Law and Policy in the Age of the Internet

Abstract:     
The world is just at the dawn of the Internet revolution, a revolution which promises both benefits and new sets of challenges, if not problems. The benefits manifest themselves in political, economic, and social dimensions. The policy challenges are more numerous, but four in particular have attracted significant attention: privacy, intellectual property protection, taxation, and "open access" to high-speed or "broadband" networks.

In this Essay, Robert Litan surveys the benefits of the Internet and then outlines a framework for dealing with the aforementioned policy issues. His approach is eclectic. He doubts that the four issues will (or should) be resolved either by the market or by government alone, and thus recommends a judicious mix of the two.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 43

working papers series