[Chapter-delegates] Digital sovreignty and splinternet

Thu May 26 05:02:47 PDT 2022

I'm not sure if it was Dan Sventesson or someone else who wrote it, but
I've read a few years ago a very good concise explanation on this subject:
the Internet does have a good and diverse number of borders, they are just
not (by default) the same as those from national states.

Cordially,

*Pedro de Perdigão Lana*
Lawyer <http://encurtador.com.br/iwC25>, GEDAI/UFPR
<https://www.gedai.com.br/> Researcher
PhD Candidate (UFPR), LLM in Business Law (UCoimbra)
Board Member @ CC Brasil <https://br.creativecommons.net/>, ISOC BR
<https://isoc.org.br/> and IODA <https://ioda.org.br/>
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Em qui., 26 de mai. de 2022 às 07:43, christian de larrinaga via
Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> escreveu:

>
> Thank you for some interesting links to better educate myself.
>
> I suppose the phrase "Internet is borderless by design" is true by default
> until somebody comes along and creates a border.
>
> In other words the Internet protocols support "open" inter-networking.
> But they don't stop the creation of borders by those holding control
> over devices, networks and service infrastructures that people
> increasingly use to manage those parts.
>
> People  responsible for their devices and networks can and do
> create borders. Indeed we are strongly recommended to do just that.
>
> Perhaps the question may be best viewed as a question as to what extent,
> if at
> all, should those who are not responsible for such infrastructural
> elements be influencing or even dictating network borders. In particular
> when
> they are not technology literate sufficient to understand the impacts of
> such interventions.
>
>
> C
> Richard Hill via Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
> writes:
>
> > I refer to this post which was recently brought to our attention:
> >
> >
> >
> > https://www.internetsociety.org/action-plan/2022/digital-sovereignty/
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm puzzled by this bit: "The Internet is borderless by design."
> >
> >
> >
> > All telecommunications are designed to facilitate cross-border
> > communications flows. In fact, the ITU was created in 1865 precisely to
> > facilitate the cross-border flow of telegrams, and subsequently
> facilitated
> > the cross-border flow of other forms of telecommunication.
> >
> >
> >
> > While base telecommunication protocols (e.g. TCP/IP) are indeed designed
> to
> > be borderless, the physical facilities that implement the protocols, and
> > that provide services based on the protocols, are subject to national
> law,
> > for example criminal law, copyright law, etc. (Recall that offline law
> > applies equally online.)
> >
> >
> >
> > In addition, there may be telecommunications-specific regulation.
> > Traditionally, those were heavy, and, in many jurisdictions, provided
> that
> > only state-owned or authorized monopolies could provide certain services.
> >
> >
> >
> > That ended in the 1980's, with the introduction of liberalization and
> > privatization.  But certain specific laws still exist. For example, in
> the
> > US, CDA 230 creates a liability regime for certain Internet services
> that is
> > specific to the Internet.
> >
> >
> >
> > Names and addresses were traditionally assigned on a national basis, and
> > this was carried over in the domain name system in the form of the
> ccTLDs.
> > However, in keeping with the tenets of privatization, most ccTLDs are not
> > state-owned, and in keeping with the tenets of deregulation, many ccTLDs
> are
> > not regulated.
> >
> >
> >
> > IP addresses are handled differently: they are assigned on a regional
> basis.
> >
> >
> >
> > And Internet routing is not based on national borders.
> >
> >
> >
> > Here is a more detailed discussion:
> >
> >
> >
> >   http://www.apig.ch/Internet%203-characteristics.doc
> >
> >
> >
> > But the most important difference regarding the Internet is its funding
> > model for many services: monetization of personal data through targeted
> > advertising. This has had some unwanted side-effects, see for example:
> >
> >
> >
> > http://boundary2.org/2015/04/08/the-internet-vs-democracy/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.boundary2.org/2018/02/richard-hill-knots-of-statelike-power-revie
> > w-of-harcourt-exposed-desire-and-disobedience-in-the-digital-age/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.boundary2.org/2018/10/richard-hill-too-big-to-be-review-of-wu-the
> > -curse-of-bigness-antitrust-in-the-new-gilded-age/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.boundary2.org/2021/04/richard-hill-the-curse-of-concentration-rev
> > iew-of-cory-doctorow-how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism/
> >
> >
> >
> > Since the Internet now underpins most aspects of our lives and economic
> > activities, it seems to me inevitable that governments will evaluate
> whether
> > they should be more involved in its governance (e.g. by enacting data
> > privacy laws, and/or by enforcing anti-trust law).
> >
> >
> >
> > Obviously there is a risk (and not just in non-democratic states) that
> > government intervention could have unwanted side-effects. So it seems to
> me
> > that it is important to provide information to governments that will
> enable
> > them to make sensible decisions.
> >
> >
> >
> > Regarding the specific issue of splintering, I fear that it's not just
> the
> > Internet that might splinter, but the world as a whole. I fear that we
> are
> > moving to a new version of the Cold War which some of us are old enough
> to
> > have lived through.
> >
> >
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Richard
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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>
>
> --
> christian de larrinaga
> https://firsthand.net
> _______________________________________________
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