Internet Law in the Era of Transnational Law

Abstract

Since its birth, the Internet has usually been considered as a threat to the traditional conception of sovereignty as power of a state to regulate the interactions taking place within its territory. The extraterritorial nature of the Internet has definitely contributed to the globalization of legal orders, by requiring them to develop a shared framework to address the problems arising from the relationships occurring on the Internet across various states. In the era of transnationalism, just some of the areas of law have been affected by the adoption of common legal standards, while others, closer to the national identity's heart, kept themselves aside from this process. Thus, almost paradoxically, the law of the Internet demonstrates that the advent of the era of transnationalism does not imply the end of the role of national law, but only implies it has to be rethought in the broader context of globalization of legal systems.