'Governance of controversial Internet content in the
European Union.'
© Daniel Dunne.
Minor Dissertation: Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in European Studies, University College Dublin,
1997. Supervised by Dr. John Coakley.
To download PDF of entire thesis right click and chose 'Save Target as'
To
view documents in PDF format, you need the free utility, Adobe
Acrobat Reader | Contents: Introduction Defining the Internet Contexts Developing Policy Protecting Children Conclusion References |
Abstract This dissertation aims to examine EU policy developments in the area of controversial Internet content, with a view to assessing the instrumental capacity of the Union as a putative state in this context, and the implications of the Internet's infrastructure on governance in general. This technical infrastructure and the institutional framework of the Union both set parameters in which any policy must emerge. The institutional framework clearly embeds policy within liberal democratic norms, and also, as regards criminal content, in the intergovernmental structures of Justice and Home Affairs co-operation. Economic interests also impinge on the policy process. The infrastructure of the Internet renders comparisons with traditional media difficult. Volume of data, packet switching, indeterminate terrain and encryption supported anonymity make traditional regulation, allocation of liability and enforcement of policy highly problematic. Emerging policy on illegal content concentrates on the encouragement of self regulation, while failing to reach a final position on liability. However, the challenges of indeterminate terrain and encryption are not fully faced. The author argues that any sub-global approach to illegal content faces severe and inevitable limits. A more feasible policy emerges in response to the problem of 'harmful content', that is, the protection of minors from adult content. The Union's support for the Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) entails the promotion of a technical protocol as a global standard, in close co-operation with industry. Yet serious obstacles remain to be bridged if such a protocol is to succeed. European policy on Internet content conforms to the 'Network Governance Paradigm' whereby the traditional regulatory role of the state is circumscribed and new policy instruments invoked. Such instruments include the promotion of technical standards and the encouragement of self regulation. Global level governance, however, is the best hope for adequate public control of Internet content. |
