B. The Regulation of Cyberspace

The rapid growth of the group known as "cyberspace"14 users will be accompanied by a growth of regulation. As long as cyberspace was a playground for a small fraction of highly educated people, paid for by large institutions, the myth of an unregulated, independent space could grow.15 Part of the happy mythology of the network holds that it is a self-regulating entity, controlled by no government—one of the few instances in history of successful anarchy.16 This was never completely true since most countries have long-standing laws that regulate speech and commerce, irrespective of the medium.17

It should not have been surprising that with its expansion the Net became relevant to the "real" world. Legal reality intruded upon the world of Internet: Where terms like "rape in cyberspace,"18 "cybertorts,"19 "cybercrime,"20 and "cyberterrorism"21 are created, the cry for regulation is not far away.22 Regulation finally came to the surprise of "Netizens," not just from the national level.23 When CompuServe, Inc. blocked access by its subscribers in the United States and around the world to two hundred discussion groups after a federal prosecutor in Germany had indicated that they might violate German pornography laws,24 users realized that "cyberspace doesn't belong to a single country,"25 but to a whole range of countries with diverse legal concepts.

Many other States have expressed an interest in regulating the Internet. Chinese officials announced in January 1996 that they wanted to stop "detrimental information" from entering the country via the Internet.26 The French Government is said to have complained to CompuServe that there is too much English on the Internet.27 Britain's "Home Office is currently examining how the Internet can be regulated."28 "The Malaysian government has proposed a bold new legal framework, popularly known as the `cyberlaws,'"29 which extends beyond the shores of Malaysia. The director of policy and planning at the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, the government's regulatory body for the Internet and broadcast media, said: "In cases where a libelous act has been committed, whether or not it is done on the internet or any other public medium, the laws of Singapore still apply."30

Meanwhile, it is hard to maintain that the Net is some kind of free city in the sky.31 Politics and pornography are not the only reasons why governments want to control the Internet. There are financial aspects, such as taxation,32 intellectual property rights,33 trade,34 and gambling.35 As governments need to control their revenues, the desire to control the Net grows.36 One question of importance is certainly still the question of how to regulate cyberspace.37 More and more important, however, becomes the question of who has authority to regulate
cyberspace.38 As individual countries begin to regulate cyberspace, their decisions reach far beyond national borders. Can one country be so influential in regulating the Net that the consequences are felt around the world? How far may a country go? Or, as The Economist preferred to formulate the question in the aftermath of the CompuServe case: "When Bavaria wrinkles its nose, must the whole world catch a cold?"39