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Self‐regulation is widely considered to be a necessary complement – sometimes substitute – for traditional media‐supervision legislation and practice, especially so when the regulatory object is the Internet, where national legislation meets global networks and content. An example of an internationally structured self‐regulation initiative is provided by the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA). Its filter for blocking Internet content must be seen within the context of a more extensive bundle of measures based on the principle of self‐regulation. By choosing ICRA as a focal point, the authors set out to illustrate the new, user‐centered paradigm that could become the rule rather than exception for all kinds of media.

Discusses ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which is a new private corporation for managing Internet domain names and IP addresses, which was created in the USA and produces a historical and conceptual assessment of the policy involved.

The Internet, which began as a communication network controlled by the US Government, is a free and open international information superhighway. The number of Internet users and the variety of information found on the network have grown dramatically in the last decade. This rapid growth also occurred with minimal control of content or acceptable uses of the Internet. This study was designed to investigate the future of Internet regulation. Surveys were sent out to 510 Internet providers in 40 countries. Respondents indicated that some regulation may be necessary, but the cultural diversity in the world will make it difficult to implement.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of internet censorship, which is represented by the Great Fire Wall, on Chinese internet users’ self-censorship.

A 3×2 factorial experiment (n=315) is designed. Different patterns of censorship (soft censorship, compared censorship, and hard censorship) and the justification of internet regulation are involved in the experiment as two factors. The dependent variable is self-censorship which is measured through the willingness to speak about sensitive issues and the behavior of refusing to sign petitions with true names.

The results show that perceived internet censorship significantly decreases the willingness to talk about sensitive issues and the likelihood of signing petitions with true names. The justification of censorship significantly decreases self-censorship on the behaviors of petition signing. Although there are different patterns of internet censorship that Chinese netizens may encounter, they do not differ from each other in causing different levels of self-censorship.

The subjects are college students who were born in the early 1990s, and the characteristics of this generation may influence the results of the experiment. The measurement of self-censorship could be refined.

The study contributes to the body of literature about internet regulation because it identifies a causal relationship between the government’s internet censorship system and ordinary people’s reaction to the regulation in an authoritarian regime. Unpacking different patterns of censorship and different dimensions of self-censorship depicts the complexity of censoring and being censored.

In this era of digital technology, the banking sector has revolutionized its operations by using web-based Internet banking services. However, the success of these financial services is dependent on Internet banking user continuance intention instead of initial adoption. The current study develops a theoretical framework based on three well-known theories, namely the expectation–confirmation theory, self-determination theory (SDT) and the commitment trust theory, to investigate Internet banking user continuance intention towards use of Internet banking services.

Following positivist paradigm, a research survey was conducted towards Internet banking users of commercial banks. In response, 355 valid observations were retrieved and used for data analysis. For data analysis, this study has used a latest statistical approach, namely structural equation modelling (SEM).

This study has confirmed that factors underpinning the commitment trust theory, SDT and expectation–confirmation model have significant impact on Internet banking user continuance intention. The research model explained 68.4% of variance in determining Internet banking user continuance intention, which is substantial. The effect size analysis (f²) indicates that perceived usefulness is the most important factor among all other exogenous variables. The predictive relevance of the research model was found substantial Q² 50.3%. These findings confirmed that the research model has substantial power to predict Internet banking user continuance intention.

From a managerial perspective, findings of this research give deeper insight into financial advisors, bank managers and policy- makers to understand human motivation and expectation–confirmation factors in order to retain customers and gain return on Information Technology (IT) investment. Additionally, results suggest that attention should be given on user trust, which in turn boosts user intention towards continuance use of Internet banking services. Extension of the self-determination framework contributes to theory and augments e-commerce literature, especially in a post-adoption setting.

There are several studies that investigate Internet banking user pre-adoption behaviour. Therefore, less is discussed about the Internet banking user’s post-adoption behaviour. Findings of this study help financial advisors to comprehensively understand which factor influences Internet banking user behaviour towards continue use of Internet banking services.

The purposes of this study are to examine internet users' perception of potential harm among a list of products available on internet auction sites, to discuss the influence of the third‐person effect on internet users' pro‐regulatory attitudes, and to investigate the effects of users' characteristics and perceived harm on their attitudes toward regulation of online auction industry.

An online questionnaire survey was designed and employed to collect information about internet users' third‐person effect perception, pro‐regulatory attitudes toward internet auction sites, and control variables such as demographics, internet usage, and innovative characteristics. A convenience sample of 592 internet users was recruited to take part in this study.

Internet users' perceptual differences are statistically significant between the estimated influence on self, teenagers, and other adults for each product. Perceived harm to self consistently predicts internet users' pro‐regulatory attitudes, but not for teenagers and other adults. Perceived harm to self also predicts pro‐regulatory attitudes toward these web sites, even after controlling for potential confounding variables.

The study is limited by its convenient sampling method and measurement of internet users' actual and intended behavior. Nevertheless, because internet users play a complex role of buyers, sellers, and possible victims on auction sites, it is important to examine perceptions and motivations underlying their support for regulating online auction industry.

The integrated approach of mass communication, electronic commerce activities, and public policy‐making perspectives ensures that future regulatory proposal of online auction industry will be comprehensive.

New and advanced technologies enable firms to collect, use, disseminate, disclose, and sell Internet users’ personal information. This has raised privacy concerns. Self‐regulation is preferred by governments and industry. Unfortunately, the Internet is not well suited for a successful self‐regulation regime. Legislation is necessary to ensure the industry’s consistent and persistent commitment to fair information practices and compliance with them. This paper attempts to assist policy making by evaluating policy proposals, analysing conflicts, and identifying the best ways to deal with online privacy controversies in the light of social conditions and Internet characteristics.

Since the end of the Second World War, American society has seen the emergence of technology promising to make life easier, better and longer lasting. The more recent explosion of the Internet is fulfilling the dreams of the high‐tech pundits as it provides global real‐time communication links and makes the world's knowledge universally available. Privacy concerns surrounding the development of the Internet have mounted, and in response, service providers and website operators have enabled Web users to conduct transactions in nearly complete anonymity. While anonymity respects individual privacy, it also facilitates criminal activities needing secrecy. One such activity is money laundering, which is now being facilitated by the emerging Internet casinos industry. These casinos can be physically located anywhere with websites available worldwide. Internet casinos were a target of legislation by the US Congress, but the legislation, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, failed to pass. So, at the moment, Internet casinos are a virtually unregulated mechanism for laundering illegal funds.

Presents an updated version of a paper given by the author at an international conference in Athens 2000. Briefly outlines the development of the internet and e‐commerce and the effect of globalization. Considers the potential for the EU to standardize rules and advance its economic integration agenda. Looks at present EU laws in this area. Covers the unicitral model law on electronic commerce, its merits and its problems. Discusses personal jurisdiction under traditional rules and cyberspace transactions. Concludes that existing legislation must be re‐evaluated in the light of technological advances, the need for a more mobile kind of legal person and the worldwide nature of transactions across territorial boundaries, paperless contracts and digital signatures and the use of self‐regulation are also covered.

Over the past 30 years the United States has grappled with the regulation of children's advertising in various media. The same debate that occurred in the 1970's in the US over banning children's advertising is heating up in the EU today. As with other regulatory issues the regulation of children's advertising involves trade‐offs. In the US, the First Amendment rights of the advertisers must be balanced with the government interest in protecting children. The regulation of children's advertising also involves balancing the competing interests of advocacy groups, legislators, broadcasters and advertisers. Advocacy groups have been very effective in focusing public attention on the issues of children's advertising. One of the most vocal and impactful groups was Action for Children's Television (ACT), whose efforts culminated in the passage of the 1990 Children's Television Act. Once that was accomplished, ACT was disbanded. In more recent years, however, the Centre for Media Education (CME) has replaced ACT in calling for regulation of children's advertising. CME was instrumental in pushing the 1996 FTC investigation related to 900 telephone numbers directed at children, and is now behind the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). The same questions raised nearly 30 years ago by ACT are now being cast in the US in terms of the Internet, otherwise little has changed. Each new innovation in media and technology ushers similar questions to the table, and the same balancing act must again be employed to answer the basic question: how far do we go to protect our children? The US's answer to this question offers insights for other countries seeking answers to similar questions.