Kommunikationsfreiheit im Internet

The Internet is altering human communications, society, and the law. The change is happening both rapidly and internationally. It is not driven by any central political concept, but rather by the power of technology and by individual desires for free communications. This raises a number of issues, including concerns regarding defamation and the protection of minors, consumers and data privacy. There is a worldwide discussion as to what extent freedom of speech on the Internet may or must be restricted. That in turn raises questions regarding the states’ jurisdiction to legislate under international law. Who may/must pass laws? Which issues have to be regulated? To what extent must laws protect the individual on the Internet? To what extent may laws restrict the freedom of the individual on the Internet? Are the existing Internet laws valid? The legal aspects of these questions are discussed in this volume, which, in addition to German public law, also analyses public international law, European Community law, and United States law. It was conceived by the author during his time at the Department of German and Foreign Public Law, International Law and European Law at the Free University of Berlin.