1. Regulating Cyberspace Should cyberspace be regulated? Can it be regulated? Who should be responsible for carrying out the regulatory functions – the government, private organizations, big business, or Internet users themselves?

2. The Ontology of Cyberspace Cyberspace, which for our purposes can be equated with the Internet, can be defined as the network of interconnected computers. What exactly is cyberspace? Is it a "place" – i.e., a virtual space that consists of all the data and information that resides in the connected servers and databases that make up the Internet? Or is cyberspace a "medium" of some sort?

3. Cyberspace as a Medium Mike Goodwin (1995) believes that the Internet is a new kind of medium. It is a medium that is significantly different from earlier media, such as the telephone or television. The telephone as a "one-to-one medium," and television as a "one-to-many medium.“ Goodman suggests that the Internet be characterized as a "many-to-many medium" in which one does not need to be wealthy to have access and in which one does not need to win the approval of an editor or a publisher to speak his or her mind.

4. Cyberspace as a Public Space Camp and Chien (2000) note that there are four types of media: publisher, broadcast, distributor, and common carrier. An example of a publisher would be a newspaper or a magazine; and examples of broadcast media include television and radio. Telephone companies and cable companies can be considered instances of common carriers. Camp and Chien argue that none of the four media models are appropriate for understanding the 'Net. Instead, they believe that a spatial model – one in which cyberspace is viewed a "public space with certain digital characteristics" – is a more plausible way to conceive of the Internet. Camp and Chien also believe that operating from such a model can influence our decisions about public policies on the Internet.

5. Two Different Senses of "Internet Regulation“ To "regulate" typically means to monitor or control a certain product, process, or set of behaviors according to certain requirements, standards, or protocols. At least two different senses of “regulation” have been used to debate the question of cyberspace regulation. Sometimes the focus is on regulating the content of cyberspace, as in the case of whether on-line pornography and hate speech should be censored on the 'Net. And sometimes it focuses on processes – i.e., rules and policies – should be implemented and enforced in commercial transactions in cyberspace. In physical space, both kinds of regulation also occur.

6. Four Ways of Regulating Cyberspace Lessig (1999) describes four distinct but interdependent constraints, which he calls "modalities," for regulating behavior: Laws; social norms; market pressures; Architecture.

7. Analogy: Regulating Smoking Behavior in Physical Space Using the Lessig Model, we can: 1. Pass Laws Against Smoking; 2. Apply Social Pressure (Norms); 3. Apply Market Pressure (e.g., in Pricing Practices); 4. Use Architecture (e.g., no cigarettes in vending machines).

8. Privatizing Information Policy Litman (1999) also argues that information policy in cyberspace is becoming increasingly privatized. In 1998 US Congress passed three copyright-related acts that favored commercial interests: the DMCA, SBCTEA, and the NET Act. Also, the federal government transferred the process of registering domain names from the National Science Foundation – an independent government regulatory body – to ICANN, a private group that has been favorable to commercial interests. The Recording Industry of America sought to ban the manufacture of portable MP3 players on grounds that such devices could be used to play pirated music. The recording industry also tried to pressure computer manufacturers to embed code in their future computer systems that will make it impossible to use personal computers to download MP3 files and to burn CDs.

9. Free Speech v. Censorship and Content Control in Cyberspace Should certain forms of speech on the Internet should be censored? Do all forms of speech deserve to be protected? According to the First Amendment of the US Constitution: Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press... But… The right to free speech is a conditional right.

10. Regulation by Code In cyberspace, Lessig notes that code is law. Lessig compares the architectures of NET 95 (Chicago) to NET 98 (Harvard). Net 95 favors Anonymity. Net 98 favors control. Elkin-Koren (2000) worries that control is exacerbated because information is being privatized.

11. Censorship Catudal (1999) believes that an important distinction can be drawn between two types of censorship: "censorship by suppression“; "censorship by deterrence." Both forms of censorship presuppose that some "authorized person or group of persons" has judged some text or "type of text" to be objectionable on moral, political or other grounds.

12. Censorship by Suppression Censorship by suppression affects the prohibition of the objectionable "text" or material from being published, displayed, or circulated. Banning certain kinds of books from being published or prohibiting certain kinds of movies to be made would be examples of censorship by suppression. In this scheme, pornography and other objectionable forms of speech would not be allowed to exist on the Internet.

13. Censorship by Deterrence Censorship by deterrence is a less drastic means of censoring. It does not suppress or block out objectionable material or forbid it from being published. Rather, it depends on threats of arrest, prosecution, conviction, and punishment against those who make an objectionable "text" available and those who acquire it. Heavy fines and possible imprisonment can be used to deter the publication and acquisition of this objectionable content.

14. Censorship/Pornography The Amateur Auction BBS made sexually explicit images available to its members. Because the BBS was an electronic forum, its contents were available not only to residents of California but to users in other states and countries who had Internet access. A person living in Memphis, Tennessee became a member of the BBS and then downloaded on his computer in Tennessee sexually explicit pictures. Although including sexually explicit images on a BBS may not have been illegal in California, viewing such images was illegal under Tennessee State law. Criminal charges were brought against the operators of the California-based BBS, who were prosecuted in Tennessee.

15. Two types of Controversial Speech in Cyberspace In addition to pornography, two additional kinds of speech that have been controversial in cyberspace are: hate speech; forms of speech that can cause physical harm to individuals and communities. Hate speech on the Internet often targets members of certain racial and ethnic groups: By racist organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) or the British National Party (BNP) Because of the Internet, international "hate groups," such as "skin heads" in America, Europe, and Russia, can spread their messages of hate in ways that were not previously possible.

16. Speech That Can Cause Harm to Others Some forms of hate speech on the Internet are such that they might also result in physical harm being caused to individuals e.g. stalker sites. Other forms of this speech are, by the nature of their content, biased towards violence and physical harm to others. Two examples of how certain forms of speech on the Internet can result in serious physical harm: information on how to construct bombs; information on how to abduct children for the purpose of molesting them.

17. Software Filtering Programs Software filters can be defined as programs that screen Internet content and block access to unacceptable Web sites. Filtering out objectionable material through the use of the keyword "sex" could block out important literary and scientific works. For example, it could preclude one's being able to access certain works by Shakespeare, as well as books on biology and health. Filtering schemes that are too broad, on the other hand, might not successfully block non-obvious pornographic Web sites Software filtering programs such as NetNanny are available but many of these programs have been found to be inadequate. Some filters have been criticized because they screen too much, and others because they screen too little. Rosenberg (2001) notes that filters could also be used by conservative school boards to block out information about evolutionary theory.

18. Defamation and Self Regulation Libelous speech on the Internet can be distinguished from certain kinds of inflammatory speech. Inflammatory remarks made in on-line forums are sometimes referred to as "flames." But most "flames" do not meet the legal standards of defamation. On-line Flames, as in the case of genuine defamatory remarks, are still problematic. In response to behavior involving flaming, some on-line user groups have developed their own rules of behavior or "netiquette" (etiquette on the Internet). For example, some Internet chat rooms have instituted rules to the effect that any individual who "flames" another member of the group will be banned from the chat room.

19. The Options for Regulation Based on Lessig’s frame work we can: Pass laws (who? and where would they apply?) Apply social norms – “netiquette” Apply market pressures – e.g. feedback on Ebay or Amazon Use architecture – filtering software or try to control ISP’s

20. Tutorial Discussion Questions Have you encountered material you think should be censored? Is it hard to avoid objectionable material? A 2001 ACLU report expressed its fear that using censoring mechanisms such as filters may "burn the global village to roast the pig.“ – what does it mean and do you agree? What, if anything should be censored? Who should do it? How should it be done? Is effective censorship possible? Debate Topic: Nothing should be censored on the Internet