The Right to Access The Internet: A Critical Analysis of The Constitutionalisation of The Internet

This dissertation looks at the right to access the Internet through a conceptual analysis, which considers the normativity of the Internet. It points out how the question of inclusion and exclusion is determined by the mediating power of internet technologies. Based on internet governance studies, this thesis moves beyond a techno deterministic understanding of access to the Internet (framed as access/non-access) and identifies major problematic trends transforming and shaping the use of the Internet. In particular, it focuses on the incremental centralization of the Internet into the hands of a few transnational private companies, and as a result, how these actors are in a position to determine not only what is accessible or not, but also our societal values. Further, the dissertation underscores how none of these private actors operates in a lawless way and it traces back how the legal system has been constitutive of the abovementioned dynamics and is at the same time being transformed by them.

By applying systems theory, this dissertation argues that the right to access the Internet should be understood as based on an organizational principle for the Internet aiming to maintain equal access and a diverse and plural ecosystem. Different facets of access to the Internet are discussed and analysed in three case studies: ICANN, network neutrality, and platform content moderation. Each case uncovers constitutional problems relating to the practices and procedures of different private companies. While recognizing these actors as new constitutional subjects, this dissertation questions the vocabulary of digital constitutionalism when conceived merely as a way of reacting to and limiting the power of private companies.
Building on the sociology of constitutions, this dissertation looks at the institutive and legitimizing function of constitutions and examines the question of which and whose order is being constituted while promoting the language of constitutionalism.

Methodologically, the dissertation uniquely combines systems theory, legal analysis, transnational constitutionalism, media theories, science and technology studies and brings to light democratic problems arising from the interplay between law and internet technologies. The thesis thus sets up a theoretical background for further research on internet regulation and related constitutional issues.