Control of the Internet from a spatial perspective, on the intersection of geography and law

What is it about?

• Control of the Internet is largely spatial: territory defines the extent to which states can exercise such control. • WikiLeaks exemplifies how different spatial scales and relations—territory and place—interplay for controlling the Internet. • A place is a portion of space where control is targeted to, but also a centre of commandment or a site of resistance. • The Internet is bound not only to territories, but also to places.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Modern states can and do exercise their sovereignty upon a rather precisely delimited portion of land, while a variety of actions performed on the Internet remain rather hard to be associated with a single location on Earth. We use here a variety of spatial concepts, but in particular territory (and jurisdiction) and place as parameters for understanding the link between sovereignty (and, more precisely, control), resistance, and the Internet. This article demonstrates the importance of these spatial scales for the policy and practice of Internet governance.

Perspectives