Legal (and non-legal) approaches: the regulation of Web media Daith - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Legal (and non-legal) approaches: the regulation of ‘Web media’ Daithí Mac Síthigh PhD Candidate / Research Assistant School of Law, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland macsithd@tcd.ie http://www.lexferenda.com Student Presentation OII/Berkman Summer Doctoral Program(me) Thursday 26th July 2007

About my research • Media regulation and new technologies • Focus on transition period and proposals for law reform • Location: Law School • Media studies, sociology of technology... • Personal influences TCD Image Bank 2

Why EU and Canada? •Freedom of Expression •Cyberlaw’s focus on the US •Internal tensions (and external inconsistency) •Media Law Landmarks 3

Legislation • Television Without Frontiers • Broadcasting Act 1991 (directive) • Canadian Radio-television and • Telecoms: New Framework Telecommunications (directive) Commission (CRTC) • European Convention of • Constitution s 2(b), s 1 (& s 27) Human Rights / European Charter of Fundamental Rights 4

Law Reform •Audiovisual Media Services •New Media Exemption Order Directive (proposed) •Future Environment (report) •Telecoms (launched) •Mobile Exemption Order •Media Pluralism (abandoned) •“Diversity of Voices” 5

Harold Innis time-binding and space-binding the bias of communication toronto school monopolies of knowledge National Library of Canada marshall mcluhan 6

Historical Antecedents Hi! I’m a ‘clash’ between law and technology. You might remember me from such crises as music radio, the video recorder, the printing press ... So what (if any) are the law-talkin’ principles here? 7

Technological Determinism •The influence / prevalence of technological determinism in the reform process • Analyse or criticise? • How much detail? • How much to explain? • Content Analysis or Narrative ? 8

Four Discourses? ? 9

Technological Neutrality � •No “discrimination” between technologies? •Regulate services not technologies? •Canada: “section 3 mandate” •Net neutrality - danger! •“Non-Media-Law” regulation •Debate at WSIS 10

Communication •International Law: New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO), Right To Communicate (R2C) •Marketplace of Ideas? •Access to Media? Freedom to Connect? •Beyond ‘liberal’ free speech? •Cultural Diversity? Language Law? 11

Pitfalls •New Writing •Keeping Current (From The Margins) •Feedback

Changes in Context •“New Stuff” •Development of “Old Stuff” •Debate / Controversy •Political Priorities

In The Bubble •What is Cyberlaw? •Who are the Cyberlawyers? •How valuable are non- cyber perspectives?

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/02/15/im-in-ur-tube/ The Politics, Perception and GikII 2 Parody of Network Neutrality London, September 2007 Legislation

Questions / ideas / suggestions? 16