Ordering Chaos: Regulating the Internet

Back in the early 1990s, in its infancy, the Internet was said by many to be incapable of being regulated and that it should stay that way. This book shows why the Internet needs regulating and how it has been and can be done. It takes empirical evidence from real-life cases and uses them to explain regulatory approaches and paradigms. The book adopts an expansive view of regulation, including the deployment of technology, the use of market forces, the formulation of industry self-regulation as well as legislation. It shows the possibilities and limits of the regulatory approaches and why policy makers should take a light-handed approach to regulation attempting alternative regulatory means and letting technology before passing legislation. Policy makers, particularly from developing countries, and students of policy should find the book useful in understanding how judicious regulation can help the Internet grow to fulfil its promise.