For governments to regulate, they must first define the problem and decide which policymakers have the authority to make decisions. Technological development can disrupt the authority-allocation process by fostering uncertainty about which actors are responsible for making policy. This article examines the role that changing technology has played in the development of cybersecurity policy in the United States. New technologies have increased the type and scope of assets vulnerable to cyberthreats, and with them the number of governing units who can claim jurisdiction over cybersecurity-related issues. Uncertainty about the nature of the problem has led the U.S. Congress to rely heavily on bureaucratic witnesses and focus on how existing regulations can be brought to bear. Emerging technologies create regulatory challenges for governance not only through unforeseen consequences but through uncertainty over who can regulate. Fragmented authority can produce piecemeal responses and a reliance on existing frameworks that benefit regulated industries.

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新兴技术和问题定义的不确定性：网络安全案例

政府要进行监管，他们必须首先定义问题并决定哪些决策者有权做出决定。技术发展可以通过增加对哪些参与者负责制定政策的不确定性来破坏权力分配过程。本文考察了不断变化的技术在美国网络安全政策的发展中所发挥的作用。新技术增加了易受网络威胁的资产的类型和范围，随之增加了可以对网络安全相关问题拥有管辖权的管理单位的数量。问题性质的不确定性导致美国国会严重依赖官僚证人，并专注于如何实施现有法规。新兴技术不仅通过不可预见的后果，而且通过谁可以监管的不确定性给治理带来监管挑战。分散的权威可能会产生零碎的反应，并依赖于有利于受监管行业的现有框架。