ABSTRACT
Every new innovation in communication technology since the printing press has worried governments about the resulting impact on sovereignty, but these worries have been misplaced, as these governments have been able to use the technology to strengthen their hold on public opinion (Perritt, 1998). The Internet may yet, however, prove to be the exception. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Internet that makes it more threatening to governments than earlier advances in technology is that it is not susceptible to the same physical and regulatory controls as print, telegraph, telephone, radio, and television technologies.
