Cyber Personhood

Harvard Journal of International Law Frontiers, 2020

This short article offers an overview of the most commonly held understandings of the notion of cyber sovereignty and attempts to push the research agenda with further questions. First, it outlines the regularly offered distinction between state sovereignty and platform sovereignty in cyberspace. However, instead of holding with this distinction, it presents cyber sovereignty as a techno-legal sphere characterised by claims to governance by states, companies, and individuals. With this angle, cyberspace appears as one of the most significant sites of our contemporary political and economic life. Second, while this contribution suggests that we should work with an analytic frame that embraces the intertwined character of cyberspace as techno-legal space governed by a multitude of different actors, the article argues that on a normative level, we still lack an in-depth understanding of the contradictory interests of the actors involved. We have not sufficiently grasped the power structures in cyberspace on either the economic or the political plane. The article suggests drawing on the tradition of critical legal scholarship to first map the field along a set of fundamental questions and then define legal strategies for redistribution and inclusion in cyberspace.

AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021

In recent years, various claims of cyberspace sovereignty, including 'data sovereignty', 'digital sovereignty' and 'technological sovereignty', have attracted widespread attention. In this research, we examine the various academic positions and governments’ policies on different "sovereignty" concepts in cyberspace, and to explore the controversies, evolution and future development of these concepts. Research questions are: 1) what are the definitions of the academic community on these concepts including ‘cyber’, 'digital', 'data' and 'technology’ sovereignty ; 2) what are the positions and claims of major governments on these sovereignties; and 3) what are the overlaps, differences and conflicts between those positions and the underlying reasons? Methodologically, this paper will use a historical documentary analysis approach. The types of documents used include two categories: (1) Primary sources: Initiatives, laws, regulations...

International Workshop at Dokuz Eylul University (Izmir, Turkey), 2020

Malicious or hostile cyber operations in interstate relations are increasingly common and are widely recognized as (un)conventional security threats. Many States undertake or sponsor cyber operations against other States. Some remain below the threshold of use of force while some may qualify as an unlawful use of force and trigger the application of the UN Charter. In both cases we need a common understanding on which rules and principles of international law apply to States' cyber conducts. In international fora such as the latest UN-mandated Group of Governmental Experts on Advancing responsible State behaviour in cyberspace in the context of international security, States are trying to define a common legal framework to apply international law in cyberspace. The paper will briefly outline the main issues concerning the interpretation and application of international law in cyberspace. It will also focus on the latest expansive theories claiming the right to anticipatory defense from imminent kinetic or cyber threats of armed attack in order to assess the impact for international law and interstate relations in the geophysical world and in the cyberspace should this modern law of self-defense became a general practice accepted as law by the international community of States. In this case, an in-depth revision of the current rules of the UN Charter on the use of force might occur in the next decades.

zain ul abidin junejo, 2023

In an age defined by digital transformation and global interconnectivity, the boundaries of traditional concepts such as territorial sovereignty are constantly tested. This research paper, authored by Zain ul Abidin Junejo, a third-year law student with a profound curiosity for the intricacies of legal theory and the digital age, embarks on a journey to explore the evolving dynamics between territorial sovereignty and cyberspace. The genesis of this research emerged from a simple yet profound question: in an era where ideas, commerce, and communication flow seamlessly across borders via the internet, how do we reconcile the principles of territorial sovereignty with the borderless nature of cyberspace? This question beckoned for an exploration that dives deep into the intersection of law, politics, and technology. This research paper is a testament to the enduring importance of legal scholarship in our rapidly changing world. It is a manifestation of countless hours spent poring over legal texts, analysing case studies, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions with my Father and Acquaintances. Throughout this paper, I endeavour to provide a comprehensive and balanced analysis of the multifaceted aspects surrounding territorial sovereignty in cyberspace. By drawing upon a diverse range of legal sources, real-world examples, and expert insights, I aim to offer readers a nuanced understanding of this complex issue. The ultimate goal of this research paper is to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing discourse regarding the evolving relationship between territorial sovereignty and the digital realm. It is my hope that this work will serve as a valuable resource for academics, policymakers, legal practitioners, and all those who seek to navigate the intricate landscape of cyberspace in a manner that upholds fundamental principles of justice, security, and international cooperation.

It is now well-established that the rapid evolution of cyberspace has impacted upon almost every aspect of our lives. The dramatic increase in the speed, volumes and range of communications that it offers has undoubtedly changed the ways that individuals interact with each other, how companies deliver services and, crucially, how we are governed. But there is also a darker side to cyberspace which poses a growing number of challenges to individual and collective security.

This paper discusses one of the contemporary challenging issues—it is the challenge of e-commerce to the sovereignty of the state, where governments are unable to implement their own laws on disputed cases resulting from trans-border e-commerce interactions. The objective of the current research is to draw attention to the impact of international characteristics of e-commerce on the sovereignty of state, and to identify the factors affecting this sovereignty. The issue of the dynamicity of time and place will be taken into consideration, where activities carried out over the internet are characterized by their cross-border dimension. Based on real e-commerce case studies disputed on international level, this paper will draw on the legal perspective of cyberspace, identifying the relationship between cyberspace and state sovereignty, and outlining the mechanisms by which cyberspace could cross borders and the territory of the state despite all the precautions taken by the state to protect its sovereignty.

The Emergence of International Cyberspace Law and The Consequences Pertaining to Individuals, 2020

Abstract: According to official statistics, more than 4.5 billion people use the Internet today, while social media users have exceeded the threshold of 3.8 billion. Almost 60% of the world’s population is already online, and the latest trends suggest that more than half of the world’s total population will use social media by mid-year (Kemp, 2020). The average Internet user now spends 6 hours and 43 minutes online every day which is equivalent to more than 100 days of connected time per Internet user per year. However, in the Digital Age, in order to reach a Smart Society, some important challenges remain and more work needs to be done to ensure that everyone has fair and secure access to life-changing digital connectivity. Heightened digital connectivity and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats have promoted the need for smart cyber security as a logical response to risk management. Despite obvious challenges, there are promises based on a multitude of evolving cognitive technologies that can help improve cybersecurity and enable navigation in the increasingly malicious and disruptive landscape of cyber threats. The main focus of this article is to analyze the emergence of a new body of law, namely international cyberspace law and the normative consequences it poses from an individual’s perspective. We will also highlight the key elements and tools that can guarantee an effective approach to national challenges and that can contribute to the development of coherent international relations in the field of cyber security: forecasting, education, detection and response capabilities, ethics and resilience. Keywords: Digital Age, Smart Society, Cybersecurity, ethics, international cyberspace law

Cyberspace is erroneously characterized as a domain that transcends physical space and thereby is immune to state sovereignty and resistant to international regulation. The purpose of this paper is to signify that cyberspace, in common with the other four domains (land, sea, air and outer space) and despite its unique characteristics, is just a reflection of the current international system, and thereby is largely affected by the rules that characterize it. The issue of state sovereignty in cyberspace is critical to any discussion about future regulation of cyberspace. Although cyberspace is borderless and is characterized by anonymity and ubiquity, recent state practices provide sufficient evidence that cyberspace, or at least some components of it, are not immune from sovereignty. The increasing use of Internet filtering techniques by both authoritarian regimes and democracies is just the latest example of attempting to control information flows. Cyberspace is non‐territorial, but in sharp contrast to the land, sea, air and outer space, cyberspace is not a part of nature, it is human‐made and therefore can be unmade and regulated. States have continuously emphasized their right to exercise control over the cyber‐infrastructure located in their respective territory, to exercise their jurisdiction over cyberactivities on their territory, and to protect their cyber‐infrastructure against any trans‐border interference by other states or by individuals. As a result, states are filtering and monitoring cyber‐bytes. Over the past years, there is a growing number of states that is publishing national cyber‐policies and establishing cyber‐centers that aim to protect the national cyber‐infrastructure and control their citizens’ access to information. The issue of state sovereignty in cyberspace raises critical questions about the need to regulate the cyber domain and gradually reach an international cyber‐order.