Government Regulation of the Internet - Essay Example

Government Regulation of the Internet: Good or Bad? Along with the advent of information technology, also came the internet connecting people through the digital medium where geographical demarcations and political boundaries are virtually removed. Space and distance are virtually diminished by programming codes that the world virtually “shrunk” with the introduction of the internet. The rate of exchange and availability of information also became dizzying that the cyberspace virtually became a “parallel universe” of our physical world. And just like the physical world, online problems became present that the call to regulate the cyberspace mounted. The digital personality which Netizens assumed in the cyberspace loosened up with their personality becoming invisible. And “the growing incidence of online fraud and identity theft, privacy incursions, copyright infringements, trademark violations, domain name disputes, spamming, computer viruses, inadequate or vaguely defined consumer protection laws, and terrorist-related and pornographic websites has fuelled such concerns” (David 2006). These issues necessitated internet governance to regulate the decentralized, scalable and even anarchaic nature of the cyberspace. Since something is already is going wrong in the cyberspace, that the police power of the state should be called to regulate. This however raised concern of whether the government should step in and exercise its regulatory power in the cyberspace. Further questions were raised that if the government steps in and intervene in the cyberspace, whether it will be effective in promoting the ideal behavior in the internet and curb electronic malfeasance. Since the cyberspace’s geopolitical demarcation is virtually erased, the question whether government should step in the internet became in itself questionable. Given that with the issues spawned by the cyberspace are disturbing, that it now become an imperative to maintain an acceptable standard of behavior over the internet, it is questionable whether the government do it and will it bring good or disaster? This brings to mind the geographic relativity of laws. Laws are not uniform and essentially differ in each country while the nature of internet stays the same whichever country it may be. For example, laws governing e-commerce and speech in the United States may differ or may not even exist say that of the Middle East country and vice versa that the enforcement of cyberspace regulation may prove to be a challenge if not impossible to implement. Speaking against the government may be a crime in the Middle East and other countries but is perfectly acceptable in the United States as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. E-commerce and Anti-Piracy law may be stringent in countries such as United States but may also be non-existent in other countries. Such, many concerned parties proposed to adopt an intergovernmental regulation to create a cross-border harmonization of internet governance policy for greater efficacy. This may appear good on paper but quite impossible to apply. As mentioned above, what can be acceptable in one country may not be acceptable in other countries. Asserting one’s law on another sovereignty country is just out of the question to regulate the internet. It will just complicate the issue more. There is however other interest groups that espouse the idea of self-imposed regulation of cyberspace conduct. Among these is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in the United States whose mandate is to develop a bottom-up consensus on the usage of the internet among the private sector. Though it differed in identity compared to that of the government, it still called for the regulation of the cyberspace by a broader consensus of different interested parties in the private sector. It is not coercive and is done by an initiative of the private sector who acknowledges that there has to be a set of acceptable behavior in the cyberspace to curb if not eliminate misconduct. For consideration and socially acceptable behavior will always be desirable regardless of time, place and medium. To paraphrase Marianne M. Jennings “this only demonstrates that even if the medium of communication and business advances, the basic principles of ethics, such as honesty, fairness, and the avoidance of conflicts of interests are a cornerstone to success even when the means of doing business changes”. This is based on ethical consideration and initiative to harmonize standard and behavior of internet users considering the law and cultural background of each country concern. This is more viable because when a consensus is reached, enforcement is voluntarily done of what is acceptable or not without encroachment on the sovereignty of another country. The government just cannot do it. It cannot impose its law on another country by way of extradition or imposition. Extradition only works on its own citizen abroad breaking the law of the host country. Imposition of one’s law over another country will only bring conflict and will complicate the matter further. Government regulating the internet will only bring more harm than good and is subject to abuse. With big government poking on the internet which many suspect it is already doing, this prerogative may be used for other purpose than what it is originally intended. We have already seen in other countries how government can react when given the prerogative to regulate the internet. It abridges information and censures freedom of speech. Classic example is Libya where anti-government forces has to find creative means to access the internet just to share to the world what is happening there. Libyan government literally shut down internet access in its attempt to contain the information. China is another example where information available to its citizens is already filtered by the government. This may be acceptable in China but is unthinkable in free countries. While Libyans were used to a repressive regime, it eventually revolted and demanded free and unfettered access to information in the internet. Yes it is a given that behavior in the cyberspace is less than the ideal that an acceptable behavior must be established. But given the issue, this will still not justify for the government to step in. The mere presence of the government in the internet will already violate its very nature of deregulated availability of information. There are other steps however that can be undertaken for the behavior in the internet be regulated. “Concerning the level of satisfaction with internet policy and regulation, . . . showed that users recognize that regulation cannot cover everything” (Tsatsou, 2010). The government may facilitate the players in the cyberspace to meet and draft a broader consensus of what is acceptable behavior or not, and come out with an ethical standard that is applicable to everybody concern. Works Cited Drissel, David (2006, March 1). Internet Governance in a Multipolar World: Challenging American Hegemony, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Volume 19, Number 1, Retrieved January 18, 2011 from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=115&sid=20e57881-df4b-47b1-bb28-2e47c48c3376%40sessionmgr110&vid=1 Jennings, Marianne M (2002, January 1) Ethics in Cyberspace,. Biz Ed, January February Issue, Retrieved January 18, 2011 from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=3&sid=5b696157-f1d3-497e-8a6f-a3a7cecc68a6%40sessionmgr11&vid=3 Rapoza, Jim (2000, August 07). Big Brother a Big Brother on the Internet, eWeek, Vol. 17 Issue 32, p80, 1/2p, 1 Black and White Photograph, Retrieved January 18, 2011 from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=3&sid=85f43a13-b7bc-45f5-9677-a133b3707f22%40sessionmgr115&vid=4. Tsatsou, Panayiota. Javnost-The Public, 2010, Vol. 17 Issue 3, p23-37, 15p. Retrieved April 18, 2011 from https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/results?sid=2e182b17-feeb-4008-b550-c1e7322e03bf%40sessionmgr112&vid=1&hid=101&bquery=(internet+AND+regulation)&bdata=JmNsaTA9RlQmY2x2MD1ZJnR5cGU9MCZzaXRlPWVkcy1saXZl Read More