Codifying Cyberspace Self Regulation of Converging Media

Can the Internet regulate itself? Faced with a range of 'harms' and conflicts associated with the new media - from gambling to pornography - many governments have resisted the temptation to regulate, opting instead to encourage media providers to develop codes of conduct and technical measures to regulate themselves. The European Commission has consistently encouraged a broader scope for self-regulation of digital media during the first years of the Internet, and continues to do so through the 2007 Audiovisual Media Services Directive. As this book shows, despite the attractions of this strategy, significant questions remain about its effectiveness. Codifying Cyberspace looks at media self-regulation in practice, in a variety of countries. It also examines the problems of balancing private censorship against fundamental rights to freedom of expression and privacy for media users. Self-regulation is not a new strategy and has already been used in established media formats such as print, broadcast and film, but the new media, such as the Internet, mobile telephony and online gaming, present new and unexpected challenges and dilemmas. This book is the first full-scale study of self-regulation and codes of conduct in these fast-moving new media sectors and is the result of a three year Oxford University study funded by the European Commission.LEONARDI DANILO is the author of 'Codifying Cyberspace Self Regulation of Converging Media', published 2006 under ISBN 9781844721450 and ISBN 1844721450.