Governance of Online Intermediaries:
New Study by the Global Network of Internet and Society
Centers
February 2015
The Global Network of
Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC) and the Berkman Center for Internet
& Society at Harvard University are pleased to announce
the release of a new report,
which examines the rapidly changing landscape of online
intermediary liability at the intersection of law, technology,
norms, and markets, and is aimed at informing and improving
Internet policy-making globally.
This report is a first output of a larger initiative on the
governance of online intermediaries and consists of a case
study series exploring online intermediary liability
frameworks and issues in Brazil, the European Union, India, South
Korea, the United States, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam, and a synthesis
paper that seeks to distill key observations and provide a
high-level analysis of some of the structural elements that
characterize varying governance frameworks, with a focus on
intermediary liability regimes and their evolution. In particular
the synthesis highlights the importance of cultural and political
context, as reflected in both the legal norms aimed at regulating
intermediaries and the perception of intermediaries’ social
function within the countries studied.
The research effort is grounded in a diversity of global
perspectives and collaborative research techniques, committed to
objective and independent academic standards, and aspires to be
useful, actionable, and timely for policymakers and stakeholders.
More broadly, the Network of Centers seeks to contribute to a more
generalized vision and longer-term strategy regarding the role of
academic research, facilitation and convening, and education and
communication in the Internet age.
The full text of the case
studies and the synthesis
paper are available on the Publixphere website, where the
authors welcome comments and feedback. The series and individual
papers are also available for download from SSRN.
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About the Global Network of Internet and Society Research
Centers
The Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC)
was launched by a group of academic centers in 2012 in recognition
of the lack of internationally coordinated research and engagement
activities in issues concerning the Internet and related
technologies. The NoC is a collaborative initiative among academic
institutions with a focus on interdisciplinary research on the
development, social impact, policy implications, and legal issues
concerning the Internet. This collective aims to increase
interoperability between participating centers in order to
stimulate the creation of new cross-national, cross-disciplinary
conversation, debate, teaching, learning, and engagement regarding
the most pressing questions around new technologies, social
change, and related policy and regulatory developments. More
information can be found at http://networkofcenters.net/get-involved.
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Raimondo Iemma
Managing Director & Research Fellow
Nexa Center for Internet and Society
http://nexa.polito.it/
Project Manager
Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers
http://networkofcenters.net/