Law and Governance of the Internet

Abstract

Chapter 3 analyzes existing international legal rules safeguarding internet integrity and presents the evolution of internet governance as a global regime for the internet. While there exist no international treaties directly protecting the internet (or protecting states and society from its dangers), indirectly protective norms exist both in treaty law and customary international law. Further, the majority of established principles of international law are relevant for the use and development of the internet. By describing existing elements of the internet’s order and the normative dynamics that have shaped the evolution of internet-related principles, especially related to internet governance, Chapters 2 and 3 together set the scene for the discussion of normative disorder on the internet.