The treatment of content, ownership rights, and personal information over the Internet exemplifies a lack of harmonization across national borders. Technical solutions, though, have three qualities that are particularly valuable for reconciling international policies and rule making for the Internet. First, technological rules do not rely on national borders; second, easy customization of rules with a variety of technical mechanisms; and, finally, technological rules benefit from built-in self-enforcement and compliance-monitoring capabilities. (Joel R. Reidenberg, Lex Informatica: The Formulation Of Information Policy Rules Through Technology, 76 Tex. L. Rev. 553, 577 (February 1998).) While technological mechanisms offer the best hope of unifying national policies for the Internet, international regulations need to fill in the gaps until those mechanisms are effective. International cooperation is necessary to avoid overly restrictive regulations and to make clear rules for users.

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