London Internet Exchange http:publicaffairs'linx'net Content Liability

1
London Internet Exchange http//publicaffairs.li
nx.net/ Content Liability

• September 2006

2
Index

• Introduction
• Internet Adoption
• Benefits
• Generativity Innovation
• End-to-end Principle
• Regulation
• Misuse
• Solutions
• Conclusion

3
Introduction

• The Internet provides benefits in all areas of
  everyday life social, cultural, economic,
  democratic, political, organisational, etc.
• The Internets generativity creates such benefits
  and enables continuous innovation and value.
• Generativity lies in the Internets architecture
  end-to-end principle based on an
  open-networking architecture.
• The network is ignorant of the data and content
  that runs across it.
• Mere conduit status in the E-Commerce Directive
  is the legal implementation of the end-to-end
  principle.
• The E-Commerce Directive needs to be protected
  and extended to sustain innovation and growth.

4
Internet Adoption

• By 2006, nearly 50 of EU citizens online
• 1/3 of them use broadband.
• Over 90 of EU Member States businesses and
  schools online.
• By 2005, E-Commerce represented 3 of EU
  business total turnover.
• 80 of Internet usage
• Finding information about goods and services,
• Communication through e-mails, Instant Messaging
  (IM), and social networking forums.
• Also, online banking, shopping, job search,
  healthcare and e-Government.
• Source Eurostat reports 2003-2006

5
Benefits

• Social Empowerment, e.g
• Social networking
• Keeping families in touch
• Dating
• Democratic Empowerment
• Political debate Blogosphere, Think Tanks
• Social Democratic inclusion
• Access to public services, healthcare systems
• Government information
• NGOs Charities
• Raising awareness
• Raising funds

6
Benefits (2)

• Cultural Aesthetic Empowerment
• Education
• Cultural enrichment
• Greater and wider access
• Cultural tolerance

7
Benefits (3)

• Economic Value
• Efficiency gains
• New Business Models
• New Choices
• New Products
• New suppliers
• Access to new markets
• Better Choices
• Better prices
• Better quality

8
Generativity

• Zittrain (2006)
• ability to generate new, valuable uses that are
  easy to distribute and are in turn sources of
  further innovation.

9
End-to-End Principle

• Searls (2003)
• The Internets value (and way to understand it)
  is founded in its technical architecture
• Architectural Principles of the Internet, RFC1958
• Seals Weinberger (2003)
• The Internet isnt complicated
• The Internet isnt a thing. Its an agreement
• The Internet is stupid.
• Adding value to the Internet lowers its value
• All the Internets value grows on its edges
• Nobody owns it, everyone can use it, any can
  improve it.

10
Innovation since Internet Protocol

• IP (1980)
• DNS (1983)
• E-mail (1980)
• BGP (1987)
• Gaming
• from Nethack to World of Warcraft
• Instant Messaging
• Audio/Video Streaming
• Voice calls
• Skype, SIP etc.
• Peer-to-Peer filesharing

11
Architectural Principles

• Open
• Content-agnostic
• Participatory
• Decentralised
• Multiple management domains
• Firewalls, not centralised control.
• Not Safer by Design
• A complex system, more like an economy than an
  article

12
Regulatory environment

• Open, content-agnostic network needs legal
  support (or absence of legal disfavour)
• Mere conduit status in the E-Commerce Directive
  is the legal implementation of the end-to-end
  principle.
• Without mere conduit ISPs need to build a smart
  content-aware network
• Smart network is defined, limited, ungenerative

13
Living without network control

• The Internet is society
• Not perfectible. Prioritised problem management.
• The Internet is people
• Protect people
• Education, media literacy
• Technical self-empowerment
• Target bad actors for enforcement
• Focus on end-points
• Address bad incentives
• The Internet is global
• Global co-operation across jurisdictions

14
Or, a centrally controlled network

• Safer by Design
• Lose protocol, application, service innovation
• Keep current services (the web, and just the
  web)
• Lose generativity
• Lose a source for spreading global freedom and
  democracy
• Calcify the present, lose the future

15
Conclusion

• ISPs have a part to play
• but it is only a part
• its because of the customers, not because of
  the network
• its not a total solution
• ISPs have a public responsibility as well as a
  private interest in protecting the Internet

16
Further Information

• Website http//publicaffairs.linx.net/
• Enquiries malcolm_at_linx.net
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]