Regulating the Global Information Society: (Routledge Studies in Globalisation)

The impact of digital computing and communications technology has transformed information and transaction costs in socio-economic structures, creating new contingent social and, latterly, business models. With the exponential growth in e-commerce and household mass usage of the Internet, the regulation and ordering of global communities and commerce is being shaped for the structural transformation of national and regional entities into an economy increasingly characterised as 'Information Society', in which sovereignty, regulation and power relationships are dynamic, interdependent and increasingly complex. This book provides a framework for understanding this transformation. The contributors examine the legal, political, economic and sociological aspects of the regulation of digital communications networks, which are borderless by nature and potentially constitute the first truly global industry. Basing their discussion on a variety of subjects, including the US v. Microsoft antitrust trial, the Internet domain name controversy and the Millennium world trade round, they provide a holistic insight into the broad range of areas which are united by the common theme of the regulation of the Global Information Society. Issues addressed in the volume include: * whether the internet can or should be regulated * the role of national, regional and global institutions in such regulation * which policy areas will determine the future direction of the GIS * whether the GIS is a public or private space, governed by democratic or private corporate interests * the appropriate role for self-regulation of standards in the GIS. This original volume provides a valuable insight into policymaking in the GIS and is an indispensable guide to the most prominent and salient aspects of the current debates on this subject. It is an essential resource for all those interested in the implication of these debates in fields including Law, Politics, Economics and Communications Studies. Christopher T. Marsden University of Warwick, UK, Richard Higgott University of Warwick, UK, Steven D. Anderman University of Essex, UK, Jonathan Aronson, Fod Barnes

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction:Information and communications technologies, globalisation and regulation Part 1: Theoretical Perspectives 2. The Role of the Public Sphere in the Information Society 3. In Search of the Self: Charting the course of self-regulation on the Internet in a global environment 4. Will Electronic Commerce Change the Law?: Towards a regulatory perspective based on competition, information and learning skills Part 2: The Limits of Telecommunications Regulation 5. How Far Can Deregulation of Telecommunications Go? 6. Realising Social Goals in Connectivity and Content: The challenge of convergence 7. Commentary: When to regulate in the GIS? A public policy perspective 8. The Rise and Decline of the International Telecommunications Regime 9. After Seattle: Trade negotiations and the new economy Comment on Jonathon D. Aronson, `After Seattle: Trade negotiations and the new economy' Part 3: International Self-regulation and Standard Setting 10. Locating Internet Governance: Lessons from the standards process 11. Semi-private International Rulemaking: Lessons learned from the WIPO domain name process Part 4: Standard Setting and Competition Policy 12. Will the Internet Remake Antitrust Law? 13. The Problems of the Third Way: A Java case study Part 5: The Limits of Government Regulation 14. China's Impact on the Global Information Society 15. Freedom Versus Access Rights in a European Context 16. Pluralism, Guidance and the New Media 17. Five Challenges for Regulating the Global Information Society