Untangling the Web: Exploring Internet Regulation Schemes in Western Democracies

Authors

Renee Keen

Library of Congress Authority File

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79122466

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

This Comment investigates past censorship schemes proposed and implemented by selected democratic administrations, in order to develop an improved framework and accompanying infrastructure that may accomplish the goals that these policies envisioned, but failed to achieve. The difficulty of this undertaking is in developing the intermediate and legally defensible parameters under which a regulation scheme can endure and gain support in a democratic society. The greater difficulty lies in developing a system that can accomplish these objectives in the burgeoning and ever-changing cyber realm. The challenges posed by Internet activity are novel ones, and the legitimacy of the actions taken in response is equally uncertain. This Comment examines the first wave of censorship approaches that have been drafted, proposed, and adopted by democratic nations, focusing on Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. By evaluating the censorship policies proposed by each of these nations, this Comment identifies and examines the successful as well as the ineffectual elements of each of these policies, in order to develop general guidelines under which a democratic Internet regulation scheme may one day legitimately operate.

Recommended Citation

Renee Keen, Untangling the Web: Exploring Internet Regulation Schemes in Western Democracies, 13 San Diego Int'l L.J. 351 (2011)
Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj/vol13/iss1/7