The Internet has been integral to the globalization of a range of goods and production, from intellectual property and scientific research to political discourse and cultural symbols. Yet the ease with which it allows information to flow at a global level presents enormous regulatory challenges. Understanding if, when, and how the law should regulate online, international flows of information requires a firm grasp of past, present, and future patterns of information flow, and their political, economic, social, and cultural consequences.

In The Global Flow of Information, specialists from law, economics, public policy, international studies, and other disciplines probe the issues that lie at the intersection of globalization, law, and technology, and pay particular attention to the wider contextual question of Internet regulation in a globalized world. While individual essays examine everything from the pharmaceutical industry to television to “information warfare” against suspected enemies of the state, all contributors address the fundamental question of whether or not the flow of information across national borders can be controlled, and what role the law should play in regulating global information flows.

Ex Machina series

Contributors: Frederick M. Abbott, C. Edwin Baker, Jack M. Balkin, Dan L. Burk, Miguel Angel Centeno, Dorothy E. Denning, James Der Derian, Daniel W. Drezner, Jeremy M. Kaplan, Eddan Katz, Stanley N. Katz, Lawrence Liang, Eli Noam, John G. Palfrey, Jr., Victoria Reyes, and Ramesh Subramanian

Ramesh Subramanian is the Gabriel Ferrucci Professor of Information Systems at Quinnipiac University and Visiting Fellow at the Information Society Project, Yale Law School. He is the editor of Computer Security, Privacy and Politics: Current Issues, Challenges and Solutions.

Eddan Katz is International Affairs Director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Before EFF, Eddan was the Executive Director of the Yale Information Society Project and Lecturer-in-Law at Yale Law School. He is co-editor of Cybercrime: Digital Cops in a Networked Environment.

“Subramanian and Katz have gathered an all-star group, offering a sweep of visions for the future of the Internet and its impact on both global and regional culture. These essays are deep and thoughtful, and together they beautifully show us where the Internet can, and ought to, go.”

“Global struggles over the control of information increasingly determine the extent of our political, economic and cultural freedom online. This important and thought-provoking collection offers a much needed conceptual framework for understanding the linkages between globalization, Internet governance, and power in modern society.”