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| Christof·Demont·Heinrich·University of Colorado, Boulder·USA |
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| Central Points of Control and Surveillance on a "Decentralized" Net |
| Internet Service Providers and Privacy and Freedom of Speech Online |
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| The decentralized legacy of ARPANET has placed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) center stage. They are the gateways to the contemporary Internet, its traffic police, and its most "centralized" and efficient points of control and surveillance. Like it or not ISPs have been appointed de facto arbiters of privacy and freedom of speech on the Net. Although many ISPs have implemented privacy policies in which they state that they will not share the information they compile about subscribers, the very fact that they collect and store this data makes them prime targets for those interested in acquiring it. Those among a potentially long list of "interested parties" include law enforcement agencies as well as a wide range of private businesses. This paper contends that ISPs occupy a strategic and powerful position vis-à vis privacy and freedom of speech on the Internet. And their power could grow if concentration of ownership trends playing themselves out in other communication and information services industries play themselves out as well on the Internet. Yet their legal status is unclear. This paper ketches the complex nature of privacy and freedom of speech issues as they arise at the ISP. It addresses these critical issues by way of an examination of multiple specific contemporary examples and legal cases. Also discussed are a number of different approaches to more clearly define the status of the ISP and its multi-faceted functions. Finally, some of the possible implications of various proposals for regulatory and legal schemes are examined. The author concludes that ultimately any such scheme must foreground the integral role that the ISP plays with respect to fundamental privacy and free speech rights on the Internet. |
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