Governing the Internet Edited by Matthew Gatt & Ranier Fsadni Academy for the Development of a Democratic Environment CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES Foreword Today the internet is part of our daily lives. But it is also part and parcel of our politics, from e-government straight through to e-revolutions. This book visits the major questions of Internet governance today bringing to the fore the role of the Internet in, and its impact on, politics and policy-making. This book was compiled by Ranier Fsadni and Matthew Gatt on behalf of our academy, AZAD, the Academy for the Development of a Democratic Environment (AZAD). Founded in 1976 by Censu Tabone who later became President of the Republic of Malta, AZAD has played an active role in democracy-building in Malta and in the wider Mediterranean region. Today, the political context surrounding AZAD’s foundation Copyright © AZAD - Academy for the Development of a Democratic Environment, 2011 may have changed. But its intrinsic mission to contribute to a better democratic environment certainly has not. AZAD is now increasingly The right of Matthew Gatt and Ranier Fsadni, and AZAD to be identified as Editors and Publisher, respectively of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Act, engaged in understanding and working with other contemporary 2001. democracies and reaching out to nascent democracies. With the scent First published in 2011 AZAD with the support of CES - Centre for European Studies of the Jasmine revolution still in the air, this is a very exciting time for AZAD, Casa Pereira, 224 Republic Street, Valletta VLT 05, Malta Email: [email protected] democracy indeed. All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of research This publication does not in itself aim to be an exhaustive text on and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or the topic. Rather, the authors open small windows onto vast themes. otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Hopefully, this will entice readers to engage further with a relatively Produced by Oultook Coop ISBN: 978-99957-0-060-7 Governing the Internet 3 new area of academic research and perhaps - why not? – instigate them also to contribute to future research in this fascinating area. AZAD wants to acknowledge with thanks first of all the authors for contributing the articles which are being published as chapters of this book. Thanks also go to Ranier Fsadni and Matthew Gatt for their editorial role in putting this book together as well as Tomi Huhtanen from CES for his unstinting encouragement and support. Finally I must also thank the AZAD team whose work and dedication also made this Contents possible. Simon Busuttil Preface: Governing the Internet 7 AZAD Chairman ..................................................................... May 2011 Matthew Gatt Introduction: Diplomacy in the Digital Age ................................................11 Jovan Kurbalija Chapter One: Internet Governance and International Law ..........................25 Jovan Kurbalija Chapter Two: World summit on Information Society and the Developement of Internet Diplomacy .............................................41 Jovan Kurbalija Chapter Three: The Internet and the Politics of its Institutional Management...................................................................89 Jovan Kurbalija Chapter Four: Policy Approaches to Cybercrime in Luxembourg .............117 François Thill Chapter Five: The Internet and Domestic Politics .....................................137 Andrew Caruana Galizia & Paul Caruana Galizia Chapter Six: Online Childhood and Play ...................................................177 Sharon Attard 4 Governing the Internet PREFACE Governing the Internet Matthew Gatt From Facebook Democracy to Wikileaks, this is an exciting time for the Internet. As the virtual sphere becomes a major channel for drivers of socio-political change, policymakers are being increasingly compelled to focus more attention to Internet governance. The international institutional framework governing the Internet arguably has many gaps which are yet to be filled whereas policy approaches towards several day-to-day Internet-related issues are yet to be refined. The object of this publication is to present core issues relating to Internet policy and its role in politics. By adopting a multi-disciplinary approach it seeks to string together a set of ideas equally relevant for policymakers, academics as well as engaged citizens. The book is divided into two sections; the first focusing on Internet diplomacy and the second on policy and politics involving the Internet. In the first chapter Kurbalija traces the development of communications diplomacy from the time Lord Palmerston received the first telegraph message, up until the introduction and adoption of the Internet, as we know it toady. Kurbalija draws interesting historic parallels between the impact of the telegraph on 19th Century diplomats and the Internet as we experience it today. The Internet has enhanced the globalisation of identitities previously monopolized by the nation state, and has brought into the world of diplomacy a host of new actors at various hierarchic levels. This, in Kurbalija’s view, has importance of policy in countering the diffusion and legitimization of led to a transition for diplomacy from statecraft to a management tool. certain negative behaviours which ecommerce might tend to promote. The second and third chapters deal with the World Summit on Through this publication AZAD seeks to engage a wider audience Information Society (WSIS). The second chapter provides a brief with a highly relevant and emergent field; Internet policy and analysis of the legal concepts relevant to the WSIS, while the third governance. As the Internet continues to permeate our lives, questions chapter looks into the dynamics and evolution of the WSIS process. on Internet governance become increasingly important for further The author, Kurbalija, questions whether specific cyberlaws are development of democratic societies. needed to regulate the Internet, or whether the current international legal architecture provides an adequate channel for the regulation of the Internet. Kurbalija analyses the WSIS process and its contribution to Internet governance but also its impacts on a new kind of diplomacy which Kurbalija dubs the ‘Internet diplomacy’. In the fourth chapter Kurbalija maps out the international institutional structure currently governing the Internet. The main focus of Kurbalija’s analysis is the evolution and functioning of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Kurbalija’s assessment leads him to propose that a change in the status of ICANN could be the way forward for future governance of the Internet. A fifth chapter tackles the issue of cybercrime. By referring to the case of Luxembourg, François Thill presents a number of policy approaches to be used in the prevention of cybercrime. An interesting consideration emerging from Thill’s work is that national and international policies must be coordinated. In this respect each state must work within its own international institutional context to shape international law and share best practices and experiences. Chapter Six adopts a reverse take on the bi-directional relationship between governance and the Internet. By deviating for a second from the topic of control over the Internet, the authors look at the control which the Internet exudes on political campaigns. The backdrop of this analysis is a comparative study between Maltese and French national elections. The final chapter deals with children and the influence the Internet has on them and on their interactions. The author highlights the 8 Governing the Internet Governing the Internet 9 INTRODUCTION Diplomacy in the Digital Age Jovan Kurbalija Understanding the relationship between the Internet and diplomacy - broadly and in detail - has been, one might say, at the core of my mission as an academic researcher. This mission, however, does not come with sermonizing - certainly no preaching of techno-optimism, or techno-solutions for the modern world. As a matter of fact, after all these years involved in IT, I am increasingly becoming a techno- pessimist. The motivation stems, instead, from a simple recognition; that communications and information lie at the heart of diplomacy and international relations. On this basis any profound change in the relations and modalities of communication and information systems, is bound to have serious implications on diplomacy. What will be sketched out in this chapter is a summary of some of the research, together with possible future developments in diplomacy; particularly with respect to the Internet and ICT. This summary will also serve to frame some of the issues discussed in detail in the following chapters. The chapter is organized into three main parts. The first part will focus on methodology, the way we conceptualise research on the interplay between the Internet and diplomacy. It will be followed by the second part, which will discuss the way technology and diplomacy have interacted throughout history; particularly how the telegraph, radio and other technological devices have influenced diplomacy. The third part returns to the present and the way in which the Internet The Internet and ICT are bringing about the