This book provides a good introduction to the legal climate for the development of the internet. The author urges for sensible legislation to regulate the internet and argues that there is a coming "tipping point" where legal pressures are tipping in balance of control.

This books was written in 2001. It would be interesting to read in hindsight whether the tipping point Biegel argued was coming has occurred, or how much of it he was able to predict.

With the advent of each generation of internet related innovation, there is always a fury of discussion over how much of ourselves we are exposing, both to known and unknown factors. From online shopping, to social networking sites, to private and government institutions offering a full range of services online, the often stated fear of having your entire identity available online is a not without validity. Issues of personal privacy and information security require oversight and mediation by a regulatory and judicial body, which, ironically, perpetuates the need for greater access to personal information. On the other hand, the proliferation of the internet has drastically changed the velocity of flow of ideas, goods/services, and people across borders. More than ever, the ease with which people are accessing various travel and financial services are allowing companies to dynamically forecast sales and adjust pricing, leading to a consumer driven economy that is not bounded by the traditional state borders. Concerns that the internet is eroding the traditional authority of the nation state has led countries to enact legislation and even directly interfere in citizen access to information online. I would like to explore the extent to which the nation states actual or perceived authority has been eroded by the internet. I will examine the ways in which nations are attempting to filter and limit access to various speech online and the types of speech that are being restricted. It would be especially interesting to see whether these filters are consistent with controls on other types of media within the country, which would be an indication of whether government control is contracting or expanding. Also of interest are the various national and international organizations and regulatory bodies that are arising in response to the need for regulation. In the end, I suspect that the need for order within societies will still outweigh individual rights, leading to the expansion of the nation states authority but tested in international forums.