Conclusion: A Vision for Tomorrow


In early 2000 Steve Case, then CEO of AOL Time Warner, proclaimed this to be the dawn of the Internet Century (Markoff, 2000). With new technical milestones marked at short intervals and the rapid spread of the Internet across the globe, it is difficult to dispute Mr. Case's prophecy. Undoubtedly, among the many challenges to be faced in the upcoming Internet Century will be determining a framework for international online jurisdiction.

Today, Internet users are in a situation whereby there are 190 potential national and countless state and provincial jurisdictions applicable simultaneously online. Nation-specific standards of online jurisdiction have been applied by a number of judiciaries, exposing individuals' and corporations' Web presence to potential liability in every wired country of the world. The current application of jurisdiction has created uncertainty and has failed, thus far, to produce a cohesive approach to the problem. While a number of proposed alternative models exist, each requires a degree of change to the current governance structure and brings with it new issues related to the online behavior.

During the next decade international online jurisdiction standards are certain to develop. Trends indicate that sovereign countries will continue to exert local jurisdiction over Internet activities as long as the effects of an action can be tied to that nation. Case law will undoubtedly multiply in the years to come, but it is doubtful that a unifying standard will emerge without third-party intervention. Advances in geolocation technology will alleviate aspects of the problem, but the underlying issues will remain, mani-fested by messy international court cases similar to the LICRA v. YAHOO!, Inc. legal proceedings in 2001.

Fears that we will balkanize cyberspace and lose the Web as a great democratizing force are certain to abound in coming years. In time, organizations such as The Hague and the United Nations will embrace this sentiment and assume a more prominent role in resolving international disparities related to online jurisdiction. While harmonization of online laws and norms does not seem likely, treaties and basic standards for cross-border electronic exchange will most likely emerge to unify disparate national practices. Implicit in future decisions should be the notion that the online environment cannot function in a manner that exposes individuals and corporations to liability at each foreign nation's will.




Social and Economic Transformation in the Digital Era
Social and Economic Transformation in the Digital Era
ISBN: 1591402670
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 198

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