Direct Broadcast Satellites: The Conceptual Convergence of the Free Flow of Information and National Sovereignty.

The direct broadcast satellite is the latest in a series of developments in international communication techniques that have radically altered the role of information in the global society. Though now technically feasible, the direct broadcast satellite may never be widely employed because it challenges traditional international political concepts concerning public management of information. Still, this potential for increased flow of information from direct broadcast satellites accentuates the problems of misuse. International efforts to reach consensus on the use and regulation of direct broadcast satellites disclose a basic conflict between national policies governing the public management of information. (HAB)