The paper discusses the scientific and policy debate as to whether access to the Internet can be considered so fundamental for human interaction as to deserve a special legal protection. In particular, it examines the impact of computer-mediated communication on the realization of individual’s rights and freedoms as well as on democratization processes. It then considers how Internet content governance is posing regulatory issues directly related to the growing importance of an equitable access to digital information. In this regard, the paper looks at conflicts arising within the systems of rights and obligations attached to communication (and especially content provision) over the Internet. The paper finally concludes by identifying emerging tensions and drawing out the implications for the nature and definitions of rights (e.g. of communication and access, but also of intellectual property ownership) and for regulations and actions taken to protect, promote or qualify those rights. All these points are illustrated by a series of recent examples.

When considering the effects of cultural policy on international trade in television programming there is an area that is frequently overlooked, that of classification and censorship. The role that classification and censorship play as tools of cultural policy is poorly understood, as is their impact on the ease with which television programs can be traded. A broad definition of cultural policy has been used here, in order to encompass both its theoretical and practical elements. Cultural policy as expressed through television classification and censorship is seen here as having three layers. These layers are legislative policy such as local content quotas, the content gate keeping carried out by television producers prior to production, and program classification, that is the implementation of local programming codes by broadcasters. It is important to understand the effects of television regulatory regimes, including those that govern content classification, on the international trade in programs for two reasons. One is the precedence international economic agreements generally take over cultural policy, because classification and censorship can quietly undermine this precedence in a way which currently receives little attention. The second is the importance of the export market to the Australian television production industry, which is unable to fully fund its program output from local markets. Australian children's drama and its export to the UK are the focus of this research as this provides an excellent example of the current tensions between cultural policy and economic imperatives. Australian children's drama is tightly regulated through government policy, particularly the demands of the 'C' (children's) classification. It is argued here that the demands of current Australian cultural policy are making it extremely difficult for Australian producers to internationalise their product and thus cultivate a competitive advantage in international markets. With the advent of digital technology and the end of spectrum scarcity, the television landscape is changing rapidly. Australian producers of children's programming are facing commercial challenges that have been created by the proliferation of children's channels in the UK and particularly the popularity on those channels of American animation. While the need to cultivate a competitive advantage is pressing, Australian producers of children's programming are also having to accommodate the three layers of cultural policy described earlier, that is the demands of government policy regarding the 'C' classification, the local programming codes of their export market, in this case the United Kingdom, and their own internalised cultural values as expressed through their gate keeping roles. My Industry experience in a senior compliance role in the pay television industry led to an awareness of the impact of local classification procedures on international trade in programming and provided the initial starting point for this research. Through scholarly investigation and interviews with three key producers of Australian children's programs and a senior UK programmer, certain findings regarding the impact of regulatory regimes on the export of Australian children's programs have been reached. The key findings of this research are firstly, that the rationales and operations of national classification schemes seem to be fundamentally untouched by supranational trade agreements and arguably are able to act as restraints on international trade. Additionally, programs that do not conform to the societal values of the countries to which they are being exported, will not sell. Secondly, multi-channelling is having the unexpected effect of driving down prices achieved for children's programs which is a cause for concern, given the importance of international sales to Australian producers. Part of this decline in pricing may be attributed to the rise in popularity of inexpensive animation, which now dominates children's channels in the UK. Thirdly, this research finds that Australian cultural policy is preventing Australian producers cultivating a competitive advantage in international markets, by making demands regarding content and quality that render their programs less attractive to overseas channels. If the Australian government believes that certain culturally desirable forms of television such as high quality, children's programming should continue to exist, it may in future have to modify its cultural policy in order to attain this objective.

網際網路的規範向來具有爭議。監督團體與立法機關往往基於保護兒童及青少年免於受到不當資訊的影響，對於網際網路散佈的內容要求相當程度的管制。然而，此類規範經常導致主張言論自由亦應延伸至網際網路媒體的民權團體多所詬病。在回顧我國先前對於網際網路的規範以及相關案例之後，本研究綜合各界論點探討未來寬頻影音內容服務網站可行的規範之道。 截至目前為止，關於網際網路內容規範相關研究已成篇累牘。現行最適宜的解決之道紛紛指向採用安裝過濾軟體以及實施網站分級制度。民國九十三年四月二十六日行政院新聞局發布「電腦網路內容分級處理辦法」，希冀藉以解決目前規範網際網路缺乏法源以及分級制度採行標準的問題。但亂象叢生的網際網路，似乎無法在朝夕之間產生良善的轉變。例如，影音內容服務業者經營色情影音服務；利用寬頻影音網路視訊交友而進行色情交易的事件；利用影音聊天室散佈性交易訊息；抑或是學術網站的自律不嚴謹，引發種種批評與討論等。同時，該辦法目前僅針對「網站」進行分級，尚未落實至「網頁」分級的程度，對於寬頻影音內容的管理更是付之闕如。 針對網際網路不當資訊以及缺乏法令管制所呈現的困境，本研究目的包括： 一、探討國內寬頻影音內容服務網站各類不當資訊； 二、探討國內對於寬頻影音內容服務網站現行規範法規及其不足之處； 三、探討國際間對於寬頻影音內容服務不當資訊現行管制規範形式； 四、探討國內未來對於寬頻影音內容不當資訊具可行性之管制規範形式； 五、提供國內寬頻影音內容服務業者、公益媒體監督團體及政府行政機關未來規範不當資訊之建議。 為兼顧網際網路的自由與發展，本文綜合文獻分析及深度訪談資料，臚列以下建議：一、業者再改善身份認證系統及收費機制；二、政府妥善拿捏輔佐角色；三、規劃網際網路分級制度實施辦法相關配套法令；四、教育體制配合輔導健全的網路素養；五、落實網際網路舉報不法網站業者熱線。

Enactment of Ghana's Petroleum (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2013 (L.I. 2204) was intended to regulate the percentage of local products, personnel, financing, and goods and services rendered within Ghana's upstream petroleum industry value chain. Five years after the inception of Ghana's upstream oil and gas industry, a gap is evident between the requirements of L.I. 2204 and professional practice. Drawing on Lewin's change theory, a cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the extent of differences between the prevailing human resource local content and the requirements of L.I. 2204 in Ghana's upstream petroleum industry. The extent to which training acquired by indigenous Ghanaians seeking jobs in Ghana's oil fields affects the prevalent local content in its upstream petroleum industry was also examined. Survey data were collected from 97 management, technical, and other staff in 2 multinational petroleum companies whose oil and gas development plans have been approved by the Petroleum Commission of Ghana. To answer the research questions and test their hypotheses, one-way ANOVA was performed with staff category (management, technical, and other) as the independent variable and prevalent local content as the dependent variable. Results indicated that prevailing local content in Ghana's upstream petroleum industry meets the requirements of L.I. 2204. Further, training acquired by indigenous Ghanaians seeking jobs in Ghana's oil fields affects the prevalent local content in its offshore petroleum industry. Findings may encourage leaders within multinational oil companies and the Petroleum Commission of Ghana to organize educational seminars that equip indigenous Ghanaians with specialized skills for working in Ghana's upstream petroleum industry.

Online disinformation damage on the world’s democracy has been critical. Yet, states fail to handle online content harms. Due to exception from legal liability for hosted content, Facebook, used by a third of the world population, operates ‘duty-free’ along with other social media companies.Concerned with solutions, this has given rise to the idea in studies that social resistance could be one of the most effective ways for combating disinformation. However, how exactly do we resist, is an unsettled subject. Are there any socially-driven processes against disinformation happening out there?This paper aimed to identify such processes for giving a boost to theory-building around the topic. Two central evidence cases were developed: #IAmHere digital movement fighting disinformation and innovative tool ‘Who is Who’ for distinguishing fake accounts. Based on findings, I argue that efforts by even a very small part of society can have a significant impact on defeating online disinformation. This is because digital activism shares phenomenal particularities for shaping online political discourse around disinformation. Tools such as ‘Who is Who’, on the other hand, build social resilience against the issue, also giving boost digital activists for mass reporting of disinformation content. User-driven solutions have significant potential for further research.Keywords: Online disinformation; algorithms; digital activism; user-driven solutions.