ABSTRACT
Policing the web: attempts at establishing authority in cyberspace Cyberspace has proved difficult to regulate, manage and/or control from its very beginnings. The proliferation of alternative networks such as USENET demonstrated the organic and intractable nature of the medium. Likewise, militancy against attempts at limiting free speech was one of the first tenets of the netizen ethos. Despite this, certain national governments (especially in authoritarian states) have attempted to police the use of the Internet in a variety of ways, including intimidation, restricting access to the web, harshly regulating e-commerce, blocking websites and monitoring users. Such actions are achieved through state control of the Internet, governmental monopolies on communications services, universal deployment of blocking software and international arbitration.
