Coms 454 Book Analysis Assignment

Book Review on the book “jack-goldsmith-who-controls-the-internet-illusions-of-a-borderless-world.pdf”

Book Review Assignment
A book review generally has two aims: 1) to inform the reader about the contents of the book and
2) to provide an evaluation of the book’s central claim(s). Book reviews may be structured any
number of ways, but the following outline offers one model for approaching the genre. (Do not
subdivide your final draft with the outline headings below):
I. Introduction (1 paragraph; approx. 1 page)
Start your Introduction with a sentence that engages or ‘hooks’ your reader. Follow
your hook with a brief introduction of the book and a brief statement summarizing
your evaluation.
II. Book Summary (several paragraphs; approx. 2 pages)
Your goal in the Summary section is not to relate minute details or summarize each
chapter, but to provide a succinct global summary that identifies the author’s central
claim(s) and evidence. The summary should demonstrate your ability to assimilate
and explain the author’s ideas in your own words. The author’s language should only
be incorporated into your review if paraphrasing the idea in your own words would
somehow change the flavor or meaning of the idea. For example, the famous
twentieth-century writer and poet Audre Lorde wrote the powerful line “the master’s
tools will never dismantle the master’s house” to explain why feminism hadn’t yet
realized its goals. One could paraphrase this idea, but doing so would invariably
diminish the impact and poetics of the idea. Most writers are not so lyrical, though, so
use direct quotations sparingly. All quotations and paraphrased ideas should be cited
parenthetically (i.e., in-text) per MLA guidelines. The following sentences are
examples of proper referencing:
For a direct quote
Haraway closes her manifesto by proclaiming that she would “rather be a
cyborg than a goddess” (14).
For a paraphrased passage
Haraway concludes her ironic myth by juxtaposing the figure of the cyborg
with that of the goddess in order to reiterate her commitment to a new feminist
agenda (14).
Avoid analysis in the summary section; you will have plenty of opportunity to
deconstruct the book in the following section.
III. Book Critique (several paragraphs; approx. 3-4 pages)
Your goal in the Critique section is to assess the book’s conclusions and execution.
Are the conclusions logically sound? Was the evidence drafted in support of the
COMS 454
Book Review Assignment
conclusions well chosen and sufficient? Was the book organized in a rhetorically
compelling way? Was the tone and writing style rhetorically effective? Be sure to
point to specifics from the book to support your evaluation. Keep in mind, too, that a
critique is not a complaint. The following comments are mere complaints, not
critiques:
It was boring.
The font was too small.
She used French words, and I don’t speak French.
It was too long.
I didn’t get it.
Conversely, the following comments are mere compliments, not critiques:
It was interesting.
The book taught me a lot.
I enjoyed this book.
IV. Conclusion (1 paragraph; approx. 1 page)
Your Conclusion should consist of a paragraph reiterating the book’s main thesis and
your overall evaluation of the book. Strong Conclusions will also leave the reader
with something additional to think about vis-à-vis the book’s central claim.
PHRASES, CLICHES, & OVERGENERALIZATIONS TO AVOID:
ISSUE
ALTERNATIVE
“Since the beginning of time/history…”
This is ‘filler’ language; resist the urge to use it.
“In today’s society…”
“today”; “presently”
“…in this day and age…”
(see above)
“I recommend this book because…”
This is fine for an Amazon.com review, but
one should avoid first-person pronouns in
academic writing.
“My favorite part was…”
(see above)
 
2  
COMS 454
Book Review Assignment
FORMATTING & CITATION CHECKLIST
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
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____
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12 pt Times
Double-spaced
1” margins (how to set margins: go to Format àDocument à Reset all margins to 1”)
No extra space between paragraphs (how to format document w/o extra space:
Format à Paragraph à Check box that says “Don’t add space between paragraphs”)
Last name and page number in header (View à Header and Footer à type last name)
Standard heading information on first page (Your Name, Class Name, Due Date)
No title page
No Works Cited page (you should not need any other sources beyond the review book)
Stapled (paper must be stapled for submission)
Parenthetical MLA style citations of all directly quoted and paraphrased material
EVALUATION
‘A’ – Outstanding work that goes above and beyond requirements of assignment; demonstrates
exceptional critical thinking and engagement with book; writing is sophisticated (and nearly
error-free), and review is properly formatted and cited.
‘B’ – Above-average work that meets the specified requirements; review is well developed, and
ideas demonstrate a strong level of engagement with book; writing is clear and mostly error-free;
review is properly formatted and cited.
‘C’ – Average work; review does not demonstrate a serious effort to engage the book or move
beyond summary/description toward original analysis; review may lean too heavily on direct
quotation rather than effective paraphrasing; review may contain significant
grammar/mechanical errors that render it unclear.
‘D’ – Below-average work; review fails to clearly summarize book and/or forward an analysis;
significant grammar/mechanical errors that render it unclear.
‘F’ – Review has been plagiarized in whole or in part.
 
3  
Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World
By: Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu
Citation: JACK GOLDSMITH & TIM WU, WHO CONTROLS THE Internet? ILLUSIONS OF A
BORDERLESS WORLD (Oxford University Press, Inc., 2006).
Reviewed By: Robert C. Sanfilippo1
Relevant Legal & Academic Areas: Internet Law, International Law, Civil Procedure,
Government Regulation, Copyright Law, Privacy
Summary: This book is divided into an introduction and three main parts. The Introduction
discusses the popular search engine Yahoo!, and its battles with the French Government
regarding Nazi memorabilia posted on its auction website. Part 1 discusses the origin of the
Internet, what the Internet entails and the major players involved in the belief that it should
transcend territorial law. Part 2 describes government efforts to control and regulate the Internet.
Part 3 provides a balance between the benefits and disadvantages of government control of the
Internet and what is in store for future regulation.
About the Authors: Jack Landman Goldsmith received his B.A. from Washington and Lee
University, graduating summa cum laude in 1984.2 Mr. Goldsmith then achieved a
supplementary Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Arts degree, both from Oxford University,
graduating with first class honors.3 After graduating Yale Law School, Mr. Goldsmith clerked
for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and for
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court.4 Mr. Goldsmith later began
teaching at the University of Chicago Law School and subsequently at the University of Virginia
1
J.D. Candidate, Syracuse University College of Law, 2008; Executive Editor, Syracuse Science and Technology
Law Reporter.
2
HLS: Faculty Directory, http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/facdir.php?id=559 (last visited Nov. 2,
2007).
3
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research,
http://www.aei.org/scholars/scholarID.91,filter.all/scholar.asp (last visited Mar. 24, 2007).
4
Id.
School of Law.5 Mr. Goldsmith also formerly served in the General Counsel’s office at the
Pentagon and later as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel for the
Department of Justice.6 Presently, Mr. Goldsmith is a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.7
Tim Wu graduated from McGill University in 1995 and from Harvard Law School in
1998.8 Mr. Wu has also worked for the office of Legal Counsel for the Department of Justice.9
After Mr. Wu’s employment with the Department of Justice, he clerked for Judge Richard
Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and later for Justice Stephen Breyer on the
United States Supreme Court.10 Mr. Wu was a visiting professor at the University of Virginia
School of Law and is presently a Professor of Law at Columbia Law School.11 Mr. Wu also has
a personal website with additional articles and information available at www.timwu.org.
Chapter 1 – Introduction – Yahoo!
•
Chapter Summary: Chapter 1 provides a detailed summary of the 2000 Yahoo! case
involving Yahoo!’s auction website and the Nazi memorabilia accessible to French
citizens on the website. The introduction describes the events leading up to the French
court’s decision and also Yahoo!’s struggles to comply with the resulting Order. The
chapter ends briefly by discussing Yahoo!’s relationship with the People’s Republic of
China.
5
Id.
6
Id.
7
HLS: Faculty Directory, supra note 2.
8
Columbia Law: Full Time Faculty, http://www.law.columbia.edu/fac/Timothy_Wu (last visited Mar. 24, 2007).
9
Id.
10
Id.
11
Id.
2
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 1 opens with the story of a French citizen, Marc Knobel,
and his fight against neo-Nazism. After discovering Nazi memorabilia on Yahoo!’s
auction website, Mr. Knobel sued Yahoo! in a French court asserting that Yahoo! had
violated French law which banned the trafficking of Nazi goods in France.12 Lawyers for
the plaintiff argued that France “had a right to defend itself from the sale illegal
merchandise from the United States” and the lawyers also asked Yahoo! to defend its
position that it should be exempt from French law.13
Yahoo!’s defense, which the authors labeled an “impossibility defense,” was that
the French website, www.yahoo.fr., complied with French law, but the U.S. website,
which did not have comply with French law, could still be visited by French citizens.14
Because Yahoo! had no way of identifying where the location of the users were coming
from, compliance with French law would require removal of all Nazi items from the U.S.
website and this would deprive U.S. citizens the opportunity to purchase the memorabilia
and subsequently make French law “the effective rule for the world.”15
The French court held that Yahoo! did violate French law and ordered the website
to “take all necessary measures to dissuade and make impossible visits by French web
surfers to the illegal Yahoo! Nazi auction sites.”16 At first, Yahoo! did not comply with
12
JACK GOLDSMITH & TIM WU, WHO CONTROLS THE INTERNET? ILLUSIONS OF A BORDERLESS WORLD 1 (Oxford
University Press, Inc.) (2006).
13
Id. at 3.
14
Id. at 5.
15
Id.
16
Id. at 5. The authors cite to La Ligue Contre le Racisme et L’Antisemitisme and L’Union des Etudiants Juifs de
France v. Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo! France, Interim Court Order, The County Court of Paris 6, May 22, 2000,
available at
http://www.eff.org/legal/Jurisdiction_and_sovereignty/LICRA_v_Yahoo/20001120_fr_int_ruling.en.pdf (last visited
Mar. 24, 2007).
3
the French order. However, after three court-appointed experts asserted Yahoo! could
comply with the order and after warnings from the French court that it would issue fines
up to $13,000 a day, Yahoo! surrendered and took down all Nazi memorabilia from its
various auction sites.
The chapter then briefly introduces Yahoo!’s relationship with the People’s
Republic of China and China’s demands for Yahoo! to filter out “materials that may be
harmful or threatening to Party rule.”17 This topic is discussed in more detail in later
chapters.
Part 1 – The Internet Revolution
Chapter 2 – Visions of a Post Territorial Order
•
Chapter Summary: This chapter discusses the early explorers of the Internet, the MUD
phenomenon and the notion of the Internet as self-governing: a place free from
government regulation and the authority of nation-states. The chapter ends by
introducing the “founders of the Internet” and their quest to preserve the values of the
Internet.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 2 discusses the early users of the Internet and the stories
they told of a world free from government regulation. These stories were predominantly
based on the users interaction with the “interactive worlds called ‘multiple user
dungeons,’ or MUDs.”18 The MUD experience is explained in detail as a place where
users log on from all over the world and become part of a “virtual community.”19 The
17
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 9.
18
Id. at 14.
19
Id. at 14-15.
4
early Internet, the authors argue, was a genuinely intimate community, a real cyberspace
where “people who rarely met face-to-face got to know one another intimately.”20
In addition, the chapter discusses the commitment of the early Internet users to
keep the Internet free from government regulation by establishing groups such as the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, and further, by drafting documents such as the
Declaration of Cyberspace Independence.21 Chapter Two also accounts the first “great
attack on cyberspace,” the Communications Decency Act (the “CDA”), and describes in
detail ACLU v. Reno, the Supreme Court case analyzing the constitutionality of the
CDA.22
In discussing the idea of a self-ruling cyberspace, the chapter introduces the
“founders of the Internet,” including people such as Larry Roberts, Robert Kahn, Vint
Cerf, Jon Postel and Dave Clark. The chapter continues by discussing the origin and the
design of the Internet, its primary creation for the Department of Defense, and addressing
the values of the Internet which were “open, minimalist, and neutral.”23 The founders
aimed to preserve these values by establishing such groups as the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF), which the chapter analyzes in detail.24
20
Id. at 16.
21
Id. at 20, citing John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace,
http://homes.eff.org/~barlow/Declaration-Final.html.
22
ACLU v. Reno, 521 U.S. 844 (1997); Communications Decency Act, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat 56 (1996).
23
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 22-23. The authors explain that “open” means the net was “willing to accept
almost any kind of computer or network,” “minimalist”, “because it required very little of the computers that wanted
to join,” and “neutral” between applications – e-mail, downloads and every other type of application was treated the
same.”
24
Id. at 24.
5
The chapter closes by examining a second view, the Internationalist view. This
theory argues for a global governmental institution to work together to regulate certain
aspects of the Internet, including libel, pornography, copyright and consumer protection.
Chapter 3 – The God of the Internet
•
Chapter Summary: The chapter discusses the goals and efforts by the founders of the
Internet to maintain full control over the Internet. The chapter explains the eventual
demise of their efforts and introduces a new age of the Internet, one which is government
controlled.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 3 opens with a brief story of Jon Postel and his attempt to
take control over the Internet using “root authority.”25 The chapter then examines how a
computer communicates using the Internet by introducing and explaining terms such as
“domain names” and “Internet Address.”26 Further, the chapter explains the importance
of “root authority” in controlling the Internet, and touches upon the arguments presented
by “the founders” and the U.S. government in the battle of who should control this “root
authority.”
Chapter 3 closes by describing Postel’s last good-faith attempt to transfer “root
authority” and regain control. However, the U.S. government’s threat of legal force
superseded his attempt. At the end of the chapter, the authors introduce the government’s
issuance of the Green Paper, “which set forth its [U.S.] initial vision of Net governance,
25
Id. at 29-30. “Root authority” is “the power to issue orders respecting domain names and numbers and have those
orders obeyed.”
26
Id. at 30-32. “Internet Address” is a set of numbers, i.e. ‘128.143.28.135,’ which enable your computer to
communicate on the Internet. Short hand names or “domain names” are then given to the numbers for easy access
for the user.
6
asserting total authority over the Internet Root…” and also marked the beginning of a
government controlled Internet.27
Part 2 – Government Strikes Back
Chapter 4 – Why Geography Matters
•
Chapter Summary: This chapter explores the importance of geographical borders and
the effects of borders on each Internet user’s experience. These experiences are based on
such categories as language, culture, preferences, expectations and geographic locations.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 4 opens with a discussion of language, which the authors
deem “the most immediate and important difference reflected by borders.”28 The chapter
discusses how English websites originally dominated the Internet, but as time progressed,
the percentage of websites in English substantially decreased.
Further, Chapter 3 addresses additional reasons an Internet user would want a
unique experience from other users, such as different “culture, currency, climate and
consumers norms.”29 During the discussion of user preferences, the chapter shifts to a
discussion on the benefits of information filtering. The authors conclude that geography
is the most efficient way to match products and services to each Internet user, and
illustrate their conclusion with an Amazon.com example.30
In addition, chapter 4 presents a discussion on the importance of “place.” Here,
the authors introduce the term “bandwidth” and explain that a greater “bandwidth” will
27
Id. at 46.
28
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 50.
29
Id. at 51.
30
Id. at 52-53.
7
result in faster communication on the Internet.31 The authors contend that the
effectiveness of the Internet’s communication is conditioned upon the real-space location
of the data, the hardware through which the data will travel, and the geographic
distribution of that hardware.32 This is illustrated through an example describing a
computer user in Boston, who could type a query into Yahoo!’s search engine, but it
would be costly and time-consuming for the request to travel from California, where
Yahoo!’s servers are, to the user’s computer in Boston.33
The chapter states the final reason for the importance of “real-space geography”
by presenting the early problems with Amazon.com.34 Amazon originally took orders
only from Seattle, as they had no retail stores, very little inventory and no “physical
presence outside Seattle.”35 Problems arose when out of state customers wanted to return
items or when customers ordered more than one book. The limited availability of the
books delayed orders. Amazon was forced to build warehouses scattered across the
world closer to their customers in order to address these problems.
Chapter 4 closes with an examination of Net Geo-Identification, what it is, and
the benefits and consequences of using it.
31
Id. at 54. The authors describe bandwidth as “the amount of data that can be sent through an Internet connection
in a particular time.”
32
Id.
33
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 55.
34
Id. at 57.
35
Id.
8
Chapter 5 – How Governments Rule the Net
•
Chapter Summary: This chapter focuses on how national governments control the
Internet through the use of coercion within their country as opposed to controlling
sources outside the borders.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 5 opens with a description of the Principality of Sealand
and HavenCo’s (Sealand’s company that equipped the principality with servers) promise
to clients of servers that were “physically secure from any legal action.”36 The chapter
continues with a discussion of “intermediaries” and how controlling local Internet
intermediaries can affect the flow of the Internet within the particular government’s
borders.37
The authors illustrate how a government can control the Internet by using a
metaphor pertaining to a transaction of illegal acts. The metaphor divides the transaction
of illegal acts into three parties: source, intermediary, and target; and illustrates the
parties with a hypothetical involving counterfeit Gucci bags arriving from Thailand
which are then sold on the streets of the United States.38 The authors argue that
“effective control over any of the three elements of the transaction permits the
government to control conduct within its borders.”39 The chapter then presents different
models, strategies, and theories, each with the government regulating one of the three
36
Id. at 65.
37
Id. at 68. The authors define local intermediaries as “the people, equipment, and services within national borders
that enable local Internet users to consume the offending communication.” The authors illustrate government
control of Internet intermediaries through other examples of government control such as Bartender’s responsibility
to prevent drunk driving of their patrons and Pharmacists and Doctors preventing certain kinds of drug abuse.
38
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 69. In the Gucci Hypothetical, the source is the manufacturer, the
intermediary is Chinatown, and the target is the purchasers.
39
Id.
9
specific elements, and the outcome of that particular regulation. As the chapter
continues, the authors present what they consider the “primary intermediaries of
government control over the Internet,” and discuss how countries such as Germany,
France and Britain enacted laws that require intermediaries (primarily Internet Service
Providers) to effectively block material from being viewed by their citizens.40
The chapter lists examples of control through the use of intermediaries previously
described including: government threats to a popular search engine to remove
copyrighted documents from the web by threats to that search engine, the crippling of
online cigarettes purchases because of government coercion to the major credit card
companies, shutting down voting websites by seizing domain names, and finally the
direct physical control of the individual.
The chapter closes by describing the issues of “small nations, intermediary
minimization, and mixing,” and how the government controls fares in these three areas of
avoidance.41 Finally, the authors present an Epilogue of the demise of Haven Co.
Chapter 6 – China
•
Chapter Summary: This chapter examines the Chinese Government’s increasing
control over the Internet.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 6 opens by describing three accounts of Internet
regulation by the Chinese Government involving citizens who criticized the
40
Id. at 73. The authors describe ISPs as “the most important and most obvious gatekeepers to the Internet.”
41
Id. at 81-84. The chapter describes how intermediary control is less effective in small nation areas such as Fiji
and Ghana. Further, the chapter discusses the intermediary control of Internet gambling in Antigua and the
mixing of protected speech and Internet pornography.
10
government.42 China has a sophisticated firewall system, built predominantly by Cisco,
which allows the government to block websites outside of its borders, which the
government feels should be censored. The Chinese filtering system is described in detail,
including what information is blocked and what appears on the blocked site when
Chinese citizens attempt to access the site.43
The chapter states that American companies play a large role in the censorship of
information on the Chinese servers. The particular companies and their methods
involved in the censorship are discussed, and an attempt by an independent group to
breach the regulation is examined by the authors. The chapter also describes other
methods used by the Chinese government to help with the censorship of information.44
The chapter closes by reminding readers that one of China’s goals is to have the
“fastest and most sophisticated Internet network in the world,” while maintaining
complete control over information.45 However, not all of China’s methods of regulation
are accepted by the rest of the world.46
42
Id. at 87-89. Such accounts include a list describing 44 reasons that Chinese politicians are worse than prostitutes,
an essay entitled “How a national security apparatus can hurt national security” which appeared on numerous
Internet sites, and a citizen registering under the “China Democratic Party” during a visit by President Clinton.
43
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 95. The authors state that common blocked sites include information
pertaining to Tibetan independence groups, human rights sites, religious or spiritual sites, new age churches, and all
information related to the banned Falun Gong religious movement.
44
Id. at 97-98. Such methods include requiring bloggers to register with the Chinese government, camera
surveillance in Internet cafes, and Internet Commentators in chat rooms.
45
Id. at 100.
46
Id. at 104. China implemented wireless Internet servers, but required registration with a “centralized
authentication point” before logging on to the server. This was eventually suspended due to pressure from the U.S.
and the World Trade Organization.
11
Chapter 7 – The Filesharing Movement
•
Chapter Summary: Chapter 7 analyzes the filing-sharing movement, from its origins of
free illegal music downloading software such as Kazaa, Napster, and Grokster to the
emergence of legal, pay-per-use downloading software such as Steve Jobs’ iTunes
phenomenon. The chapter also examines the record companies’ response to the early
software and chronicles the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster, Ltd. litigation.47
The chapter closes by illustrating how law and government can maintain control of the
Internet despite technological change.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 7 opens by introducing Niklas Zennstrom, the creator of
one of the first file-sharing software programs, Kazaa. The chapter describes the
recording industry’s vulnerability to music copying and distribution and the chapter
eventually transitions into a brief description of the Napster program, how filesharing
works, and the copyright infringement lawsuit that followed. After Napster’s shutdown,
another filesharing program, Kazaa, emerged as the “super-peer system,” being
downloaded close to 319 million times.48
Kazaa’s and Napster’s software are compared and contrasted, and the chapter
explains how the popularity of Kazaa led to the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) striking back against Kazaa and its cousin, Grokster, by initiating
lawsuits. The RIAA’s arguments are discussed, as are Kazaa’s defenses, and the
47. See MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 259 F. Supp. 2d 1029 (C.D. Cal. 2003); MGM Studios Inc., v.
Grokster, Ltd., 380 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2004); MGM Studios Inc., v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913 (2005).
48
Id. at 109.
12
discussion ends with the RIAA losing not only at the lower courts, but also on appeal to
the federal appellate court in California.49
After analyzing the outcome of the lower court’s decision, the chapter proceeds
with a discussion regarding Congress’s interest in protecting the record industry, and
talks about the RIAA’s appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.50 Before
discussing the Court’s decision, the chapter describes Kazaa’s eventual downfall due to
“adware” problems, “sleeper software,” and the posting of fake files, all of which led
customers to eventually stop using the software.51
The chapter ends with the emergence of the iTunes software, describes it, and
compares it with Kazaa. The chapter closes by analyzing the Supreme Court’s decision
in Grokster and briefly discusses the emergence of underground and new filesharing
technology, such as Bittorent, and an Epilogue about Mr. Zennstrom’s fate and future.52
Part 3 – Vices, Virtues, The Future
Chapter 8 – Virtues and Vices of Government Control
•
Chapter Summary: The chapter explains how government regulation can be beneficial
to the Internet and its users, and this point is illustrated through a discussion of the
auction website, eBay.com.
49
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 109-12. See MGM Studios, Inc. , 259 F. Supp. 2d 1029; MGM Studios Inc.,
380 F.3d 1154.
50
See MGM Studios Inc., 545 U.S. 913.
51
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 116-17. The authors describe “adware” as “parasite-like programs that
install on users’ computer to grab user information or to display ads at the right time.” “Sleeper software” was part
of idea that a “computer would run in the background on millions of machines, and Kazaa would then sell the
computer’s time to interested clients.”
52
Id. at 121-25.
13
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 8 opens with a history of eBay.com and a biography of its
creator, Pierre Omidyar. After introducing and describing the online auction site, the
chapter unfolds with discussions about the early problems eBay faced, such as consumer
dissatisfaction, and the preventive measures the website took to help alleviate the
conflicts.53 As the company grew, so did the problems, such as the “Furby Fraud of
1998,” the user who “sold his soul” on eBay and the Rolex scam of 1999.54 User fraud
eventually led to a class action lawsuit five years after eBay landed itself on the web.55
With all the problems facing eBay, the company eventually hired two law
enforcement officials, and later partnered with an online mediation company to help
police the eBay community and to find and prosecute fraudulent users. As the chapter
points out, fraud was not the only problem facing eBay. eBay also faced breach of
contract problems, as each transaction made on eBay involves a legally binding contract.
In addition, eBay has a release from liability agreement that each purchaser must agree to
before conducting business on the site. As the chapter states, “by upholding eBay’s
release and preventing eBay from being destroyed by lawsuits, government helps make
eBay a viable and cost effective service.”56
The chapter continues by discussing the necessity of a government where public
goods are provided to the community and explains additional benefits government
regulation can provide for private groups like eBay. The chapter closes by discussing
53
Id. at 131-32. In the early stages of eBay, a user known as “Uncle Griff” would play the role of a mediator to help
resolve conflicts between other users.
54
Id. at 133.
55
Gentry v. eBay, Inc., 121 Cal.Rptr.2d 703 (2002).
56
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 138.
14
different governments and the laws eBay has faced when dealing in overseas transactions
with nations such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and India.57
Chapter 9 – Consequences of Borders
•
Chapter Summary: This chapter explores the concept of the “bordered Internet” and
discusses various cases involving communications on the Internet and how they collide
with sensitive local public policies.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 9 begins by describing a defamation case involving Dow
Jones & Company, Inc. and Joseph Gutnick, an Australian billionaire.58 Dow Jones was
sued in an Australian court, which did not apply the United States First Amendment. The
court found that “the place where the person downloads the material will be the place
where the tort is committed.”59 The case eventually settled, proving that each nation’s
laws apply differently to communication on the Internet.
The chapter then describes three reasons that the global Internet is “becoming a
collection of nation-state networks.”60 The authors point to (1) different languages, (2)
technological developments, as was seen in China, and finally, (3) the enforcement of
national laws, as seen from the above case. A single rule for six billion people using the
Internet cannot survive because of these differences, and the world would be, as the
57
Id. at 144. The authors describe legal problems such as defamation suits in the United Kingdom when dealing
with consumer negative feedback, Nazi paraphernalia in Germany, financial challenges and child pornography
problems eBay faced in India when it bought the popular Indian auction site, Baazee.com.
58
Dow Jones & Company Inc. v. Gutnick, (2002) HCA 56 (10 December 2002), available at
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2002/56.html.
59
Id. at 61.
60
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 149.
15
authors describe, “divided and discontented.”61 With a decentralized governance of the
Internet, the authors argue, each nation can adapt the Internet to each nation’s own
cultures and values.
In addition, the authors point out that a nation will always take the necessary steps
to prevent harm within its territory and this does not change if the harm is caused by
Internet communication. The authors argue that because companies like Dow Jones
purposely avail themselves in nations like Australia, the above result is not unfair to Dow
Jones. In fact, “it is the cost of doing business in Australia…Australians need not forgo
redressing this harm to one of its citizens in Australia out of deference to the U.S.
Constitution.”62 The authors also argue that Dow Jones can “leave Australia altogether,
eliminating its presence and assets there and with them any fear of Australian libel
law.”63
The chapter closes by discussing the implications of the Gutnick decision and
reviewing the author’s arguments for a decentralized approach to Internet control.
Chapter 10 – Global Laws
•
Chapter Summary: The chapter discusses two themes: first, techniques used by nations
within their borders to control conduct outside of the borders and second, how problems
with the Internet, such as online gambling, domain name governance and privacy laws,
can affect international relations with other countries.
61
Id. at 152.
62
Id. at 157-58.
63
Id. at 160.
16
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 10 opens by describing the events leading up to the
apprehension of Russian hacker, Alexey Vladimirovich Ivanov, on U.S. soil. The authors
detail how important it is to get custody of a “cyber criminal” because without getting
custody, the authors argue, “there can be no punishment and no deterrence of future
crimes.”64
The chapter describes many types of cybercrimes that can occur and the problems
that come with trying to prevent them. However, some preventative measures occur
globally, such as the Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention, which was a treaty
that attempted to “outlaw cybercrimes world wide and establish standards for
international cooperation in preventing and prosecuting such crimes.”65 The chapter
discusses the treaty, including the reasons for its ratification and its ultimate failure.
The chapter then discusses the Domain Name System’s (DNS) relationship to
global law, and provides an in-depth discussion of the present “root authority” naming
system, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).66 The
chapter continues its discussion of ICANN by describing the relationship of ICANN with
the United States and various efforts to shift the domain name system back under U.S.
control.
The chapter closes by examining online gambling and the effects it had on
international relations between Antigua and the United States. The authors also provide a
discussion regarding privacy laws in the European Union, related predominately to
64
Id. A “cyber criminal” is one who commits cybercrimes. A cyber crime is defined by the authors as “occurring
when computers on the Internet illegally access or harm files and programs on other computers.”
65
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 166.
66
Id. at 168-70.
17
Microsoft’s “dot-NET Passport,” and how the influence of these laws on the Internet
“will in many cases be the dominant rule, worldwide.”67
Chapter 11 – Conclusion: Globalization meets Governmental Coercion
•
Chapter Summary: The final chapter discusses the effects of government coercion and
its influence over the Internet by briefly summarizing the vices and virtues of coercion
through examples discussed in previous chapters.
•
Chapter Discussion: Chapter 11 presents the reader with two specific ideas on
globalization: (1) “a recognition that we live in an era where technology has made it
easier than ever before to move capital, goods, and services across national borders and
around the world,” and (2) “that a belief that globalization diminishes the relevance of
borders…and thereby undermines the territorial nation-states’ roles as a central institution
for governing human affairs.”68
The authors recall previously discussed events of government coercion, including
the Yahoo! case, the Chinese government’s extreme control, “the founders” attempt to
regain control from the government, and the rise and fall of illegal file sharing. The
authors use these examples to state the overall argument that lives are dominated by
social norms and morality, and that these rules and governance cannot “function apart
from an underlying system of territorial government and physical coercion.”69 The
authors also argue that the Internet was supposed to be a test for community self-
67
Id. at 175-76.
68
Id., at 179.
69
Id. at 181.
18
governance systems, free from outside governmental regulation, but online communities
like eBay.com produced opposite results.70
The authors close by articulating how different nations can shape the architecture
of the Internet, which in turn influences the future of the Internet in that particular nation.
By using coercive powers, each nation, its geography, and the attitudes of the people
within the geography can establish different versions of the Internet. The authors
conclude that “these factors will do much to determine how life on the bordered Internet
is lived.” 71
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the United States and international copyright law for the purposes of review, study,
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the book reviewer.
70
GOLDSMITH & WU, supra note 12, at 181-82.
71
Id. at 184.
19