The concept of net neutrality describes a regime that prevents Internet Access Providers from unreasonably discriminating between different kinds of data traffic. The present dissertation explores the informational ecosystem - constituted by regulation and the public discourse - that surrounds net neutrality in the U.S. and the E.U. In Part One the thesis describes theoretical and technical background of net neutrality regulation as a basis for two case studies of net neutrality in the U.S. and the E.U, respectively. In Part Two, it is shown that the regulatory process in the U.S. has produced strict net neutrality rules that pursue three primary goals. The discourse analysis identifies six groups of participants who show different modes of engagement and collaboration. It is then demonstrated that the regulatory goals are discussed extensively in the debate, while other topics are prominent, too. The analysis in Part Three finds that European lawmakers have long adhered to soft regulation, but have recently adopted relatively strict net neutrality rules. This part also identifies a set of regulatory goals that are deeply rooted in E.U. strategy. The discourse analysis subsequently finds that the European debate is shaped by the same groups of participants as its American counterpart but focuses on a slightly different set of topics. Part Four embeds the findings of the analysis into discourse theory and compares the two case studies. It is found that the current rules are similar although regulatory approaches have recently moved in different directions. Moreover, lawmakers of the two jurisdictions share some regulatory goals. At the same time, the E.U. discourse is shown to be strongly influenced by the American debate. The dissertation concludes with a normative recommendation for regulators to facilitate a constructive discourse on net neutrality, which should inform regulation, instead of merely reacting to formal comment.

Diese Arbeit untersucht zunächst den gesetzlichen Rahmen, den das schweizerische Urheberrecht den Podcastern vorgibt, und identifiziert ökonomische Anreize und Hürden, die dadurch geschaffen werden. In einem nächsten Schritt wird eine normative Bewertung der urheberrechtlichen Situation des Podcastings in der Schweiz vorgenommen, die mit Blick auf die Kommunikationsfreiheit, die kulturelle Partizipation und die Informationsvielfalt zeigt, dass eine Erleichterung der rechtlichen Einschränkungen wünschenswert wäre. Abschliessend werden verschiedene Lösungsansätze zur Förderung des freizügigen Umgangs mit Inhalten Dritter in Podcasts diskutiert.