Internet is evolving at a rapid pace, and if not regulated accordingly, it may cause total chaos. Also, common law and precedent aren’t enough to regulate, thus the need for internet law. The law regulating the internet is a special case, ‘you may say.’ This is simply because they are applied in a specific area and may change from one country to another. In fact, there are international laws applied to almost all countries, and then there are state or country’s laws that only apply within their borders.

Furthermore, this law is actually not a specific, stable, and solid field of practice. Why? This is because it comprises incorporates rules and principles from different traditional fields, such as privacy law and contract law. Therefore, these rules and principles help govern how websites, social pages, online stores, internet users, etc., operate.

In this post today, we are going to highlight and discuss everything you know about internet law. And so, let’s begin by defining what this law is.

What is internet law?

Internet laws and regulations are legal principles and legislation that are set in place to help govern the use of the internet in all its forms. This type of law is well known for incorporating and applying legal principles from several traditional fields, i.e., contract and privacy laws.

Internet law, also known as cyberlaw, is unlike any other area of law. This law comprises of the laws related to:

• How web pages are linked
• Creation of websites
• Steps for resolving domain names conflicts
• The way to use trademarks online
• Governance Internet Service Providers

The specific laws and general laws that apply in the internet context, which include:

What are the types of internet regulation?

Generally, there are four main ways in which the internet is supervised apart from each county’s censorship. In fact, you may have noticed that some countries such as Saudi Arabia, China, and Iran have a critically censored internet. But besides those censorships, there exist four main ways of internet regulations, which include:

• Architecture: In the context of internet regulations, the term ‘architecture’ refers to the internet’s actual technological restrictions. It includes all that affects the way information can be spread via the internet. This starts from coding and encryption to filters and search engines.
• Laws: To mold and manage the behavior of the users as well as handle the issues effectively on the internet, most countries have enacted laws to govern the use of the internet. For example, when it comes to issues like fraud, child pornography, and gambling.
• Markets: Governing online markets helps incentivize self-regulation, ethical behavior, and creativity, which in turn governs the highs and lows of the online market.
• Social and Cultural Norms: Reliance on social norms is one of the legal requirements for all online service providers. Furthermore, the use of formal regulations alone may leave some gaps that need to be filled, and this can be done by utilizing cultural norms. This helps govern humans’ behaviors online.

How is the internet regulated?

There are several ways in which internet laws can be effectively managed and imposed. These ways include: 

1.Net Neutrality

Net neutrality (News - Alert) is another major interest in internet law in the U.S., and it refers to regulations of the internet’s infrastructure itself.

So, how does this law work?

First of all, it is important to note that before the information is transmitted via the internet, they are first broken into packets of data, which are then transmitted through transmission infrastructure. Notably, the routers and transmission infrastructure used are mainly owned by the public and private entities, such as governments agencies, universities, and telecommunication companies.

And so, to ensure the security of personal data transmitted, rules and regulations have to be enacted and enforced. However, a change in laws affecting infrastructure may benefit one company but as well have a ripple effect on the other company. Therefore, the principle of net neutrality has to be applied in this case.

2.Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Ideally, this is a U.S. law that has a practical global effect despite being technically a country-specific law. This law provides a powerful avenue to take down any copyright infringements from online platforms. Additionally, this law guards online service providers against the infringements of their users.

3.Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

ICANN is a non-profit organization that is responsible for the creation, sale, and transfer of domain names to the public. 

Besides these three ways, there is another major way in which the internet is regulated, which is The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This is majorly an E.U. law that is enacted to protect data processing and handling.

Where does internet law apply?

Good question!

We already know what are internet regulations, the types and how the internet is regulated, but where does this law apply? Well, let’s see:

The fact is the internet can exist anywhere; however, the main laws that apply and govern the internet are those of that specific location (country). For example, if you are in the United States, the internet laws that will apply to you as a user or online service provider will be the ones from the United States. 

Nevertheless, some laws can be applied to users outside a specified country. This means if you break those laws, you can be arrested in your country or transferred back to the country where you violated that rule and be prosecuted. This is very difficult to implement rule despite being far-reaching rules and regulations. The fact remains that they are there and can be applied in case of a serious issue.      

Overall, one countries law cannot only apply as internet law; thus, it has to incorporate some general laws.

Why Is Internet Law a Special Case?

Internet is quite a vast space, and one rule may not apply in countless situations. Therefore, these are key point that makes internet law a special case:

• It needs to be flexible enough in order to cover countless real and theoretical possibilities.
• It is not bound to laws from one geographical location simply because the internet is a global interface.

Finally, some people would prefer to have internet laws be independent of national policy and operate as if it is on the land of its own.

Final Thoughts

What we have discussed in this post today are ideally the core and basics of internet law. However, there is in-depth information about policies that govern online marketing, websites, basic principles, and intellectual properties. To learn more on these internet law topics, be to check out Lawrina, a trusted and free legal information portal.