internet governance and democratic legitimacy (in the us) olivier sylvain, [email protected]...
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Internet Governance and Democratic Legitimacy (in the US)
Olivier Sylvain, [email protected] 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, “[email protected]” (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, [email protected] Internet II: Le “droit d’entrée”27 March 2010