Regulating Information Flows: States, Private Actors and E-Commerce

Abstract

Growing interdependence between jurisdictions means that states are increasingly using private actors as proxies, in order to achieve desired regulatory outcomes. International relations theory has had difficulty in understanding the exact circumstances under which they might wish to do this. Drawing on existing literatures in both international relations and legal scholarship, this article proposes a framework for understanding the circumstances under which states will or will not use private actors as proxy regulators. This framework highlights the relationship between state preferences and the presence or absence of "points of control," a special kind of private actor. The article then conducts an initial plausibility probe of the framework, assessing how well it explains outcomes in the regulation of gambling, privacy, and the taxation of e-commerce.

Keywords: e-commerce, Internet, private actors, international political economy, governance

JEL Classification: K1, K10, K22, K33