internet governance and democratic legitimacy (in the us) olivier sylvain, sylvain@law.fordham.edu...

Internet Governance and Democratic Legitimacy (in the US)

Olivier Sylvain, sylvain@law.fordham.eduVox Internet II: Le “droit d’entrée”27 March 2010

communications policy norms

communications policy norms

technological

communications policy norms

technologicaleconomic

communications policy norms

technologicaleconomiccivic-minded

technological approaches

technological approaches

internetworking, or, how to survive a catastrophic attack

technological approaches

Internet Engineering Task Force (1973)– TCP/IP• interoperability• decentralization• user empowerment

technological approaches

“Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. . . . You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather”

John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

technological approaches

“Code is law.”Lawrence Lessig, Code (1999)

technological approaches

IETF’s standard-setting procedures satisfy “rational discourse ethics” more than most government processes

Michael Froomkin, “Habermas@Discourse.Net” (2003)

technological approaches

delegate first-instance policymaking to NGOs like IETF as a matter of policy

Phil Weiser, The Future of Internet Regulation (2009)

technological approaches

Comcast case (FCC 2008)– sanction for “throttling” peer-to-peer Internet

applications– IETF standards– Internet Policy Statement (FCC 2005)• “network neutrality”

– nondiscrimination– user empowerment

• “reasonable network management”

economic approaches

economic approaches

skepticism about “administrative fiat” in communications policymaking– Coase (1959)

economic approaches

"unregulation,” competition, and monopoly– Computer cases (FCC 1960s-1980s)– NTCA v Brand X (2005)

economic approaches

focus on job and economic growth– Crawford (2008)– Richard Whitt (& Stephen Schultze) (2009)– American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (2009)– National Broadband Plan (March 2010) – rulemaking on “open Internet” (April 2010)

civic-minded approaches

civic-minded approaches

universal access and inclusion– postal service (1789)– telephony (early 1900s)– broadcasting (1927, 1934)

civic-minded approaches

privileging issues of public and local concern– free speech jurisprudence– broadcasting (1943, 1968, 1994)– cable (1982, 1994)

civic-minded approaches

municipal deployment• municipal Wi-Fi– e.g., Philadelphia– e.g., St. Louis

• American Recovery & Reinvestment Act– e.g., Chicago

civic-minded approaches

National Broadband Plan (March 2010)– universality• accessibility• affordability

– public objectives• health care• education• civic engagement

sketches of a solution

sketches of a solution

greater indicia of democratic legitimacy in the governance of infrastructure– not IETF standards per se– not the Comcast case

sketches of a solution

greater indicia of democratic legitimacy in the governance of infrastructure– not IETF standards per se– not the Comcast case– National Broadband Plan?– “open Internet” rulemaking?

sketches of a solution

privileging civic-minded applications over technological or economic ones– i.e., put the Internet protocol to public uses, not

technological or economic ones alone

sketches of a solution

articulated norms– localism• municipal sovereignty

– not technological sovereignty

• “experimentalism”

– applications at the expense of nondiscrimination• education, health, “e-government”

Internet Governance and Democratic Legitimacy (in the US)

Olivier Sylvain, sylvain@law.fordham.eduVox Internet II: Le “droit d’entrée”27 March 2010