Government regulation of Internet grows globally

As the proliferation of the Internet continues, so does government regulation of the medium, a new study shows.

The U.S. Internet Council (USIC) and International Technology and Trade Associates Inc. (ITTA) on Monday released the results of their "State of the Internet" report, which shows that as more people turn to the Internet for e-commerce or communication, "the revenge of the nation-state" is occurring in countries such as China, Australia and the United States.

"The more authoritarian the government, the more it feels threatened by the free flow of information it [the Internet] affords," Mark Rhoads, spokesman for USIC, said during a press conference. "That may be attacking the ideal of the universality of the Internet."

Net governance and online jurisdictions emerged as key themes in terms of Internet growth in 2001, the study found. Some countries, such as China, are creating "cyber walls" and making Web-site operators accountable for all material deemed politically damaging, while countries such as Australia and the United States have enacted laws addressing issues such as cyber porn. Stricter regimes, such as Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, this summer restricted all Internet access.

The pattern likely will continue in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, researchers said. With governments such as that of the United States cracking down on potential terrorist activities, privacy concerns are giving way to security concerns, they said, as the government looks for more ways to protect its computer networks.

"There is no question that governments around the world have tried to regulate and legislate the Internet," USIC CEO William Myers said. "There is no question that is going to continue into next year."

Despite a global economic slowdown and the downturn of dot-com firms, the Internet has continued to expand. Total Internet users worldwide grew by 100 million in 2001, according to the study. Global e-commerce revenue rose from about $350 billion in 2000 to about $625 billion this year.

However, English speakers on the Web decreased to 45 percent of total users--estimated at about a half-billion--while Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Korean speakers showed significant growth. Researchers credit this fact to an increasing number of multilingual domain-name suffixes.

The survey also found that while the "digital divide" in the United States appears to be decreasing--48 percent of blacks, for example, now partake in e-commerce--it is growing in other parts of the world. Africa, for example, has only 1.5 million Net users, and only a half-million of them are located outside of South Africa.

"Africa is being left out of the Internet economy," Myers said.

The study showed that a major challenge facing many nations, especially those with lower Net penetration rates, is equal access to e-government services. Many nations are addressing this issue by installing public kiosks with Internet access. The United States has a plan to put all necessary government services online by 2003, while the European Union has set its goal for 2002.