- The First Wave: Utopianism
- The Second Wave: Paranoia
- The Third Wave: Exceptionalism Proliferation
The Third Wave: Exceptionalism Proliferation
The past few years have brought a new regulatory trend. Regulators are still engaged in Internet exceptionalism, but each new advance in Internet technology has prompted exceptionalist regulations particular to that technology.
The emergence of blogs and virtual worlds has spurred a push toward blog-specific and virtual world[en]specific regulation. In effect, Internet exceptionalism has splintered into multiple exceptionalist efforts.
Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace get special treatment, too. Rather than regulating these sites like other Web sites, regulators have sought social networking site[en]specific laws, such as requirements to verify users' ages, combat sexual predators, and suppress content that promotes violence.
Although Internet exceptionalism is not inherently bad, it cannot typically be analytically justified. In these cases, regulatory exceptionalism can be harmful, especially to Internet entrepreneurs and their investors. It can distort the marketplace between Web enterprises and their offline competition—occasionally advantaging the Internet, but typically hindering the Internet businesses' ability to compete.
Before enacting exceptionalist Internet regulation, regulators should articulate the Internet's unique characteristics and explain why these differences support exceptionalism. Unfortunately, emotional overreactions to perceived Internet threats or harms typically trump such a rational regulatory process. Knowing this tendency, perhaps we can better resist that temptation.