Abstract:

Whenever new media platforms have been introduced, they were met with scepticism, mostly because of the fear that they could be capable of oust the governments from power. Therefore, new media have always been liable to excessive regulation as the governments banned certain content from publication in printing press and from airing in radio and television. They believed that all these mediums may have potential detrimental effects on the stability of governments structures and society. With the invention and adoption of the Internet during the 1990s, governments feared the power of this borderless new medium and they have begun to bring restrictions on it. Today, since they have digitally transmitted, information and content are widespread available through the Internet. This means the loss of control of states on digital content. “The increasing popularity of user-driven interactive Web 2.0 applications and services such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter seem to eliminate virtual Internet borders even further by creating a seamless global public sphere. This, inevitably complicates state-level efforts to find an appropriate balance between the universal right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the right to receive and impart information, and the prohibition on certain types of content deemed illegal by nation-state authorities or intergovernmental organizations.” As a result, the regulation of online content has become a hot button issue.