OUP accepted manuscript

Abstract

The internet has fostered greater connectivity and interaction through the rapid exchange of services, communication and data. This exchange, however, continuously occurs beyond national borders and territories, resulting in the characterization of the internet as borderless, which is reflective of the free flow of information. In the internet age, with increasing online harms and disputes, the borderless nature of the internet poses specific challenges. Questions of how to regulate, the authority to regulate and the jurisdiction to prescribe, apply and enforce the law on the internet have been at the forefront of discussions in the past 25 years.1 While there are persisting views that the internet should be free from regulation, these discussions do not reflect the increasing recognition of the state’s responsibility to protect citizens online and the introduction of national laws.2 Despite this, the current state of internet regulation sheds light on the conflict between the...