The pornographic state: the changing nature of state regulation in addressing illegal and harmful online content

Abstract

This article explores the failure of democratic nation-states to regulate corporate Internet intermediaries who essentially provide access to websites containing illegal and legal pornographic content. Existing literature credits this apparent diminishing regulatory role of states to neoliberalism. Drawing on Wacquant’s theory of ‘neoliberal statecrafting’ can explain the paucity of state media regulation while also accounting for when states do engage in alternative forms of regulation. Through a thematic analysis of key documents, media and interviews with ‘elite’ stakeholders in Australia and the United Kingdom, this research shows that private actors are generally exempt from state regulation, while individuals are simultaneously subject to punitive mechanisms for problematic and illegal uses of the Internet.

The Trichan takedown: Lessons in the governance and regulation of child sexual abuse material

“…In their zeal to realize the economic promise of e-business, governments have exempt Internet service providers from the same responsibilities to prevent the circulation of illegal content that is required of traditional media. Keen et al (2020) point out the obvious hypocrisy in which individual Internet users are facing increasingly punitive sentences for accessing the abuse material that it is lawful (or at least permitted) for Internet intermediaries to deliver to them, which is expressive of the privileged position of the technology industry within content regulation and criminal law regimes.…”

“…The Trichan incident reveals that, even in its darkest concerns, the Internet is neither lawless nor unregulated, but rather it is structured by the private sector in the absence of democratic oversight or adequate enforcement. Existing mechanisms for CSAM removal rely, to a significant degree, on voluntary cooperation between private companies since "despite widespread agreement about the abhorrence of child pornography for instance, democratic governments in much of the western world have been unwilling or unable to regulate ISPs" (Keen et al, 2020(Keen et al, , p. 1178). Such a system can be openly flouted by bad actors, while devolving critically important issues of public safety to private companies (Suzor, 2019).…”

“…In theory, such initiatives could all be productively addressed and advanced within the multistakeholder governance model; however, this development would require acknowledging and addressing the extent of industry influence and discretion. Keen et al (2020Keen et al ( , p. 1187 argues that the current state of Internet regulation is "consistent with neoliberal doctrine that prescribes governments 'roll back' their investment in social protections while crafting a deregulated market". They go on to describe the confluence of government and private sector interests in the current regime in which governments avoid the thorny questions of Internet censorship while technology companies "minimise the scope of censorship, regulatory costs and industry liability" (Keen et al, 2020(Keen et al, , p. 1182.…”

“…Keen et al (2020Keen et al ( , p. 1187 argues that the current state of Internet regulation is "consistent with neoliberal doctrine that prescribes governments 'roll back' their investment in social protections while crafting a deregulated market". They go on to describe the confluence of government and private sector interests in the current regime in which governments avoid the thorny questions of Internet censorship while technology companies "minimise the scope of censorship, regulatory costs and industry liability" (Keen et al, 2020(Keen et al, , p. 1182. As previously described, escalating reports of CSAM have prompted significant reconsideration of this position.…”

“Talk to strangers!” Omegle and the political economy of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation

“…Such considerations have become particularly acute with the rise of the internet and the technological facilitation of child sexual abuse. The sociotechnical apparatus of the internet has enabled and expanded opportunities for child sexual abuse, but this apparatus, and the technology sector that administers it, are reflective of the economic and political conditions of its emergence (Keen et al, 2020). It was during the mid-1990s, at a time of neoliberal ascendency, that the internet was commercialised.…”