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Who Rules the Net?
Debating Internet Jurisdiction and Governance
The Cato Institute’s Seventh Annual
Technology & Society Conference

Tuesday, October 21, 2003
8:00 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

Cato Institute
F.A. Hayek Auditorium
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001

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Many people have praised the Internet for its ubiquitous and “borderless” nature and argued that this global medium is revolutionary. Indeed, the World Wide Web increasingly challenges traditional concepts of jurisdiction, governance, and sovereignty. In the universe of cyberspace there are no passports, and geography is often treated as a meaningless concept.

But does that mean that traditional concepts of jurisdiction and governance are obsolete? When legal disputes arise in cyberspace, or when governments attempt to apply clashing legal standards or cultural norms to the Internet, how are such matters to be adjudicated?

The variance in regulatory preferences from country to country is highlighted by policy disputes over free speech and libel, privacy, intellectual property, antitrust policy, and domain name registration, among other things. Myriad laws and regulations for “real” space are now being directly challenged by the rise of the parallel electronic universe known as cyberspace.

Who is responsible for setting the standards in cyberspace? Is a “UN for the Internet” or a multinational treaty appropriate? If not, whose standards should govern cross-border cyber disputes? Are different standards appropriate for cyberspace and “real” space? Those nagging questions are being posed with increasing frequency.

This year’s Technology & Society conference marks the release of the new Cato book Who Rules the Net? Internet Governance and Jurisdiction. The conference will explore the newest developments in Internet jurisdiction and assess the future of public policy online.

This conference is free of charge. For more information, call (202) 218-4633 or e-mail techandsociety@cato.org. Registrations must be received by Wednesday, October 15, 2003.

		7:30–8:00 a.m. Registration–F.A. Hayek Auditorium Foyer 8:00–8:10 a.m. Welcoming Remarks Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. Director of Technology Policy, Cato Institute Adam D. Thierer Director of Telecommunications Studies, Cato Institute 8:15–8:45 a.m. Opening Keynote Address Hon. Christopher Cox (R–Calif.) Chairman, House Policy Committee   Panel 1: "Governance: Debating the Rise of Legal and Technological Borders on an Open Internet" 9:00–10:30 a.m. Tim Wu University of Virginia Law School David Post Temple University Law School Bruce Kobayashi George Mason University School of Law Peter Trooboff Covington & Burling Gary Jackson Quova 10:30–10:45 a.m. Break   Panel 2: "Who Rules? Current Clashes and the Future of Online Jurisdiction" 10:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Robert Corn-Revere Davis Wright Tremaine Kurt Wimmer Covington & Burling Michael Greve American Enterprise Institute Jonathan Band Morrison & Foerster Marc Pearl IT Policy Solutions 12:00–12:45 p.m. Luncheon Keynote Address Jeffrey J. Kovar, U. S. Department of State Chief U. S. Negotiator, Hague Convention, and Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law 12:45 p.m. Lunch—Wintergarden

Registration

Registration for this event is closed.