Governing in the Internet Age

Over the past thirty years, the internet has transformed virtually every area of human activity, social and economic. The bulk of these changes have been positive, allowing people to work, imagine, and connect with each other in new ways. The boost to economic activity has been enormous. But along with the benefits have come new risks. The result is a rich set of policy challenges for governments. Paul Fletcher is Australia’s Minister for Communications and has worked on internet policy issues for twenty-five years. In Governing in the Internet Age, he outlines the key challenges the internet has posed for governments as they seek to preserve their sovereignty, protect their citizens from harm, and regulate neutrally between traditional and online business models. Yes, the internet has changed everything—and that goes for governing, too.