The Internet also offers new possibilities for ‘open learning’ and learning by distance education. This has enormous potential to increase access to educational facilities for those in rural or non-metropolitan communities. It also enables students to enrol in a course of study with educational institutions around the globe.
As a Source of Entertainment
The Internet has the potential to become an important source of entertainment for users world wide. Already vast numbers of computer games, on-line magazines, newspapers, video and audio services are available on the Internet. Whilst many users can entertain themselves for hours ’surfing the net’ for information, images and discussions regarding matters of interest to them, it is also important to note that in recent times many existing content industries are starting to use the Internet to deliver traditional audio and video products. Although the bandwidth available in most countries currently precludes television broadcasts from easily being provided on-line, many predict that it is only a matter of time before full motion videos become widely available on the Internet.
Over the next few years it is anticipated that the Internet will increasingly become a major source of the type of entertainment products which are currently available on television, radio, video and CD-ROM. As more secure methods of collecting payment for services over the Internet become available, it is expected that the Internet will also provide a common medium by which entertainment products are purchased.
3. Some Ethical And Legal Challenges Arising In The On-Line Environment
The international, interactive and decentralised nature of the Internet and its potential for making available vast quantities of content to and from anywhere in the world give rise to a number of legal and ethical challenges. The following is not intended to be a complete discussion of all the issues which arise from the Internet, but an outline of some of those issues which create significant challenges, particularly in relation to content.
Access, Participation and Diversity
Any individual who has access to the Internet can participate in the many modes of communication which function in the on-line environment, expressing their views in the form of text, images, or sound and accessing the vast array of content provided by others. For this reason the Internet has enormous potential to create a dynamic international on-line community in which the relative parity amongst users enhances freedom of speech and cultural, social, political, religious and linguistic diversity. However, it is important to recognise the critical role which access and active participation will play in this equation.
Equitable access to the Internet remains a fundamental issue which will impact on the ability of individuals to participate in the benefits available through the Internet. This will be affected by the economic paradigms operating within both national and household frameworks. The nature of the available telecommunications infrastructure and the costs of connecting to the network, typically via a service provider, will also impact on the opportunities presented to any given individual. Accordingly, ensuring equity of access to on-line services is emerging as a major challenge which is likely to have a concomitant impact on the issue of access to information, educational facilities and cultural resources and all of the opportunities which flow from these.
It is also recognised that whilst the Internet provides the opportunity for immense diversity of content, at least at present, a significant proportion of Internet content appears to originate in Western liberal democracies, and particularly the United States. This material inevitably reflects some of the social, political and ethical values of those communities. A substantial proportion of Internet content is also only available in the English language.
One of the challenges if the Internet is to reach its potential as a diverse medium will be to ensure that it does not become an increasingly homogenised environment which enhances the dominance of particular languages and cultural perspectives. In this regard it is noted that many countries have adopted strategies for television and radio to ensure local content and community participation in those mediums. These strategies are not easily adopted or even appropriate for Internet communications.
In order to maximise the diverse content and range of cultural and linguistic perspectives which can be accessed on-line it will be important to not only maximise access to the Internet but also to encourage all participants in the on-line environment to play an interactive role and contribute to the body of data which can be accessed by others through that medium. If content is provided from a wide variety of sources then the Internet may can maximise its enormous potential as a source of cultural, political, ethical and linguistic diversity which can increase understanding of cross-cultural issues and perceptions.
As many new and existing entertainment services, including video services, are delivered on-line in a manner which requires a more passive response from Internet users, it will be increasingly important to ensure that the Internet remains an interactive and participatory experience rather than become a predominantly passive medium.
Illegal Content
Most countries in the world place some restrictions on the type of material which may be possessed and/or disseminated within their borders. The extent and degree to which material in any given country is subject to restrictions reflects its particular political, cultural, religious and legal traditions. These traditions vary immensely around the world. For example, in many countries it is an offence to disseminate certain types of explicitly sexual or extremely violent material. Some countries also make it an offence to publish and/or transmit material which vilifies on the basis of gender, race or sexual orientation. In other countries it is an offence to publish material which criticises the government or may threaten national or racial harmony. In most countries certain dealings concerning child pornography are prohibited.
However, the features of the on-line environment, including the vast amount of content which is available on the Internet, the international source of much of that content and the fact that the Internet is decentralised, make it extremely difficult to prevent material which contravenes the laws of any particular country from being provided or accessed across national boundaries.
The inconsistency between the laws of different countries means that material which may be illegal in one country may be stored and subsequently accessed from countries where the material is legal. It may also be transmitted through a number of other countries, each of which has its own laws regarding the material. Even where there is some consistency across jurisdictions relating to certain material, such as child pornography, the specific provisions of the various laws relating to the topic can differ significantly, making prosecution and international cooperation difficult.
Even determining what is illegal in any particular country can be difficult due to the generality of the various national laws. For example, laws often set out broad categories of restricted material, such as ‘obscene’ material, and rely on the discretion of courts to give content to the prohibition. This makes it particularly difficult to identify what is prohibited in any given country at any given time.
The ability to communicate anonymously in the on-line environment, which enables users to express themselves in a manner that may not be possible in the off-line world, also renders detection of those providing and accessing material which is prohibited extremely difficult. Anonymous re-mailing services can exacerbate this difficulty as Internet messages can be re-routed and copied in such a way that it is not possible to reliably ascertain their source.
The encryption of content adds a further dimension to the difficulties of dealing with illegal material in the on-line environment.
Material which is Unsuitable for Minors
It is widely accepted around the world that whilst certain kinds of content may be appropriate for adults to access, it may be unsuitable for children. Material which is sexually explicit or violent is often included in the type of content which is considered unsuitable or harmful for minors.
Perceptions about the types of material which are suitable for children and young people vary immensely not only across national boundaries but also across cultures, religions and political systems. In some communities there is a high level of concern regarding sex and nudity, while in others material containing violent matter or drug abuse is considered to be the most offensive. Even within fairly homogeneous cultures there may be a wide range of differing views held about the appropriateness of certain material for minors, particularly where the material relates to sex, nudity, violence, language, and drug use.
In existing media many mechanisms have been adopted to minimise children’s access to unsuitable material. These range from age restrictions on material which can be purchased or screened in cinemas to time zone classifications which restrict the type of programs which can be screened on television at times when children are likely to be watching.
However, the availability of material which is considered unsuitable or harmful for minors presents particular challenges in the context of the Internet. The Internet allows material to be accessed at any time in an interactive manner. Most material is not restricted in any way, the main exception being material which requires credit card details or some other form of payment is required. Accordingly, there is growing concern about the ability of minors to access material which is unsuitable for them but at the same time a recognition of the rights of adults to provide and access material which is legal in the off-line world.
In response to this concern a number of technical options, including filter software products and the Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) have been developed. These are discussed in more detail below. One of the important challenges in this area will be to ensure that these products are able to accommodate the diverse range of views and cultural perspectives which prevail around the world in relation to the protection of minors.
The Responsibilities of Service Providers in Relation to Content
The international and decentralised nature of the Internet gives rise to a vast range of issues which challenge the mechanism previously used to deal with these matters on a domestic basis. The issues raised in the on-line environment include privacy, intellectual property, defamation, issues of electronic commerce and consumer protection, taxation and on-line gambling, along with illegal content and content which may be harmful to minors, to name a few.
The role and responsibilities which service providers can and should have in relation to these matters is an area in respect of which there has been widespread debate and raises many technical, legal and philosophical issues. Part of the difficulty stems from the complex nature of the service providers role in relation to providing, disseminating and enabling access to content.
In some situations service providers seek to exercise some control over the content that is available through their service whilst in others they may have no knowledge or ability to control the content which is provided or accessed by users or content providers. In such an environment it is extremely difficult to allocate legal responsibility in same the manner that may have been possible in traditional broadcasting and publication models, creating many legal and ethical uncertainties.
4. Responses To The Challenges Presented By The Internet
As outlined above, the Internet presents immense legal and ethical challenges, particularly in relation to content. It must be accepted that by its very nature the Internet cannot be controlled by any central body and that its dynamic nature means that it is impossible to even assess the amount or nature of Internet content at any given time. However, many argue that does not mean that nothing can or should be done about content on the Internet. There have been a number of regulatory responses adopted or proposed in several parts of the world which seek to address some of the issues relating to on-line content.
These regulatory responses include:
+ the development of codes of practice for service providers with varying degrees of governmental input;
+ the application of existing legislation or the introduction of specific legislation penalising dealings with certain on-line content, along with the establishing of e-mail hotlines for the reporting of ‘illegal’ content;
+ technical developments for controlling children’s access to Internet content, including filter software and content labelling; and
+ the adoption of programs for community education.
A number of international bodies have also begun to consider the issues raised by the growth of the Internet, and the opportunities for international cooperation.
Some of the regulatory responses to the challenges presented by the Internet in each of the countries in the pilot study are now briefly considered.
Industry Codes of Practice
Codes of practice, or codes of conduct as they are sometimes called, are increasingly being used in various industries around the world to provide a regulatory framework which is more flexible than legislation and in respect of which the relevant industry plays an important role. Codes of practice may be developed entirely by industry, or they may be developed following a consultative process between industry and government. In some cases codes of practice operate within class licensing regimes.
Codes of practice, mainly for service providers, are being developed in a number of different countries to try and address some of the issues arising in the on-line environment by setting out goals and best practices for participants in the on-line environment. The codes may deal with a wide range of issues, including but not limited to the rights and responsibilities of relevant parties in regard to providing and accessing content, the minimum age of subscribers, privacy and data protection, fair trading, advertising and promotional material, and the provision of information about the options available to parents to manage children’s access to material which may be unsuitable to them.
The pilot study will examine the codes which have emerged or have been proposed in the four countries. Some of the developments which we have identified to date are outlined below.
In Australia a substantially self-regulatory regime for on-line services was recommended by the Australian Broadcasting Authority in its Investigation into the Content of On-Line Services: Report to the Minister for Communications and the Arts, delivered in June 1996 . The report recommended that industry codes of practice should be developed by on-line service providers. The main elements of the proposed regulatory framework are:
+ the identification of matters which should be included in codes of practice for service providers, which provide appropriate community safeguards, including complaints handling procedures;
+ the registration by the ABA of such codes of practice, developed by service providers after a process of public consultation; and
+ the monitoring of the codes of practice, and their effectiveness, by the ABA.
The matters identified for inclusion in the codes include age verification procedures which aim to limit the holding of open on-line accounts to persons over the age of 18 years; the adoption of procedures to deal with illegal material; the provision of information for users and content providers on legislation which may be relevant in an on-line environment; and the provision of information to users regarding filter products or on-line services which are available to those who wish to restrict access to material which may be unsuitable for children. It was also proposed that the codes should encourage content providers to label their content in accordance with PICS compatible labels.
In the United Kingdom the on-line industry has developed a self-regulatory regime which has the support of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office. The central tenet of the scheme is the Safety-Net initiative which has the support of the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), along with the London Internet Exchange (LINX). The scheme involves three key elements; rating content; reporting of content which may be illegal; and the exercise of responsibility by service providers in putting in place appropriate procedures to deal with illegal material once it has been identified.
As part of the scheme ISPA has developed a draft code of practice as a starting point from which a more comprehensive code could be developed. The current draft code requires ISPA members to use their reasonable endeavours to ensure that services and promotional material does not contain content which is in breach of the law; encourages anything which is in any way illegal; contains material which incites violence, sadism, cruelty or racial hatred; or facilitates prostitution. The code also addresses matters of data protection, fair trading, pricing information and complaints procedures.