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I chose to research the topic of International Internet regulations and laws because it is a fairly new issue in our society. Because the Internet transcends national boundaries, regulations regarding content on the Internet are virtually impossible. The Internet is unlike any other medium because it is not located in any specific geographical space or region. Therefore, regulating the Internet and making laws regarding the content available and actions of Internet users raises a variety of new and important questions.
The Internet has become such an important part of daily life in our society. People use the Internet for so many different reasons including daily communication, electronic commerce, information access, education, entertainment, and research. Concerns about cyber-crime and inappropriate content on the Internet affect all of us.
Since the rise of the Internet, courts and governments around the world have attempted to regulate the Internet in a variety of different ways, encountering numerous problems and obstacles due to the nature of this new medium. Countries have different opinions about what material is inappropriate or should be illegal. Regulations and restrictions have addressed many different issues including pornography, libel, slander, cyber-crime, and other regulatory and legal issues. These regulations and laws are very hard to enforce because of the fact that the Internet transcends national boundaries.
Because this topic is extremely broad and covers a large range of issues, I would like to address the big picture. I would like to find out how countries have attempted to establish regulations. I would also like to research the problems that have been encountered in their attempts to regulate content and conduct on the Internet. I would like to learn about the differences between the United States and other countries that are not democracies and do not believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Rather than focus on small topics, I want to research regulations on the Internet in general. I hope to find information regarding the steps that could be taken to establish International regulations regarding the Internet. I feel that this topic is extremely relevant, timely, and important.
The intended audience for this research project is current and future communication and journalism professionals. Although most educated citizens probably have a good idea of the types of regulations that have been implemented in the United States, I assume that most people are not aware of the regulations that have been attempted on an International level.
II. Keywords
Internet regulation
International law
online
legal Internet issues
ethics
International regulations
cyberspace
cyber-crime
digital law
III. Web sites
Title: Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice
Web address: http://www.cybercrime.gov
Brief Description: This government produced website provides the latest information about computer crime, intellectual property crime, and cyber crime. The website provides links to documents on policies, laws, and cases. It offers advice and guidance about issues involving the Internet. The website provides links to information and resources about electronic commerce, privacy, international aspects of the law, cyber ethics, news updates, and much more.
Title: The Internet Law Journal
Web address: http://www.TILJ.com
Brief Description: This website provides access to The Internet Law Journal. This journal is devoted to the topic of Internet law. Users can access and read articles about topics regarding Internet law.
Title: Internet Law Library
Web address: http://www.internet-law-library.com
Brief Description: This website is an online law library devoted to the topic of the Internet laws and regulations. Users can easily find Internet law articles, Internet law statues, Internet law cases, and legal advice. This website also provides other links and resources for further research and information about Internet law.
Title: Legal Ethics
Web address: http://www.legalethics.com
Brief Description: This website provides links and references to ethics, rules, regulations, and articles about Internet law. The website is easy to use and provides many different categories and topics for research concerning laws regarding the Internet.
Title: People for Internet Responsibility
Web address: http://www.pfir.org
Brief Description: This is a website created by a non-profit, global grassroots organization to provide information on issues concerning regulations on the Internet. This site provides articles and resources for individuals on a variety of different topics. The organization is concerned about the present and future operations, development, management, and regulation of the Internet.
Title: Pike and Fischer, Inc
Web address: http://internetlaw.pf.com
Brief Description: This website was created by business and legal publishers and covers a variety of legal issues regarding the Internet. Pike and Fischer are private publishers of FCC rules and materials. This website is a great source for information in the field of communication law and regulations. It provides numerous links to a variety of sources devoted to issues involving the Internet.
Five Best Web Sites
Title: Internet Law Library at Prichard Law Web
Web Address: http://www.priweb.com/internetlawlib/
Description: This Internet Law Library is fantastic because it provides quick and easy access to United States Federal laws, state and territorial laws, and the laws of other nations. The information is provided by the US House of Representatives, so the information is definitely accurate, up to date, and reliable. A variety of links to different categories are provided right on the first page. You can search for laws by subject, laws and treaties regarding international laws, law schools and libraries, and legal professional directories. The categories are easy to find and navigate. This site also provides a search engine where you can search the entire library, or just specific parts. There is also a legal search engine to search for US Codes and Federal Regulations. The table of contents is descriptive and extensive. There is even a translator that will translate the information into six different languages. This site also provides links to many other helpful web sites.
Title: Electronic Frontiers Australia
Web Address: http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens3.html
Description: This web site is provided by the Electronic Frontiers Australia, a group devoted to promoting civil liberties online. This site is wonderful because it provides information about laws and regulations in over sixteen countries. The articles are factual and easy to read and understand. It provides an overview of Internet censorship, a chronology of developments in larger countries, and then provides individual information for many countries. The site lists specific laws and regulations, making it very easy to compare the laws of different countries.
Title: Regulations Organization
Web Address: http://www.regulation.org.
Description: This web site is great because it is an accurate way to get information about regulatory studies, statistics, debates and information. The website provides the latest reports about current issues regarding regulation. It also provides background information on the topics and issues. The regulatory processed are explained, as well as recent legislation. The website also provides links to regulatory agencies.
Title: Global Internet Project
Web Address: http://www.gip.org
Description: This website is an easy way to search the latest news, resources, publications, programs, and press releases about the Internet. The site map is extremely useful in helping users navigate through this extensive site. Contacts to resources in different countries are also available for further research and questions. Links to information and articles about commerce, content, privacy, security, governance, and infrastructure are neatly provided. Each link has related sites with articles, information, and resources. The categories are organized neatly and this site is easy to follow and very helpful.
Title: The Internet Law Journal
Web Address: http://www.tilj.com
Description: This Internet Law Journal is amazing! The site is filled with links to articles and reference materials about Internet law. It provides numerous links, the latest articles, and recent news. The search engine is quick and efficient. This site is very easy to understand and use. The information is both accurate and helpful for researching news, articles, and laws.
Five Worst Web Sites
Title: People for Internet Responsibility
Web Address: http://www.pfir.org
Description: This web site provides information about issues and policy regarding the Internet. The site is messy, unorganized, and does not provide information that is very valuable to my research. The articles and information are just listed down the page, in no particular order. The information that is available seems to be slightly out of date. I could not find useful information by searching the site.
Title: Electronic Frontiers Foundation
Web Address: http://www.EFF.org/censorship
Description: This organization created this site to provide information about their organization. There are links on the side to many different topics, but they are not easy to find and search through. The overall layout of this site is what makes it so bad, not the actual content. The content covers a broad range of different areas such as free speech, privacy, news, and other topics. It also has an index of topics in different countries and regions. This index is helpful, but it was hidden within the site and was hard to find.
Title: Internet Law and Policy Forum
Web Address: http://www.ilpf.org
Description: This web site was created by a non-profit organization and it is awful! Not only is the site boring and hard to navigate, but there is not enough information provided for any type of academic research.
Title: Cyber Rights and Cyber Liberties
Web Address: http://www.cyber-rights.org/censorship
Description: This web site is so confusing! The fonts are different, making the pages and information hard to read. The layout is awful as well. This site has links at the top of the page for the most important information and everything else is just thrown onto the page.
Title: Law Guru
Web Address: http://www.lawguru.com
Description: This site provides legal resources for US and International law. The site has great information but it is just entirely too busy! The information is displayed sporadically and very condensed. It is too hard to navigate through this site.
Top Ten Criteria For Evaluating the Web Sites
1. Reliability of Source
The source must be trustworthy and reliable. I would be less likely to trust the information provided by an individual, but government information or group websites are more reliable. I considered their credentials to determine if I could trust the information.
2. Correct Information
The information must be accurate and correct. There should be no spelling or grammar errors.
3. Legal Scope
The website must include specific laws, codes, debates, and regulations, rather than just ideas and opinions.
4. Organization
The web site should be organized in a way that it can be easily navigated. The web site should not be confusing.
5. Creativity
The web site should be pleasing to the eye. It should be carefully constructed to draw attention to the most valuable information.
6. International Scope
The best web sites provided information for a variety of different nations. This makes it easier to compare legislation and regulations throughout the world.
7. Explanatory
The information should be explained in a manner that anyone could understand. Legal documents are often confusing and hard to read, so further explanations are always helpful.
8. Completeness
The best web sites provided complete information for all the different subjects related to regulating the Internet. They were broad in the sense that they covered a great range of regulations and ideas.
9. Date
The best web sites are those that are updated frequently or were recently published. This topic is constantly changing so it is important to keep posting the most recent information.
10. Uniformity
The information and the way to navigate through it should be uniform and consistent. This makes it easier to use and find information quickly.
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