Civilizing the Internet: Global Concerns and Efforts toward Regulation

Citation

Anh Tran, L. (1999), "Civilizing the Internet: Global Concerns and Efforts toward Regulation", Asian Libraries, Vol. 8 No. 5, pp. 176-178. https://doi.org/10.1108/al.1999.8.5.176.4

According to the author of Civilizing the Internet, this medium has created significant changes in society and how we think, act and work. This is especially true with regard to communication in its principal modern forms, broadcasting, telecommunications and computer services. In Kizza’s words:

This book discusses the convergence of the three media [telecommunications, broadcasting and computer services] by looking at the whole Internet through its historical development, its globalization, the concerns it has brought, the tools available to deal with these concerns on a variety of levels, and the efforts being undertaken by regional groupings and national governments around the globe to regulate the medium.

He discusses these concerns especially for “… students in information technology studies and engineering and, to a lesser extent, students in the arts and sciences who are interested in information technology”. He sets out his concerns and solutions in a series of six chapters, with most attention by his own admission devoted to Chapters 3, 4 and 5.

In Chapter 1 Kizza describes the structure and historical development of the Internet ‐ from its origin as a small research project in the 1960s it has become a global network providing access to millions of users in over 160 countries. The author believes that the Internet will be the main means of communication in the next decade. The Internet’s effects on society are addressed in the next chapter, which discusses a range of issues in such fields as culture, language, commerce, cybercrime, health and education. In Chapter 3 Kizza focuses on current concerns about the Internet, including digital crimes and privacy; he also looks at solutions offered by such tools as security software, blocking and filtering systems.

Chapters 4, 5 and 6 discuss the Internet as a communications and broadcasting medium, national and international efforts at regulation, and the future of the Internet. These are key chapters, as Kizza’s special concern is with attempts to regulate the Internet. He concludes, however, that little can be done to regulate this medium and that the best governments can do is ensure that the Internet is an effective communications infrastructure into the next century. While the discussion of regulation and control tools is very informative, on the matter of national regulatory efforts Kizza speaks little about the situation in developing countries, where Internet security often has implications for national security and therefore is a major concern for government agencies, as in Vietnam. His conclusion, that “… the best solution to the Internet wars is likely to be home‐grown and self‐policed” is highly debatable, as this is too powerful a medium to allow self‐regulation by vested interests and multinational conglomerates ‐ it is more likely that international governmental intervention is required.

Aside from this criticism, Civilizing the Internet is an interesting and informative discussion of an important topic. It is adequately indexed and includes numerous references to additional readings and related Web sites. This book is recommended for anyone interested in the development and applications of the Internet and in the need to exercise control over its use and abuse.