Internet -- Cyberspace
Internet law, also known as cyber law, is concerned with the legal regulation of cyberspace, business conducted on the Internet, and e-commerce transactions. A relatively new area of legal jurisdiction, most regulations have been established by judges. Owing to the rapid rise and growth of the Internet, new legal concerns that need to be re-addressed have arisen with regard to this new medium. Some of these issues include matters as diverse as censorship, intellectual property protections, privacy and security, defamation, contract and licensing rights, taxation, and online crime.Controversy Over Internet Law
Lawmakers are continually confronted with the challenge of defining the space occupied by the Internet community. Some insist that the Internet must be treated as a physical space and should, therefore, fall under the laws of a given jurisdiction. Others argue that the Internet resides in a space of its own, and should not have any specific restraints; this same view holds that the Internet community is responsible for establishing its regulations. The international nature of the Internet aids this latter camp, supporting the argument that no specific nation, state, or county can pose limits.
Because any individual with an Internet connection has the ability to self-publish and distribute to a potentially limitless audience, free speech concerns are particularly intense in the cyber domain. This accessibility along with the relative anonymity of Internet publishing affords freedoms unmatched by traditional print-based media.
E-commerce or e-business relies on Web sites to conduct transactions. Like mail order businesses, most of the work revolves around taking orders and accepting payments from customers that rarely (if ever) make physical or verbal contact with those providing the goods and services.
Internet Laws and Regulations
Internet-specific laws and regulations established by American jurisdictions include:
- Dot Com Disclosures – Guidelines posed by the Federal Trade Commission for online advertising.
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act – Restricts the unauthorized use of software.
- Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act – Sets forth-legal standards for electronic signatures and record keeping.
- Communications Decency Act – Regulates pornography. Although this law has been party revoked, Internet service providers still refer to it as they work to protect themselves from liabilities related to the activities of their users.
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act – Outlaws software piracy and the activities that aid and enable it.
- Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act – A part of (but distinct from) the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (Proposed) – An attempt to establish clear and uniform rules to govern software licensing, online access, and other transactions in computer information.
- Can Spam Act of 2003 – A set of national standards for sending commercial emails.
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