General aspects of foreign experience in regulating the information sphere
First of all, it should be noted that this section focuses on the main directions of the implementation of the information policy of foreign countries to build an information society.
The term "information society" is widely used by foreign political figures of various levels. It is with such a society that most of the world's leaders associate the future of their countries. If this process began under the leadership of such developed countries as the United States (primarily in the form of the formation of a national information infrastructure), the countries of the European Union (building an information society), Canada (building an information highway), etc., then now we can observe a mass awareness of the need for these processes. This is evidenced by the relevant programs of many countries of the world - China, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Norway, India and others. The processes of building an information society are also actively taking place in the countries formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It should be noted that the transformations taking place in the modern world are primarily associated with the introduction of information and communication technologies in almost all spheres of life. That is why this process should be monitored and directed in the interests of the whole society. The state can do this only together with all interested circles, primarily the private sector.
So, since 1994, the priority direction of the state information policy of many countries of the world has been the course towards building an information society, in particular, the development of national and global information infrastructures.
The intensification of this process is due to the holding of a special Congress of specialists of the International Telecommunication Union (Buenos Aires, March 1994), at which US Vice President Albert Gore proposed a plan for the development of the Global Information Infrastructure, as well as formulated its five fundamental principles:
1) Encouraging private investment;
2) promotion of competition;
3) creation of a mobile regulatory structure to maintain the pace of technological and market development;
4) ensuring open access to the network of all providers;
5) creation of a universal service and organization of universal service.
These principles were the basis for the Buenos Aires Declaration adopted at the Congress. It was decided that the global information infrastructure should consist of local, national and regional networks. As a "network of networks", it will promote the global use of information, interconnection and communication, creating a single global information space and information marketplace.
A modern analysis of the foreign practice of regulating the information sphere of society allows us to identify a number of areas:
encouraging competition, combating monopolism (primarily state control over the concentration of mass media);
ensuring the right and technical capabilities for access to information and information resources for the entire population;
respect for freedom of speech;
protection of the interests of national minorities and the younger generation in the information sphere;
protection of national cultural heritage, language, opposition to cultural expansion of other countries;
ensuring information security;
protection of intellectual property, combating piracy;
combating computer crimes and high-tech crimes;
implementation of e-government;
legal regulation of the Internet The most significant trends in the foreign information industry in recent years include the revision of the previously established rules for its regulation:
deregulation of the telecommunications market, allowing cable, telephone, cellular, satellite and other companies to compete in each other's markets;
the weakening of control over the concentration of ownership in various media. As a result, there is both vertical and horizontal integration of information markets and the means of its transmission.
Abroad, there is a tendency for the largest information companies in the world to merge into large associations, which further control the market and the dissemination of mass information.
These transformations are the response of leading information companies to the opportunities created by new technologies and changes in the regulatory system of the information industry. This process is extremely dynamic, so lagging behind in this matter is extremely dangerous for any state.
The preservation of competition and the fight against the monopolism of individual manufacturers or firms providing services are the cornerstone of government regulation. In the field of telecommunications, associations of various companies at the national and interstate levels are mandatory with the permission of the relevant authorities. In the United States, this is the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, which determine whether the merger of two or more companies will lead to a monopoly, eliminate competition and, as a result, over time, reduce the quality and diversity of services provided in the business world and the public, as well as lead to higher prices.
