The internet is anarchistic; elections are highly regulated. How can the strict rules governing democratic elections be applied on the unregulated net? In most democracies, candidates and parties are required to account for campaign expenditure. But how much does it cost to send an email, run a website or acquire a database? What is the cost of a link from a supporter website to an official campaign site?
What happens if a website is set up which appears to be in the name of a candidate, but actually exists to attack that candidate? There were dozens of these in last year’s US election. What protection do candidates have against online defamation – particularly if it comes from outside their national jurisdiction? Net politics will present new problems of regulation which few governments have began to tackle.
