1. PLS 780
Law of the Internet
Week 1

2. Tonight
• Course overview and Syllabus Review
• Models of Global Internet Governance
• Regulating the Internet and the Role of Creativity,
Innovation and “Common Sense”
• Brief Legal Research Refresher (in library)

3. PLS 780 Law of the Internet
• Review of syllabus
• Course
requirements
• Grading
• Successful student
attributes
• Required reading
• Suggested reading

4. Global Internet Governance
• How should the
Internet be controlled
or governed?
• Key to understanding
governance is domain
name system (DNS)
since it establishes
identity
• What will the future
look like?

5. 5 Perspectives
Self-governance or Libertarian Internet is beyond reach of governmental
control and should exist as an independent
legal space
Global Transnational Transnational multi-stakeholder institutions
need to be created and evolve to deal with
Internet governance issues as they arise
as global issues with no national
boundaries
Code/Architecture Code is law. Developers make regulatory
decisions via the code they create.
National Governments and Law Each country rules the internet with their
own law; Treaties govern international or
global issues among countries.
Market Based Regulation Market forces govern

6. Hybridization is the reality
• Combination or chimera approach
• Global transnational organizations
exist to regulate cross border
activities
• National law governs huge portion
of activities
• Market forces and code play an
important role in establishing
norms and conventions

7. National Regulation
• We will be primarily looking at national regulation in
this course
• How the US governs actions and activities on the
Internet through the creation of case law, statutes
and regulations
• Both state and federal (mostly federal)

8. Constant tension
• The law is
constantly adapting
to technology
• The process of
adapting creates
tensions and
sometimes results
in lack of clarity and
uncertainty