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WHO RULES THE NET?

CATO INSTITUTE

Contents

Foreword: Who Rules the Net? Vinton G. Cerf..................................................................................................viiIntroduction: Who Rules the Net? Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. and Adam Thierer......................................................................xvPart I General Frameworks for Global Internet Governance1. Establishing Global Internet Freedom: Tear Down This Firewall Christopher Cox.............................................................32. Be Careful What You Ask For: Reconciling a Global Internet and Local Law Jonathan Zittrain................................................133. Against Cyberanarchy Jack L. Goldsmith....................................................................................................314. Against "Against Cyberanarchy" David G. Post..............................................................................................715. The Shift Toward "Targeting" for Internet Jurisdiction Michael Geist......................................................................916. Federalism in Cyberspace Revisited Dan L. Burk............................................................................................1197. Multijurisdictional Regulation of the Internet Bruce H. Kobayashi and Larry E. Ribstein...................................................159Part II Current Disputes in Internet Governance8. Caught in the Seamless Web: Does the Internet's Global Reach Justify Less Freedom of Speech? Robert Corn-Revere...........................2199. International Liability for Internet Content: Publish Locally, Defend Globally Kurt Wimmer................................................23910. If It Ain't Broke, Why Is Everyone Trying to Fix it? Taxing E-Commerce in a Destination-Based World Michael S. Greve.....................26911. Privacy Protection and the Quest for Information Control Fred H. Cate....................................................................29712. Structured to Fail: ICANN and the "Privatization" Experiment Harold Feld.................................................................33313. Does Cyberspace Need Antitrust? Eric P. Crampton and Donald J. Boudreaux.................................................................363Notes.........................................................................................................................................377Contributors..................................................................................................................................469Index.........................................................................................................................................479

Chapter One

Christopher Cox

Introduction

With nearly 10 percent of the world's population online, and more gaining access each day, the Internet stands to become the most powerful engine for democratization and the free exchange of ideas ever invented. But this great advance in individual liberty is itself the target of authoritarian governments that are aggressively blocking and censoring the Internet. Those who resist these government controls face torture and imprisonment for accessing such "subversive" material as news from the Washington Post, the BBC, CNN, and the Voice of America.

The success of U.S. policy in support of the universal human rights of freedom of speech, press, and association requires new initiatives to defeat totalitarian controls over the Internet. If the benefits of the Internet can reach more and more people around the globe, then repressive governments will reform or fall as the citizenry gain the means to exchange views, to obtain information, and to let their voices be heard. To defend and promote freedom, the United States must speak forcefully in support of its expression on the Internet, work internationally to protect people's Internet access, and direct international broadcasting resources to combat Internet jamming technologies.

Patterns of Global Abuse

Increasingly, nondemocratic regimes around the world are denying their peoples unrestricted access to the Internet. Cuba, Laos, North Korea, the People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and Vietnam are the most notorious violators of Internet freedom. These governments, according to the U.S. State Department and such organizations as Human Rights Watch and Reporters without Borders, are using methods of control that include denying their citizens access to the Internet, censoring content, banning private ownership of computers, and even making e-mail accounts so expensive that ordinary people cannot use them. These countries use firewalls, filters, and other devices to block and censor the Internet.

Monitoring of individual activity on the Internet is common. Repressive governments screen and read e-mail messages and message boards, searching for the use of particular words. Often, government censors simply block individuals from visiting unapproved Web sites. The development of blacklists of users who visit Web sites for political, economic, financial, and religious news and information serves as a first step toward arrest and prosecution.

These are the most common ways in which authoritarian governments interfere with their citizens' access to the Internet:

Denying ISP Access

Many governments in the Middle East and Asia retain monopoly control of Internet service providers (ISPs). This regulation occurs most often in nations that maintain state control of telecommunications systems. This monopoly power enables governments to enforce restrictive policies over the people's access to the Internet.

The Syrian government, for example, attempts to block access to servers that provide free e-mail services. According to the U.S. State Department, even foreign diplomats have had their telephone service disrupted because the lines were being used to access Internet providers outside the country.

In Cuba, the Castro government controls all access to the Internet, and all e-mail messages are censored. Because access to computers is limited, the Internet can only be accessed through government-approved institutions.

In Burma, the Ministry of Defense operates the country's only Internet server. Not surprisingly, according to the State Department, Internet services are being offered "selectively" to a "small number of customers."

Censoring Internet Content

Among the strictest enforcers of Internet censorship are Bahrain, China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Yemen, each of which actively blocks Web sites for government purposes. Although these governments often claim that their censorship is necessary for reasons such as protecting public morality, in each case the government controls clearly extend to stifling political dissent and opposition.

Censorship is typically conducted by using proxy servers. By interposing the proxy server between the end user and the Internet-a task easily accomplished when the ISP is the government-the government can filter and block content. In countries where individual access to the Internet is rare, government agents are assigned to monitor activity at Internet cafes, literally watching which sites customers visit. When unapproved Internet use becomes frequent, cafes can be closed,...