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The notion that code serves as a form of regulation is widely recognized in the scholarship on information technologies (Lessig 1999). However, the theoretical understanding of technology as a form of regulation is immature. This paper presents a model, the Recursive Regulatory Model for Technology (RRMT), for understanding how technology regulates. This model is largely inspired by Giddens structuration theory with some insights from Actor-Network Theory. It theorizes how technology develops, evolves, and acts as a regulatory mechanism. Specifically, RRMT focuses on the role of institutions in the development of technology, how technology affects individuals, how individuals reconfigure technology, and how individuals can influence the development of technology. The model is illustrated by examining the evolution of cookies technology. The cookies technology allows web sites to maintain information on their users, and therefore, has implications for privacy. In sum, RRMT is a model capable of assessing technologies as well as showing how technology can be used proactively as a regulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulation through "code," i.e., the hardware and software of communication technologies, is growing in importance. Policymakers are addressing societal concerns such as privacy, freedom of speech, and intellectual property protection with code-based solutions. While scholars have noted the role of code, there is little analysis of the various features or characteristics of code that have significance in regulating behavior. This paper examines four universal governance characteristics that policymakers may use to ensure code comports with societal concerns. The characteristics are transparency, defaults, standards, and obligatory passage points. For each characteristic, we discuss the salient regulatory issues for manipulating code. Additionally, we provide normative proposals for modifying some characteristics, such as defaults. In sum, our analysis should aid policymakers seeking to manipulate code to ensure that code comports with our societal values and addresses our societal concerns. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the role of societal institutions in the development of code. The term "code" refers to the architecture of communication technologies, which includes its hardware and software components. It is widely recognized both in both the communications and legal literature that code is analogous to the law of cyberspace. Our analysis begins to explain why code developed in different institutions differ in various social and technical attributes, such as their support for standards or the attention to privacy considerations. The institutions we consider include universities, firms, consortia, and the open source movement. We specifically analyze how institutions differ in structure, their motivations, and how they are differentially affected by social, political, economic, and legal influences. This analysis provides a crucial first step in understanding the production of the law of cyberspace. Eventually, this analysis will allow scholars and policymakers to assess and to begin proactively shaping the development of code to meet societal concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging concept in recent legal scholarship is the idea that architecture or the medium of cyberspace serves as a regulatory force. While scholars have recognized the role of the medium, there has been little development of a theoretical perspective for studying the medium. In this article, we evaluate three models for how the medium regulates. The first theory we consider is Lessig's model of "what things regulate." This model shows how architecture interacts with other regulatory forces such as law, social norms, and the market. The second theoretical framework is Orlikowski's structuration model of technology, which stems from organizational communication research. The third model we consider is Actor-Network Theory originating within technology studies. Our conclusion is that the Actor-Network Theory shows some promise in theorizing how the medium regulates. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]