"Who Controls the Internet?"

Do you know?
Have you ever thought about it before?

Such a topic for discussion have chosen Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu.

"The volume of electronic communications crossing territorial boundaries is just too great in relation to the resources available to government authorities" (cit. of David Post, J.Goldsmith and T,Wu, pg. 2). This pretty much gives frames for the discussion.

The first chapter of the book tries to introduce the reader to stages in the development of internet. The first communities rabelling against territorial rule to create free cyber space, a story of Yahoo, its trial for a free space that doesn't bend under any authority and then transformed into a technology that facilitates the enforcement of territorial laws and political influences.

I think the ideas presented are not really new, but there are aspects that are important. Politics play significant role and they cannot be sepparated from daily life. When someone wants to move out to a cyber space then they have to have acceptance from the authorities also. But it is fair to suggest that such experiments are a way to test the system and offer solution that could be internationally acceptable.

The examples in the book illustarte the problems of powerless world clearly.
Not everyone have the same idea of the ideal space. People who like to take control over the situations or want to try their power on others, etc. can bring their realities in the middle of all that too.

In conclusion I think the first chapter of the book tries to familiarize the reader to the issues over the real and cyber-space and to ponder over what are the goods and odds of the imaginary reality.