Risks of Internet Fragmentation

This document, titled ?All for One and One for All: Regulatory Challenges to Open Internet?, aims at analyzing some bills proposed during the last few years before the Colombian Congress with the purpose of assessing the various types of risks to the open Internet that may be posed by these bills. Many of them impose unjustifiably strict censorship obligations or technically/legally unattainable obligations. This document is intended for lawmakers. It provides an explanation of the key components of Internet operation and Internet governance, so that regulatory debates can be more technical and better informed. This document has been developed using the legal design methodology having all lawmakers in mind. This research is expected to be presented at an event especially organized for its target audience.

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Cada vez es más frecuente que particulares y gobiernos pretendan bloquear con medios técnicos el acceso a ciertos contenidos en Internet por considerarlos ilegales. Esta ilegalidad y los "bloqueos" que en consecuencia se disponen pueden estar fundados en diversos motivos: la violación del derecho de propiedad ?particularmente el intelectual?, la afectación del honor o la intimidad de las personas o la promoción de actividades ilícitas (terrorismo, tráfico de sustancias o productos ilegales, juegos de azar no autorizados o bien la prostitución o pornografía infantil). Los "bloqueos" de Internet pueden también estar vinculados con la censura o restricciones a la libertad de información que, aunque en principio se las defina como medidas contra contenidos considerados ilegales, tienen que ver con entornos generalmente autoritarios y están originados más bien por razones de control político. El presente trabajo analiza aspectos técnicos, operacionales y legales sobre los bloqueos en internet, fundamentalmente los ordenados a los ISP, en base a tres estudios de caso en países latinoamericanos: Argentina, Uruguay y Venezuela.

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In a global context of dispute over Internet regulation, relationships of digital colonialism are observed, with a visible imbalance between more or less developed countries, and these have repercussions on the decisions of major technology companies whose choices can affect the full development of other actors worldwide. In this scenario, arguments in favor of digital sovereignty have become increasingly common. This regulatory impetus, however, may prove problematic for the Internet as a single, global network, leading to its fragmentation into different levels and categories. Fragmentation can occur in many ways, including in a subtle, commercial manner, the effects of which will only become apparent in the future. This study researches the existence of this ?covert fragmentation? in the private intellectual property policies of the Big Five (GAMAM), especially in the field of content moderation. The analysis confirms that the large platforms are not overly concerned with developing specific policies that are accessible or in line with local legislation, which creates the potential for a fragmenting response at the government level. Based on the observation of the discussion of related issues by public bodies, the agenda does not appear to be urgent. Nevertheless, a change in the behavior of major technology companies is suggested, even if driven by state incentives, to avoid greater fragmentation risks in the future.

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