As Boundaries Fade: The Social Contract in Cyberspace

              As Boundaries Fade:
The Social Contract in Cyberspace
Steven J. Horowitz)
[For over ten years, scholars have debated over law in cyberspace. Some, the
"exceptiona!ists, " argue that cyberspace should develop its own system of laws and regulations.
Others, the" unexceptionalists, " argue that real-space territorial law must govern the internet.
This paper advocates a new kind of exceptionalism, grounded in an examination of legitimate
authority in cyberspace. I use social contract theory to locate two sources of legitimate
cyberspace authority: the authority of a real-space sovereign over its citizens and the authority
of a cyberspace community formed by a distinct social contract. I argue that, because
cyberspace dissolves territorial boundaries, internet users are insecure in their knowledge of
political relationships and that cyberspace communities can resolve this incon venience.]
I. Framing the Question
Cyberspace is a world without territorial boundaries. As we travel through cyberspace,
we have no way of knowing where our transactions take place. Since law tends to correspond to
territorial boundaries, cyberspace calls into question the legitimacy of real-space law on the
internet. This paper aims to answer the question of legitimacy: what kind of legitimate authority
exists in cyberspace? I use social contract theory to identify two distinct sources of legitimate
authority on the internet: I) the sovereignty of a real-space state over its citizens and 2) the
power of a cyberspace sovereign to govern the default laws of a bordered part of cyberspace.
The power of a real-space sovereign over its citizens does not disappear as they enter cyberspace,
since this power is derived from a social contract that does not depend on geography. But
internet users can still form distinct communities in cyberspace, built on social contracts. Such