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Chapter 3 - Transnationalism or ‘Splinternet’?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2025

Christoph B. Graber
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
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Summary

Chapter 3 engages with the thesis that transnationalisation of law has taken place in the development of Internet regulations, since it was invented in the 1990s. Is it true that a transnational law is developing that is largely free from state influence? What does a factual analysis reveal about the relationship between non-state governance and state regulation in addressing pressing social problems related to the ‘network of networks’? How do approaches to content and technology regulation differ between the United States and the EU? Net neutrality serves as a case study for an in-depth examination of the transnationalisation thesis in the context of the technological preconditions of free speech. In addition to the debates on net neutrality in the United States and the EU, this chapter also analyses the debate in India using the example of Meta Free Basics, which illustrates how the actions of large technology companies can lead to restrictions on freedom of expression. Does the history of net neutrality in these three jurisdictions, where regulatory solutions have been found along national territorial lines, confirm that there is a risk of developing a ‘splinternet’ and speak against a transnationalisation of the law?

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