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Abstract

This article deals with the regulation of cyberspace and suggests that the challenges of regulation in this area are partly reminiscent of those in other regulatory domains and partly new ones. This newness is due to the opportunities that the new technologies provide to actors and which allow them to act in very different ways — as regulators or as regulatory targets. A significant point in this field is that the distinction between those who regulate and those who are regulated can become blurred because public regulators increasingly, and more so than in other regulatory domains, depend on the co-operation of regulatory intermediaries, if public intervention is to be effective. The continuing challenge in this field is liable to centre around the norms, rules, and regulations governing this complex and dynamic space and the ways in which these are influenced by a variety of factors, parties, interests, institutions, and forces.