Notes

ARPANET - The Origins Sputnik, the first USSR satellite. The US realized that the USSR was more technologically advanced. ARPA (Advanced Researches Projects Agency) was founded with the intent to do researches and find innovative solutions for military purposes, such as the development of a way to securely and immediately exchange information. ARPA created ARPANET in 1969, which principal am was to allow information exchange also in case of nuclear disaster, but also, enhance information exchanges for research purposes. Important role of universities.

ARPANET - The Importance of Nodes The idea of ARPANET was to develop a network made of nodes (hosts) that would allow the communication among them even if one of the nodes would stop working. The development of nodes in the network was facilitated by a mixture between universities and military. However, the U.S. Government decided to split ARPANET in MILNET (to ensure secrecy in military communications) and ARPANET (used by universities to exchange information).

ARPANET - The Need to Have Uniformity Scientists developed Protocols, which sets of rules aimed at allowing communication. The most important one is the TCP/IP.

From ARPANET to INTERNET From the various networks of ARPANET we arrived to a network connecting hosts worldwide, the INTERNET. Each node in the Internet can be connected by different means of connection such as: optical fibres, satellite, radio, infrared, ...

INTERNET - TCP/IP Protocol The protocol used by Internet is the TCP/IP through which one single packet of information is divided in multiple smaller packages, travels singularly in the network towards the destination and the packages are recomposed when the final host is reached.

INTERNET - HTTP Protocol In 1991, while woking at the CERN in Geneva, Tim Berners Lee developed the HTTP Protocol (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). This protocol allows a Client (browser) to ask a Server 1 an information which is hosted on a Server 2, and this transfer of information is made possible by an hyperlink.

INTERNET - Browser The browser retrieves, presents and transfers information from the World Wide Web in a visible and user-friendly way.

INTERNET - IP Addresses and DNS The IP Address means to clearly identify one computer (host) in the whole network, while the DNS (Domain Name System) is the tool that associates each IP Address with a user-friendly name, to reach that particular host. From which derived the creation of associations/agencies aimed at disciplining the assignment of IPs.

INTERNET - Domain Name System We have a Net of Databases, hence a list of all IP addresses of servers in the network. DNS is useful to facilitate conversion between DNS and IP. Handle the domains which are structure among different levels in the URL address: .it, .com, .net (are first level domains).

INTERNET - Self-regulatory agencies During time, Internet self-regulated itself via several agencies that emerged de facto, which are private entities that handle crucial functions. This brings to the surface a series of problems that are not easily solvable.

• ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers), manages Internet Protocol numbers and Domain Name System root. It is under the control of the U.S. Department of Commerce until Oct. 1, 2016. Now is under the control of international stakeholders (internal committees).
• IANA (Internet Assigned Number Authority), founded in 1988, it is the department of ICANN that globally oversees assignation of IP Addresses.
• ISOC (Internet Society) is a no-profit organization founded in 1992 with offices all around the world. It provides standards for the management of Internet. "... to promote the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world".

INTERNET - Problems with self-regulatory agencies

• They self-emerged and were self-regulated, but also were strictly connected with the United States, in particular with the Department of Commerce, without any other relation with other countries.
• The lack of accountability, there was no specific requirements for these agencies.
• In case of controversies, there was internal private justice instruments.

Internet Regulation - Declaration of the Independence "Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather" - John Perry Barlow (cyber-libertarian).

Internet Regulation - Sealand Principality Copyright issues in Sweden with the host thepiratebay.org. The website attempted to buy the micro-nation Sealand, in order to escape from prosecution (www.sealandgov.org").

Internet Regulation - Self-Regulation? Often referred to as "cyberanarchy". Simpatized by David Johnson and David Post. They sustained that Cyberspace is a place where distinct laws apply. Necessary for the Internet to govern itself. "Internet Citizens" (users) will obey laws of electronic entities like service providers.

Internet Regulation - External/State-Regulation? Jack Goldsmith and other academics were against the cyberanarchy, sustaining that the activity in cyberspace can be assimilated to transnational activity (Email, Telephone). Traditional legal tools and choice-of-law problems are applicable in the cyberspace. This theory sustains that the States is still the authority that has the jurisdiction, therefore illegal behaviours on the Internet have to be punished by the States.