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The characteristics making Internet communication challenge traditional models of regulation – What every international jurist should know about the Internet
1 Assistant Professor Faculty of Law, Bond University Gold Coast, Queensland, 4229 Australia E-mail: Dan_Svantesson{at}bond.edu.au Ph: +61 7 5595 1418 – Research Associate, Baker & McKenzie Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre Contributing Editor, World Legal Information Institute (www.worldlii.org) National Convener, International Law Interest Group (Australasian Law Teachers Association)
In order to determine why certain forms of Internet communication challenge traditional models of regulation, we must identify which characteristics make them different to other forms of communication. Focusing on conflict of laws, it is submitted that regard must be had to the characteristics of borderlessness, geographical independence, limited language dependence, one-to-many communication, low threshold information distribution, widely used, portability, lack of reliable geographical identifiers, reactive nature, lack of central control and convergence.
These characteristics cause an imbalance between the ease of cross-border contacts on the one hand, and the difficulty of solving cross-border disputes on the other. Furthermore, certain conflict of laws rules have lost their logical bases, and those active on the Internet may lack notice of the applicable law and which forums they are exposed to. In addition, the existing gap between reasonable grounds for jurisdictional claims and reasonable grounds for recognition and enforcement has been widened.