Chapter 17 — Territory and borders, Paragraph 11.1 (§17.00.11.01)

Why use a different name? It is necessary to denote the grave difference between control in the analogue world and in the digital world. In the analogue world, location-decided control meant that a state was able to award property rights to its citizens unhindered. In the digital world, control is retained by the originating state, meaning that property rights are affected, that is, reduced. In other words, an individual processing information in the analogue world, and acquiring property rights while doing so, is not able to do the same in the digital world. Control has been eroded, because the individual’s state’s control (sovereignty) over its territory has been similarly eroded. This is why ‘user’ is a more appropriate term—it denotes the significant change to (property-like) control in the analogue world, which has been understood by humanity since the beginning of history.

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