Internet vs the nation state: a new Wild West?

For decades, there has been concern about how individual states can control the forces of the world market – particularly against multinational corporations that have bigger revenues than many countries. This debate is especially acute when it comes to the internet, where the world’s most valuable companies (like Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix) operate on a global scale.

One area of concern is the regulation of content. Liberal democracies want to have some say in what is available online, such as extremist content or whether pornography is available to minors. But many argue that the tech giants are simply too big to be regulated by any one country.

Another bugbear has been tax, with big companies able to arrange their affairs to avoid paying their fair share by booking their profits in low-tax jurisdictions. However, critics of this outlook argue that there is nothing particular about the internet that prevents regulation or taxation – it is down to different countries to cooperate.

Is the nation state now redundant? With customer helplines and personalised interaction, do we relate more to online services than our own governments? How can big companies be held accountable if they operate beyond the rules of any particular country? Or are these fears overblown, with tech giants as dependent as any other company on national laws to defend their property and other rights?

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