Istituzioni e anarchia nella Rete. I paradigmi tradizionali della sovranità alla prova di Internet

The general belief holds that Internet Over the Tops (OTT)’ mission is to organize the world’s information. However, from a perspective of mere international business their role is becoming more and more ideological: promoting democratic values, public security and social peace are becoming part of their own interests, with tensions rising with the States as result. The present essay aims to investigate on which legal basis OTT are exerting their influence, challenging sovereign decisions and even replacing Nation-States in ruling the web. It will also attempt at a hypothesis: whether State’s traditional organizational standards (people, territory, sovereignty) may apply to the digital reality, making OTT, from private-law actors, more and more and institution-like entity (§§ 3-4). Finally, the study will also analyze two main fields where no State and no Internet institution play a role: bitcoins and algorithmic regulation (§§ 5-6). The article discusses their legitimacy and, with respect to the latter, its capability to become a new law-making approach in cyberspace.