established to make the businesses processes easier. For this purpose a server is required and the choice of this server matters a lot for the success of business. In addition to this, the security system or firewall must be built in order to protect data from any bad usage. If all these requirements are met the business can move smoothly (Shapiro & Varian, 2013). According to the current statistics there are around 2 million hosts and around 25 million users are interconnected from various parts of the world. The internet users are allowed to access weather maps, stock exchange quotes and send mails to their friends and family members from one part of the world to the other. With the use of internet online magazines can be accessed and various online virtual tours can be taken easily just by a press of a button (Burk, 2005). So for people to keep enjoying the benefits on the Internet, it is important that the security matters must be addressed. While the Internet offers many potential benefits, there are a number of unsettled issues in conducting business on it. In spite of recent advances, security remains the most essential concern and the main reason why companies hold back from full use of the net (Cafasso, 1996). Since security is essential in online business because of all the danger involved, one of the major organizations that provide such security for banks and other large organizations that deal with online business is Panda Security. It is one of the major leading IT security providers and an antifraud service for doing business online to guard against identity theft through malware attacks targeting banks that operate online, stages for payment and electronic-commerce. This procedure advises companies when there is a targeted attack and provides the gears to spot and block affected users which reduce any possibility of online scam. This solution allows banks and organizations providing online services to confirm that customers initiating businesses on their websites are not dirtied by any wicked code that affects the service. They can see the security status of their customers and efficiently supervise the danger involved in online business. This radically reduces the possibility of fake actions (Burk, 2005). In any case of the extent of a business, firewalls are requirements for guarding beside those that wish to go through a company’s structure in organize to pinch in order. There are some unusual types of firewalls and diverse manufacturers that create them. Being empowered with the information of how to decide the accurate firewall for a business network is vital. It must be noted what a firewall is, how to decide one for a business, and the diverse types of firewalls one can select. Utilizing the information provided here will assist put aside time and money (Brownlie & Van, 2007).  Pleasing into explanation the number of users is the most significant issue, as this affects all other decisions made about the product. Next would be to make a decision whether you require a SOHO or project class firewall, and from there it’s a straightforward detail of cost versus require. EBay has been approximately extended sufficient to set up a diverse group of vendors as well as buyers. They offer all the fundamentals desired to not only obtain anything entry a company may be in the marketplace for, other than also assist to present it the tackle in organize to make an cultured choice about what it is it will be purchasing. Utilizing all the apparatus provided for a company in this conduct will build choosing the accurate firewall for its business network easier (Brownlie & Van, 2007).  The race of technology put humans’ foot a bit ahead. But the liberty to humans should be in control as to protect the rights of other humans. In the following paper, it is been described about the techniques and methods for regulating the content on the internet with respect to the laws of judicial regulation of Australia. The first and the foremost authority to regulate the content over internet in Australia is The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA). The ABA itself doesn’t regulate the content but it administers a ‘co-regulatory’ arrangement authorized by the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. By the term ‘co-regulation’ here, we mean that the industry would be working as a partner with ABA to regulate the content. One of the other influential tool ABA uses is the complaint mechanism. The material is then examined by ABA and further sent to Classification Board and Office of Film for classifying according to the set standards of Australian Legislation and codes (Cafasso, 1996). Legalization of Internet Content The presence of the legal actors for the network law is increasingly more pronounced. While the presence at the first glance looks like it is innocuous and a number of risks are associated with it. There are approached and models that can help with the online communication between the legal professionals for setting the law as a network standard. Although the approaches seem feasible on paper, implementing them on the international level and reaching a consensus is a difficult task. However, the compliance of law as a network standard has become more important because of the trend of multinational business. There are at an extraterritorial reach. This means that there should be laws that restrict and regulate the data transmissions abroad and should also be inherent at the cross-border level. There are also many businesses that traffic in data. There are many business processes involved in it such as financial services, consulting, insurance etc. There should also be set penalties in case of law and data violation across border (Brownlie & Van, 2007). There are major issues in this because the European approach is contrasting to the American approach of data protection. Therefore, it is of much significance that a consensus is reached and a network law is standardized. News of data violations can and the previous cases can also be used as an example in order to protect the businesses across borders from any further issues and violations. The laws in countries vary; the need here is to confirm that these laws are strict enough in order to make sure that any further issues do not arise. The large and powerful countries should work together to form an international jurisdiction for this purpose. The trans-border issues and problems might be resolved if there is one point of convergence and benefit for all parties (Shapiro & Varian, 2013). For this purpose the legal drafters should work together and discover or produce a method like Tiebouts or Cartels to resolve the issue at hand. In the world of today, lack of jurisdiction is the reason why there are too many network issues, there are no boundaries or borders for the network which is why it is important to make sure that borders are not considered for the purpose of jurisdiction formulation and application as well. Content Regulation The Internet has a wealth of information and it provides ease of uploading content to everyone. People can approach any information just by a click of a button, and even upload stuff the same way. This calls for content regulation too because one cannot really control what kind of information is accessed by children of different ages or what people are propagating. Also, issues like racism hate crimes, etc. need to be regulated in order to create a transparent and harmonious environment in the cyber world in Australia (Brownlie & Van, 2001). The online content regulation in Australia is executed by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the Australian Broadcasting Authority, or ABA. The ABA calls itself a ‘co-regulatory’ body established by the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. (Australian Human Rights Commission). There are some set standard principles or objectives which are to be fulfilled by ABA. These objectives are inherited by the scheme. One of which states that to target the concerns related to community about aggressive or illegal content over the web such as that content which is particularly the target market of children and the content is not suitable for them. In this regard, the content related to racism for example music or games related to racism are also prohibited to discourage the sense of racism among the people. It is noted that these content don’t fall under the dimension of regulatory framework but still ABA serves to minimize the effect of such content by regulating it (Cafasso, 1996). It is noticeable that ABA only regulates on those content which can be stored and are not real time. For example any downloadable link, songs, lyrics, pictures, etc. are regulated by ABA whereas real time content such as emails, instant messaging are not regulated by ABA (Ahdieh, 2003). Under the above mentioned Act, the ABA has the following functions: 1- Complaint study about the content on the Internet 2- Offering information and suggestions regarding internet security & content issues. 3- Specifying certain rules and codes for having secure internet business 4- Liaising with different international counterparts and relevant entities. 5- Carrying out research into issues pertaining to Internet usage. The ACMA also looks into online gambling and spamming. It also looks to look into the apprehensions about illegal and offensive material available on the internet especially for protection of children viewing it. The regulatory function of the ABA is only for material that is kept and not on real time events conducted over the internet. Therefore, all pages in a website are subjected to ABA regulation. Only downloadable games are subjected to regulation by the ABA along with music, lyrics and stored content material. Emails, live discussions and any real time activities that cannot be stored or archived do not come under ABA regulation (Ahdieh, 2003). Legislative function of ABA A system that is based on complaints- based monitoring is utilized by the ABA to carry out its legislative duty. The online complaints information of the ABA defines the following kind of material as prohibited and therefore, worthy of a complaint: 1. Categorized RC or X content by the Board of Classification This type of content comprises of: Pornography using children Material having instructions on carrying out crime, drug abuse or violence Violently sexual content Bestiality Real depiction of sexual acts 2. Content categorized as R and not subjected to a restrictive admittance system following ABA principles: This type of content is not suitable for minors and includes: Any content having strong violence or sexual violence Simulated or implied sexual activities Content having issues that need an adult point of view. Both these classifications of illegal material are relied on Classification Guidelines and the National Classification Code authorized by the Ordering Act 1995 (Humanrights.gov). These classification standards do not prohibit racially objectionable content. The ABA can easily ask assistance from the Classification Board for categorization of the material according to the guidelines specified by the Classification of Films and Videotapes (Amendment 3). This may be a part of their investigation. In case the content is objectionable and it breaches the standards of classification, the ABA can ask the hosting party to remove the content from its service. This applies to when the hosting party is based in Australia. This shows that taking down online content, which is originated from Australia, is an easy and straight forward process. If the content hosting parties fail to comply by the rules and orders of the ABA, they can suffer from a large number of penalties (Das, 2002). Just like any agency that regulates Internet content, the ABA also has significant problems taking care of content which is hosted by international service providers. Internationally based content breaches are dealt with through notification to the suppliers about approved filters on the content and can be configured to block any and all kind of access to the said content. The Australian Internet Service providers are required by the code to produce one of these products to the subscribers. Overseas hosts of the content may also require the ABA to liaise with their respective regulators because of objectionable material (Drucker, 1954). If the material violates criminal standards, like bestiality, the appropriate law enforcement agency may be contacted by the ABA, or the relevant territory or State Police, and in some limited cases, the Australian Federal police. Racial criticism may fall under this kind of classification. Some racist content may lead to criminal prosecution in some states of Australia. The referral processes for such cases pertaining to the police are still unclear but it is highly improbable that the ABA would work on such content unless it has bestiality or something equally illegal or objectionable. In the phase of investigation, ABA asks to categorize the content as per the Rules for the Videotapes and Classification of Films (Amendment No.3). While inspecting, if the material seems to break the classificatory principles, the ABA has the authority to as the host of the content to eliminate the content from their services. The failure in compliance with the decisions of ABA results in serious penalties to host. As many other internet regulatory agencies worldwide, ABA also faces the problem of not having control over the content shared by outside Australia. The ABA can regulate the content which is hosted by within the nation but has no power over the content hosted by outsiders. But ABA can ask the suppliers to filter the content and block the access to the content in Australia (Deshpandé, 1993). In case the content is breaching the criminal codes, the ABA has the right to contact to that particular regulating agency of that territory by the help of Australian Federal Police and take notice of such content. It is still not properly defined that what referral case would be recommended by ABA to Australian Federal police. But it is more likely that ABA wouldn’t take any serious actions until it is badly required (Drucker, 1954). Standards of Classification of Literature and the Office of Film Classification The Classification Board is requested by the ABA for categorizing the Internet material as per the National Classification Code and Classification Guidelines. Apart from publications, including online ones, this standard of classification is applicable to computer games or other visuals and graphics. But as mentioned earlier, these classification standards do not exclude online racial profiling or disparagement despite the fact that the intent and nature of the activity was illegal and malicious. Thus, there rises the issue of whether the current standards of classification are sufficient in dealing with illegal content or something that is potentially illegal. This legislation falls under the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 or any other anti-vilification laws (Grier, 2013). The Australian standards of classification are pertaining to restriction and prohibition of the sexually explicit material or something that depicts extreme forms of violence. There are a total of six main categories of classification. Material that is classified X and RC is illegal and any R rated content is subject to a restricted system of access. The description that applies to these classifications with respect to the pertinent guidelines is mostly concerned with material that has violence or sex in its context. It is a cause of utmost concern that the Australian classification regime does not disallow content that is illegal or possibly illegal. Although the classification regime is meant to reveal existing community standards, and they must abide by the standards set by the federal law in the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 along with any criminal provisions (Guenzi, 2011). Prohibiting racial vilification online is an objective which comes under the principles and aims of the Australian classificatory system. Additionally, the lack of consistency among the classificatory criterions, the Racial Discernment Act and illegal anti disparagement laws construct obvious doubts and disorganizations in the online regulation of material. The Industry Codes of Conduct as registered by the ABA: The regulation arrangement in Australia focuses on self-instruction by the industry via expansion of industry codes of training. Wherever codes are not defined or are insufficient, the ABA can impose and introduce a standard that is applicable to the industry. At the moment three codes of practice, are defined by the industry and ABA has recorded them and they provide some standards for the industry which apply to the content available online. One of these codes applies to content hosts and two to ISPs. An organization that hosts online content in Australia is called the ICH, or Internet content host. These three codes were established by the Internet Industry which is the primary industry organization of Australia. The amendment of unique codes were made, reviewed and again recorded in 2001 and 2002. They were reviewed again in November 2003 (Deveci, 2012). If the ABA feels that a certain ICH or ISP is not complying with a code, then it may direct that party to do so. If the party fails to comply, then they can face a penalty under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. Content Code 1 handles ISP obligations which are related to over-all internet access. Conforming to the rules set by the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, the code is geared towards minimizing access of children to inappropriate content on the Internet. For example, the code states that Internet access accounts are not to be provided to individuals below the phase of 18 without the permission of a parent, teacher, or any other guardian or accountable adult. ISPs are also encouraged to appropriately label content which might be unsuitable for children for the convenience of its subscribers. The code also asks ISPs to educate its subscribers about supervision of what the children are accessing online and other content like filtering of online content and internet carriage services and labeling systems (Brownlie & Van, 2001). The ISP’s have to fulfill the guidelines specified by the governmental resources when they instruct the consumers to use the link on their homepage or other resources which are timely provided by the ABA, the IIA, NetAlert or any other company approved by the IIA. ISPs also have the convenience of discharging their responsibilities through referral information under this code. The code also asks ISPs to put in place procedures that deal with objections coming from subscribers regarding unsought email which publicizes Internet information and websites that may offend a reasoning adult. This job can be discharged by the ISPs through provision of complainants with or directing them to information that describes methods to receive unsolicited email in a minimized frequency (Guenzi, 2011). The content providers are also to be informed by the ISPs of their legal responsibilities under the code. They have to be stated as per the Act or complementary State or Territory legislature with regards to the content they publish and make available to the public through the Internet anywhere from Australia. The consumers and not exclusively content providers are required by the code to inform subscribers about the following: i. Placement of material on the Internet can involve legal duties under the pertinent State, Commonwealth or Territory law; ii. Subscribers can complain to the ABA regarding prohibited content online or content that may be potentially prohibitive; iii. Subscribers can be educated about the processes through which such objections can be made to the ABA. The code makes it clear that ISPs will have to follow these compulsions in order to notify subscribers to include on their prominent web page or on their home page that the information given is approved by the IIA. A link to the web page having that information needs to be provided too and it should be approved by the IIA likewise. The ISPs responsibilities which are emphasized according to the code in very general terms and then discharged via referral Content Code 2 relates to ISP responsibilities pertaining to view material compered outside of Australia. The code specifically states that ISPs should offer straining expertise at an affordable cost when it is directed by the ABA regarding forbidden or possibly unlawful content. This is apart from the cases when the end user previously has a solution in place, like a firewall. That should provide a sufficiently good way of inhibiting access to the objectionable material (Guenzi, 2011). Lastly, Content Code 3 is associated with the Internet Content Host (ICH) obligations. This is meant to minimize children’s admission to inappropriate material and thus, it has most of the requirements already present in Content Code 1. This particular code also summaries the same clauses as Content Code 1 with regards to voluntary advertising emails about offensive sites. Content Code 3 also asks for content hosts to counsel the content providers to ask their customers not to post any content on the Internet that is infringement of any Territory, State or Commonwealth law. They should also ask their users that they have the right to protest to the ABA about any objectionable content. This code also authorizes the acquiescence of content hosts with regards to take down and other notifications from the ABA. If other “Relevant Authorities” provide directions about certain compliances, content hosts should be given relevant advice about the objectionable content (Ensmenger, 2012). 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The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 31(3), 269-285. doi: 10.2307/41307394 Read More