THE INTERNET AS COMMONS: THE ISSUE OF ACCESS

摘要

Existing and developing regulatory frameworks for the traditional mass media are ill-suited to the new information environment in part because they emphasize the control of media content and distribution by private media owners. An analysis of the Internet as a commons has the potential to shift the basis of analysis from existing frameworks to one that examines the roles and behaviors of participants and the effects of their collective actions. This framework can help policymakers understand the complexity of multifaceted information exchange, and thereby draft policy that promotes or protects the diversity of communications activities that occur in this new environment, with specific attention to the importance of access and deliberative democracy.