Inventing E-Regulation in the US, EU and East Asia: Conflicting Social Visions of the Internet & the Information Society

This paper attempts to assess the international approach to Internet policy in the context of distinctive socio-political frameworks evolving in the US, the European Union (EU), and East Asia. The comparative review will develop a set of underlying structural models of the Information Society particular to each region, along with an analysis of their defining characteristics in relation to one another. This examination demonstrates how each region, given its regulatory legacy, has elected a different mix of good and bad socio-political choices in public policy for the Internet. Despite the range and diversity of paths to e-regulation suggested in these choices, none adequately addresses the underlying issue of how to promote an innovative society that is open to broad social participation. The paper evaluates principal weaknesses in these regional models of Internet policy and argues the need for re-conceptualizing the cultural, political and economic approach to the new information space of the Internet. What is needed at this historical juncture in the international system, the paper suggests, is a complete rethinking of the problems and challenges of the new information space in a way that allows its full potential to emerge to the benefit of all sectors of economy and society. The analysis concludes by suggesting the need for a fundamental shift in approach to e-regulation for which two arguments are advanced: first, that the globalization of the information economy and the internationalization of cyberspace have made it imperative that concepts of creativity and innovation be reassessed and repositioned at the center of public policy; and second, that the creative and innovative challenges of the information economy should reform the emphasis on hardware and technological issues by prioritizing the knowledge and creative foundations of society. These arguments suggest the need for a fundamental shift in national and international policy on the appropriate framework for e-regulation in the Information Society. This paper attempts to assess the international approach to Internet policy in the context of distinctive socio-political frameworks evolving in the US, the European Union (EU), and East Asia. The comparative review will develop a set of underlying structural models of the Information Society particular to each region, along with an analysis of their defining characteristics in relation to one another. The paper then evaluates principal weaknesses in these regional models and argues the need for re-conceptualizing the cultural, political and economic approach to the new information space of the Internet. …