Internet Policy Challenges in a Global Environment

The internet — as a global, "always-on" platform — poses unique challenges to legal and political frameworks premised on territorial jurisdiction. Operating in this global marketplace exposes companies, and sometimes individuals, to conflicting normative, legal and political commitments. Through case studies, this course considers the options in (i) developing technologies and business strategies to address the varied, and sometimes competing, laws of different countries; (ii) amending laws and otherwise engaging in policy development for the global internet; and (iii) explaining these choices and limitations to regulators, business partners and users. It will consider the implications of these various strategies on an issue-by-issue basis in the areas of content regulation, intellectual property, information security, and privacy, and explore the cross-cutting consequences and dependencies between choices in these various issue areas.