Legal nature of the Internet: regulatory issues

The author analyzes the process of historical foundation of the Internet as an essential mean of communication of informational society, proves relativeness of legal nature of the Internet with the necessity of searching a suitable instrument of Internet regulation. Principal concern is focused on current views on the Internet regulation in frameworks of international and national legal systems. The author dwells on two basic paradigms, currently appeared and describing interrelation and capability of the Internet to influence a legal system and social relations: “techno-optimism” and “techno-realism”. The analysis of an approach to the Internet regulation in the Russian segment in terms of elaborated reports of WGIG and draft concept “Strategy of the Internet development in the Russian Federation up to 2020” has made it possible to conclude on ill-conceived idea of building the Internet-space where the state would be an equal partner.