Networks, Complexity and Internet Regulation: Scale-Free Law

Complexity theory as a subject has gained increasing prominence across numerous disciplines including physics, biology, sociology and economics. Large interconnected systems such as the Internet display a number of inherent architectural characteristics deeming them well-suited to the study of complex dynamic networks. This important book uses various network science-based tools to explore the contentious issue of Internet regulation.

The author demonstrates that the Internet as a global communications space is a self-organizing entity that has proven problematic for regulators, and that in order to regulate cyberspace, one must first understand how the network operates. In order to illustrate how the world wide web operates, Andres Guadamuz presents case studies in copyright policy, peer-production and cyber crime, providing in-depth analyses of the challenges posed by the Internet's complex dynamic networks. The book concludes that regulatory efforts that ignore empirical evidence will ultimately encounter serious problems.

Networks, Complexity and Internet Regulation introduces network theory to legal audiences and applies some of the characteristics of large distributed self-organizing networks to the topic of Internet regulation. As such, this fascinating book will prove invaluable to researchers, academics and students in the fields of Internet regulation and policy, intellectual property law and information technology law.

Contents: Introduction 1. The Science of Complex Networks 2. Complexity and the Law 3. Internet Architecture and Regulation 4. Copyright Networks 5. Peer-production Networks 6. Cybercrime and Networks Conclusion Bibliography Index