Technological Neutrality in Law and Politics: A Political Reappraisal

Technological neutrality in law is, roughly, the idea that law should neither help nor hinder particular types of technological artefacts. It has been adopted as a fundamental principle by courts, legislatures, governmental and inter-governmental organizations around the world. Its guiding premises have been instantiated in important related debates, some of which have captured the global Internet policy mind-set, ranging from network neutrality to the neutrality of search engine operators, mobile application ecosystems and Internet platforms in general. This book offers a systematic examination of this principle, rigorously questioning whether technological neutrality is a sound principle for law and policy making in the information age.