Origin of the Internet
1969: The US Department of Defense’s Advanced
Research Project Agency created ARPAnet, first national packet-switched computer network
cheap, efficient and fast method of transmission
How does the Internet operate? (continued)
circuit-switching
any call between two points on the network requires a complete, dedicated connection
How does the Internet operate?
The Internet is the combined result of several technological development:
digitalisation packet-switching Internet address protocols
network
…has a decentralised nature …international in scope (global in scale) ...a many-to-many mass medium …allows interactivity ...substitutable for all existing media? ...offers limitless possibilities?
Downsides of online civic engagement
Risk of political control (direct contact without public scrutiny)
Vague objectives Bogus democracy (online voting) Lack of informed input The risk of fragmentary marginalisation
The Internet - what kind of medium?
a many-to-many mass medium
users …also generate much of the content regulatory issues:
more akin to print or broadcast media? serves as publisher, distributor, broadcaster or
the Internet,
to underpin ‘democracy online’ with infrastructural support, and
create a Civic Commons in Cyberspace.
Benefits of online civic engagement
Topic 1
The Internet – development and special features
What is the Internet?
a vast global interconnection of computer networks around the world
all of which use a common set of technical protocols (Internet Protocols/IP) in routing data across those networks
Origin of the Internet (continued)
1983: the Internet was born officially when ARPAnet
divided into military and civilian components, with the civilian component giving rise to the Internet （開始在 大學供非軍事用）
Transcending time Transcending place Language of the people Making connections Recruitment of experience and expertise Learning to deliberate Community building
The Internet - a democratic medium? (continued)
Regulatory issues
government regulation lead to censorship
and other undesirable effects?
Development left to big corporations...
內容規管
Attempts to regulate content
近期爭議
In response to Web 2.0
嚴管內容？ 保證平台開放？
The Internet
As a business tool
As a communicatioቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ tool/ As a mass medium
Focus and theme of this course
But these organisations are based in the US (dominated by the US?)
Special features of the Internet
...a fluid, complex entity … a dynamic routed, packet-switched
no one institution or individual owns the Internet, and no one specifically controls
it
the first truly democratic medium of communication in human history?
互聯網 – 導致無政府狀況？
The Internet - leading to anarchy?
Internationalism of the Internet
use and exploration...wholly indifferent to international boundaries （無視國界）
How does the Internet operate? (continued)
Packet-switching vs. circuit-switching Packet-switching
enables digital data... transmitted as discrete packets … over any available route in the network...reassembled at ...IP address
largely unregulated and uncontrolled by the State
a potential to diminish the authority of
government and even becomes a power tool for political subversion? （會影響政府管治？）
The Internet and its regulation
大綱
互聯網的特性
Characteristics of the Internet
是否規管的考慮因素
Regulatory considerations
初期：管還是不管？
Regulate or not to regulate?
推廣互聯網
Policies to promote access?
common carrier?
The Internet - a democratic medium?
Giving people a greater degree of personal autonomy:
a vast, cheap but valuable source for knowledge and information
an efficient and powerful communication means
can become a publisher...around the globe …with very limited money and resources
The Internet - a democratic medium? (continued)
The Internet as a communication tool
兩大議題
2 main issues
如何令大眾能使用互聯網 Access to the Internet
應否和如何規管內容
Content regulation of the Internet
How the US and some other countries treat and tackle these 2 issues
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) -assignment of address and domain names
the Internet Society (ISOC) - promotes the orderly use and development of the Internet