Does the State control the Internet?

An overview of the debate on regulating online free speech

Abstract

The article seeks to understand how States interfere in the Internet. At first, the Internet seemed to be a place shielded from state power, however, the "independence" of the Internet was soon seen as a utopia, and then attempts were made to create strands of regulation. Like the Internet, today's prevalent line of Internet regulation, as proposed by Lessig, of controlling the source code of Internet applications and services, has not ceased to evolve in the decades since its inception. States have put pressure on intermediaries to follow their determinations by means of responsibilities and exemptions when their laws are followed. However, we see a growing role of platforms in the regulation of freedom of expression, one of the most basic rights exercised online. The article concludes that the Internet imposes a new model of regulation that both adapts and changes rapidly, and interferes with the state's ability to control behavior and guarantee the rights of its citizens. The Internet is not a land without law, but a land with many laws, each one coming from an agent, the result of a mixture of state, market and even social pressures. Authors such as Balkin (2014, 2018) and Frosio (2021) help us understand the current trends in the relationship and regulation of the Internet by States.