互联网时代的公共承运人规制

The Regulation of Common Carriers in Online Platforms

公共承运人是普通法上的概念。互联网企业在很多方面具有公共承运人的特征,因而引发了公共承运人在互联网治理中的复兴。随着互联网进入Web 2.0时代,出现了各种互联网平台,关于公共承运人的讨论逐渐从网络服务提供商扩展至互联网平台。这些平台在发布信息和进行网络商业活动中扮演越来越重要的角色,而许多实例已经表明,它们在很多方面可以潜在地对互联网用户进行歧视,严重影响大众体验。互联网平台的不中立问题以及由此引发的巨大危害,是我国当前互联网研究、立法以及司法实践中的盲点。为规制这一问题,建议将公共承运人引入互联网平台规制,将一些互联网平台定性为公共承运人,核心义务为遵守平台中立性原则。

Common carrier is a common law concept. Internet networks are treated like common carriers in many respects,thus leading to the revival of this traditional form of regulation in debates on network neutrality,while Internet Service Providers( ISPs) are defined as common carriers. As the Internet moves into Web2. 0 era,Platform Service Providers( PSPs) play an important role in publicizing content,developing social relationships,and organizing online transactions. However,these PSPs are potentially non- neutral in a variety of ways that can significantly distort the experiences of most of their users. To address such problems,this paper proposes 'PSP Neutrality',demanding a categorization of PSPs as common carriers and focusing on responsibilities and liabilities they should bear according to neutrality requirements.