Editing Tragedy of the commons (section)

=== Tragedy of the digital commons ===
In the past two decades, scholars have been attempting to apply the concept of the tragedy of the commons to the digital environment. However, between scholars there are differences on some very basic notions inherent to the tragedy of the commons: the idea of finite resources and the extent of pollution.<ref name="Nagle 2018"/> On the other hand, there seems to be some agreement on the role of the [[digital divide]] and how to solve a potential tragedy of the digital commons.<ref name="Nagle 2018"/>

==== Resources ====
Many digital resources have properties that make them vulnerable to the tragedy of the commons, including [[Knowledge commons|data]],<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.7551/mitpress/6980.001.0001 |title=Understanding Knowledge as a Commons |date=2006 |isbn=9780262256346 |editor-last1=Hess |editor-last2=Ostrom |editor-first1=Charlotte |editor-first2=Elinor }},</ref> virtual artifacts<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2139/ssrn.338500 | journal=SSRN| title=On Virtual Economies | date=2002 | last1=Castronova | first1=Edward | s2cid=263755316 }},</ref> and even [[Attention economy|limited user attention]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027285669-pbns.39.10kol |title=Computer-Mediated Communication |chapter=Managing the virtual commons: Cooperation and conflict in computer communities |date=26 June 1996 |page=109 |publisher=John Benjamins }}</ref> Closely related are the physical computational resources, such as [[CPU]], [[RAM]], and [[Bandwidth (computing)|network bandwidth]], that digital communities  on [[Shared web hosting service|shared servers]] rely upon and govern.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0216335| doi-access=free| title=Emergence of integrated institutions in a large population of self-governing communities| date=2019| last1=Frey| first1=Seth| last2=Sumner| first2=Robert W.| journal=PLOS ONE| volume=14| issue=7| pages=e0216335| pmid=31295260| pmc=6622466| arxiv=1804.10312| bibcode=2019PLoSO..1416335F}}</ref> Some scholars argue that digital resources are infinite, and therefore immune to the tragedy of the commons, because downloading a file does not constitute the destruction of the file in the [[Digital environments|digital environment]],<ref>{{Citation|last1=Tzitzikas |first1=Yannis |last2=Marketakis |first2=Yannis |title=The File MyContacts.con: On Reading Unknown Digital Resources|date=2018|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98488-9_15|work=Cinderella's Stick|pages=147–153|place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|isbn=978-3-319-98487-2|access-date=2021-05-24|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-98488-9_15}}</ref> and because it can be replicated and disseminated throughout the digital environment.<ref name="Greco-2004">{{Cite journal|last1=Greco|first1=Gian Maria|last2=Floridi|first2=Luciano|date=2004|title=The tragedy of the digital commons|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10676-004-2895-2|journal=Ethics and Information Technology|language=en|volume=6|issue=2|pages=73–81|doi=10.1007/s10676-004-2895-2|s2cid=5990776|issn=1388-1957}}</ref> However, it can still be considered a finite resource within the context of privacy laws and regulations that limit access to it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yakowitz Bambauer |first=Jane |date=2011 |title=Tragedy of the Data Commons |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1789749|journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1789749|issn=1556-5068}}</ref>

Finite digital resources can thus be [[Digital commons (economics)|digital commons]]. An example is a [[database]] that requires persistent maintenance, such as [[Wikipedia]]. As a non-profit, it survives on a network of people contributing to maintain a knowledge base without expectation of direct compensation. This digital resource will deplete as Wikipedia may only survive if it is contributed to and used as a commons. The motivation for individuals to contribute is reflective of the theory because, if humans act in their own immediate interest and no longer participate, then the resource becomes misinformed or depleted. Arguments surrounding the regulation and mitigation requirements for digital resources may become reflective of natural resources.<ref>D. Anthony, S. W. Smith, and T. Williamson, "[http://web.mit.edu/iandeseminar/Papers/Fall2005/anthony.pdf Explaining quality in internet collective goods: zealots and good samaritans in the case of ''Wikipedia'']", THanover : Dartmouth College, Technical Report, November 2005.</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/reports/TR2007-606.pdf |title=The Quality of Open Source Production: Zealots and Good Samaritans in the Case of ''Wikipedia'' |first1=Denise |last1=Anthony |first2=Sean W. |last2=Smith |first3=Tim |last3=Williamson |journal=Technical Report TR2007-606 |publisher=Dartmouth College |date=April 2007 |access-date=2011-05-29 |archive-date=2011-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606072402/http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/reports/TR2007-606.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

This raises the question whether one can view access itself as a finite resource in the context of a digital environment. Some scholars argue this point, often pointing to a proxy for access that is more concrete and measurable.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1002/leap.1093 |title=Authors from the periphery countries choose open access more often |date=2017 |last1=Kieńć |first1=Witold |journal=Learned Publishing |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=125–131 |s2cid=20237315 |doi-access=free }}</ref> One such proxy is [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]], which can become congested when too many people try to access the digital environment.<ref name="Greco-2004" /><ref name="Springer-2009">{{Cite journal|last=C. D.|first=Springer|date=2009|title=Avoiding a Tragedy: Information Literacy and the Tragedy of the Digital Commons|journal=Library Philosophy and Practice|volume=5}}</ref> Alternatively, one can think of the network itself as a common resource which can be exhausted through overuse.<ref name="Gupta-1997">{{Cite journal|last1=Gupta|first1=A.|last2=Jukic|first2=B.|last3=Parameswaran|first3=M.|last4=Stahl|first4=D.O.|last5=Whinston|first5=A.B.|date=November–December 1997|title=Streamlining the digital economy: how to avert a tragedy of the commons|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/643935|journal=IEEE Internet Computing |volume=1 |issue=6 |pages=38–46 |doi=10.1109/4236.643935}}</ref> Therefore, when talking about resources running out in a digital environment, it could be more useful to think in terms of the access to the digital environment being restricted in some way; this is called [[information entropy]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Chapter 5. Organizing Access to Digital Information Sources|date=2004-01-28|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783598440052.109 |work=Digital Libraries |pages=109–128|place=Berlin, New York |publisher=Walter de Gruyter{{snd}} K. G. Saur |doi=10.1515/9783598440052.109|isbn=978-3-598-44005-2|access-date=2021-05-24}}</ref>

==== Pollution ====

In terms of pollution, there are some scholars who look only at the pollution that occurs in the digital environment itself.<ref>{{Citation|last=Weis|first=Judith S.|title=Introduction to the Marine Environment and Pollution|date=2015-01-08|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/wentk/9780199996698.003.0001|work=Marine Pollution|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/wentk/9780199996698.003.0001|isbn=978-0-19-999669-8|access-date=2021-05-24}}</ref> They argue that unrestricted use of digital resources can cause an overproduction of redundant data which causes noise and corrupts communication channels within the digital environment.<ref name="Greco-2004" /> Others argue that the pollution caused by the overuse of digital resources also causes pollution in the physical environment.<ref>{{Citation|title=Does pollution overrun anti-pollution?: Pollution efficiency and environmental management in Bangladesh|date=2015-11-17|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b19079-26|work=Water Resources and Environment|pages=147–150|publisher=CRC Press|doi=10.1201/b19079-26|isbn=978-0-429-22563-5|access-date=2021-05-24}}</ref> They argue that unrestricted use of digital resources causes misinformation, fake news, crime, and terrorism, as well as problems of a different nature such as confusion, manipulation, insecurity, and loss of confidence.<ref>{{Citation|title=Fake News Fingerprints|date=2020|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11807.003.0019|work=Fake News|publisher=The MIT Press|doi=10.7551/mitpress/11807.003.0019|isbn=978-0-262-35738-8|s2cid=241063966|access-date=2021-05-24 |last1=Faltesek |first1=Dan |pages=165–178 }}</ref><ref name="Almeida-2020">{{Cite journal|last1=Almeida|first1=Virgilio|last2=Filgueiras|first2=Fernando|last3=Gaetani|first3=Francisco|last4=Almeida|first4=Virgilio|date=2020-07-01|title=Digital Governance and the Tragedy of the Commons|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9195909|journal=IEEE Internet Computing|volume=24|issue=4|pages=41–46|doi=10.1109/MIC.2020.2979639|s2cid=221845343|issn=1089-7801}}</ref>

==== Digital divide and solutions ====
Scholars disagree on the particularities underlying the tragedy of the digital commons; however, there does seem to be some agreement on the cause and the solution.<ref name="Nagle 2018"/> The cause of the tragedy of the commons occurring in the digital environment is attributed by some scholars to the digital divide.<ref name="Nagle 2018"/> They argue that there is too large a focus on bridging this divide and providing unrestricted access to everyone. Such a focus on increasing access without the necessary restrictions causes the exploitation of digital resources for individual self-interest that is underlying any tragedy of the commons.<ref name="Greco-2004" /><ref name="Springer-2009" />

In terms of the solution, scholars agree that cooperation rather than regulation is the best way to mitigate a tragedy of the digital commons.<ref name="Nagle 2018"/> The digital world is not a closed system in which a central authority can regulate the users, as such some scholars argue that voluntary cooperation must be fostered.<ref name="Springer-2009" /> This could perhaps be done through [[digital governance]] structure that motivates multiple stakeholders to engage and collaborate in the decision-making process.<ref name="Almeida-2020" /> Other scholars argue more in favor of formal or informal sets of rules, like a code of conduct, to promote ethical behaviour in the digital environment and foster trust.<ref name="Greco-2004" /><ref>{{Citation|last1=Curien |first1=Nicolas |last2=Fauchart |first2=Emmanuelle |last3=Laffond |first3=Gilbert |last4=Moreau |first4=François |editor1-last=Brousseau |editor1-first=Eric |editor2-last=Curien |editor2-first=Nicolas |title=Online consumer communities: escaping the tragedy of the digital commons |date=2007|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/CBO9780511493201A017/type/book_part|work=Internet and Digital Economics|pages=201–219|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511493201.006 |isbn=978-0-511-49320-1|access-date=2020-12-23}}</ref> Alternative to managing relations between people, some scholars argue that it is access itself that needs to be properly managed, which includes expansion of network capacity.<ref name="Gupta-1997" />

==== Patents and technology ====
[[Patent]]s are effectively a limited-time exploitation monopoly given to inventors. Once the period has elapsed, the [[invention]] is in principle free to all, and many companies do indeed commercialize such products, now market-proven. However, around 50% of all [[patent]] applications do not reach successful commercialization at all, often due to immature levels of components or marketing failures by the innovators. Scholars have suggested that since investment is often connected to [[patentability]], such inactive patents form a rapidly ''growing'' category of underprivileged technologies and ideas that, under current market conditions, are effectively unavailable for use.<ref name="RID">Sariel, Aviram, Daniel Mishori, and Joseph Agassi. [https://academic.oup.com/jiplp/article-abstract/10/10/759/830141 "The re-inventor's dilemma: a tragedy of the public domain."] Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 10 (2015).</ref> 
Thus, "Under the current system, people are encouraged to register new patents, and are discouraged from using publicly available patents."{{r|RID|p=765}} The case might be particularly relevant to technologies that are relatively more environmentally/human damaging but also somewhat costlier than other alternatives developed contemporaneously.{{r|RID|p=766}}