The jurisdictional challenge of internet regulation

We live in an increasingly automated,>copyright spat between social media companies and the Australian government who wants social media companies to pay for the news content they reuse on their platforms without a license.

International co-operation

The second answer lies in international law and international co-operation between states. What the jurisdictional challenge has demonstrated more than anything else is the recognition that international co-operation is vital to deal with the challenges arising from technology. But states tend to act in self-interest and, again, progress is very slow, measured in decades rather than years. Furthermore, moral, cultural, and legal standards vary enormously between states, which makes law approximation undesirable.

“Regulation is not only legal (in the sense of legal compliance), more importantly it is about active, political citizenship.”

Political citizenship

Therefore, the third answer is that lawyers have to pass the buck back to politics, and to some extent to computer scientists developing defensive technologies, such as better privacy enhancing and privacy preserving technologies. It is only through greater political awareness of the users of technologies, and active citizenship that these risks can be addressed. This awareness goes far beyond (passive) media literacy and education. Users need to recognize the pitfalls of using technology in particular ways and need to change behaviour in order to regain their agency. Regulation is not only legal (in the sense of legal compliance), more importantly it is about active, political citizenship. The concept of jurisdiction explains why the law cannot be the ultimate answer to regulating the>Internet Jurisdiction Law and Practice. Find out more and register here.

Featured image by TheDigitalArtist 

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