On The Authority And Limits Of Network Communication Regulation

Internet, which overturned the traditional concept of communication, has been deeply-rooted in our daily-life. While the openness, freedom, anonymity and interactivity of the Internet bring great convenience and benefits to our life on the one hand, the intrinsic contradiction between Internet's two properties:Internet as a tool and Internet as a business, has triggered some perennial problems on the other. De-socialization, addiction, the deluge of fabricated news, tabloidization, the violation of Internet privacy and the potential safety hazard of network information have arisen from the abuse of Internet.In China, the violation of norms on the Internet are listed as follow, the violation of laws, the violation of ethics, the overestimation of Internet's values and the safety hazard of state secrets.This paper has analyzed netizens'participation psychology and drawn implications on the current situation of China's network safety from Google's withdrawal from mainland China. Combining some established theories in this field and the practices of network transmission, the paper attempts to advance a coordinate model for network regulators, which can be applied in future network regulation.Network regulators can be defined as the personnel, the institutions, the technology, the system, the ethics, the laws and policies that govern the selection and mediation of network information in forms of news, data, advertisements, etc., as well as constrain and form the thinking, behavior and habits of internet users. Internet regulators can be classified into two types:"the visible hand" and "the invisible hand". "The visible hand" includes web page designers, journalists, representatives of netizens, BBS moderators, as well as other government institutions and officials that engage in the network communication. "The invisible hand" includes intangible factors that are related to network communication, such as, the ownership, the technology, rules and policies, ethics, order, system, the cultural identity, the interests, the habits and so on.To fulfill their responsibilities, network regulators should act under the principles of systematization, sustainability, diversity, putting human first, freedom and selective takism. In order to establish a regulation system for network communication and a protective system for network information at international level, several measures should be taken. One, an Internet system with Chinese characteristics for national cultural identity and netizens'identification should be set up. Two, steps of establishing an effective legislative system executive system that controls network communications should be quickened. Three, the general regulative power of the Central government should be put into full play. Four, attention and management should be focused on the design of website. Five, technology that instills rational use of the Internet into netizens should be further developed. Six, consistent efforts should be devoted to the cultivation of netizens'ethical quality. Seven, accelerate the construction of a harmonious socialist society, a democratic society under the rule of law, a society based on equity and justice, an honest and caring society, a society full of vigor and a stable and orderly society.The coordination of the various factors and the improvement of the efficiency of "the visible hand" and "the invisible hand" in network regulation is the only way to an appropriate network system in which social ethics and technology can develop in a harmonious state.