Author(s)
Robert D. Atkinson, Stewart A. Baker, Ann M. Bartow, Yochai Benkler, Larry Downes, Josh Goldfoot,
Eric Goldman,
James Grimmelmann, H. Brian Holland, David R. Johnson, Andrew Keen, Alex Kozinski, Mark MacCarthy, Geoffrey Manne, Evgeny Morozov, Milton Mueller,
John Palfrey,
Frank Pasquale, Berin Szoka, Paul Szynol, Adam Thierer,
Hal R. Varian,
Tim Wu, Michael Zimmer,
Jonathan Zittrain and Ethan Zuckerman
Source
TechFreedom, Washington, DC, 2011
Summary
This book looks at the future of the Internet, asking how Internet economics and regulation are likely to change.
Policy Relevance
Experts agree that the Internet is important, but disagree about the best legal and policy approaches to issues like privacy, free speech, and Internet governance.
Main Points
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Contributors to this book include Robert Atkinson, Yochai Benkler, Eric Goldman, James Grimmelmann, Geoffrey Manne, John Palfrey, Frank Pasquale, Adam Thierer, Hal Varian, Tim Wu, Jonathan Zittrain, Ethan Zuckerman, and others.
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Adam Thierer argues that we should embrace the advantages of new communications technology, but work to understand and mitigate its negative impact.
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Jonathan Zittrain argues in favor of net neutrality and transparency rules for the Internet, while arguing in favor of expanded liability for device makers who distribute code that harms consumers.
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Ann Bartow argues that it makes little sense to seek to regulate the Internet to preserve characteristics that arose from its unregulated nature, like openness and freedom.
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The potential economic implications of the Internet include greater innovation, lower costs of information, smaller firms, and new markets for reputational information.
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Geoff Manne notes that regulation of search engines to protect values like search neutrality does not make much sense, because even a dominant search engine has no power to block consumers’ access to its competitors.
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Other key issues in Internet policy include privacy, the freedom of speech, the control of the Internet by national governments, and the liability of online service providers for copyright infringement.