The Internet Balkanization Discourse Backfires

Abstract

Recent references to the dangers of "Internet Balkanization" are all over the media. Paradoxically, that is the future being created and reinforced by leading representatives of the Internet community, whose statements employ this term as one of their key rhetorical strategies against a globally segregated Internet. The essay addresses some of the definitions and origins of the term "Internet Balkanization." Drawing upon U.S. constitutional law and interstate commerce regulations, it argues that the term also carries strong connotations on the realms of jurisdiction and commerce. The text adds examples of how this effect affects the businesses of creative companies that are exploring innovative markets in the United States, and suggests that the term should not be used in the context of international negotiations of Internet Governance, due to its pejorative connotations and misleading implications.

Keywords: internet balkanization, internet governance, Balkanizion, privacy, fragmentation, itu, icann, cybersecurity, wsis, zynga, international telecommunication union, airbnb, marco civil, uber, sharing economy, lyft, netmundial, internet Balkanization, data localization, high level panel