The responsibilities of new non-state actors in cyberspace under international law

In the contemporary era, new non-state actors operating in cyberspace—an area that lies both within and beyond the traditional boundaries of states and is often described as a "grey zone"—are emerging as powerful entities challenging the traditional state-centric structure of international law. This study examines the international responsibility of states in situations arising from the conduct of these new non-state actors. The term "new non-state actors" is preferred primarily because these actors possess the capacity to operate simultaneously in a borderless and transnational domain such as cyberspace; unlike traditional non-state actors, they are essentially products of the private sector; and they increasingly wield greater political and geopolitical influence than many states. With the rapid advancement of digital technology and the transformation of cyberspace into a central arena for political, economic, and security activities, big tech companies, hackers, and other private actors have emerged as influential components of cyberspace, surpassing the traditional scope of non-state actors. This transformation has prompted renewed scrutiny of not only the international responsibility of states for the activities of new non-state actors in cyberspace, but also other established rules of international law. The study first defines the concepts of cyberspace, new non-state actors, and cyberattacks to establish a conceptual framework. It then addresses the issue of state responsibility under international law for acts committed by these actors. Subsequently, the fundamental principles of international law—namely, the sovereign equality of states, the prohibition of intervention in internal affairs, the prohibition on the use of force, and the protection against human rights violations—are examined in detail within the context of new non-state actors in cyberspace. As the current framework of international law essentially envisages responsibility only for states, the question of whether states can be held responsible under international law for acts committed by new non-state actors is assessed through existing theories, precedent-setting judicial decisions, hypothetical scenarios, and concrete case studies. The study aims to determine the international responsibility of states by applying existing rules of international law to the relatively new phenomenon of cyberspace. To this end, it makes use of instruments such as the 2001 Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts and the principle of due diligence. Ultimately, building upon the current body of international law, the study comprehensively examines the responsibility—both of states and of non-state actors themselves—for acts committed by new non-state actors in cyberspace, regardless of whether they have a direct link to a state.