Research
18 July 2011
The Evolution of Internet Defamation Law: Will Dow Jones v. Gutnick Survive the International Legal Schisms and Legislative Onslaught? by Fredrick Oduol Oduor [Deakin University] Social Science Research Network
Abstract: The internet is currently the most versatile medium of communication. It remains true to its heritage having been designed by the US military to withstand a nuclear attack. At conception it was designed to route around censorship and controls. It however, now functions in the civilian world in which laws and regulation are the norm.
11 July 2011
Regulating the Root: The Role of ICANN as Regulator, and Accountability by Emily Alexandra Wilsdon Social Science Research Network
Abstract: The Internet is emphatically not a government free zone. A central part is ICANN, the institution which regulates the 'root' of the internet (the domain name system and internet protocol addresses). This a fundamental element of the architecture of the Internet. We would be, literally, lost without it. In a sense, the code of the Internet, its protocols and languages are regulation - they control how the system behaves. ICANN is the regulator who regulates that 'regulation.' Principles of global administrative law can, once suitably modified for the context, suggest the most effective reforms.
02 July 2011
The Internet and Copyright Protection: Are We Producing a Global Generation of Copyright Criminals? by Fredrick Oduol Oduor [Deakin University] Social Science Research Network
Abstract: The advent of the internet posed and continues to pose fundamental changes in social norms, politics and economics in society. The belief in cyber anarchy - 'do not touch the internet' mantra, has fundamentally altered the understanding of copyright laws amongst the present generation. Subsequently an aversion for property rights as understood by well established copyright laws has developed, manifesting itself mainly through piracy.
23 June 2011
The Number is Me: Why Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses Should Be Protected as Personally Identifiable Information by Joshua J. McIntyre Social Science Research Network
Abstract: Although computer logs typically correlate online activity only to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, those addresses can be used to expose the individuals who initiated that activity. While various federal statutes protect similar data, such as telephone numbers and mailing addresses, as Personally Identifiable Information, federal privacy law does not sufficiently protect IP addresses. Thus, it has become commonplace for litigants to subpoena Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to unmask online speakers. Many ISPs have no reason to fight these subpoenas and readily give up their subscribers' names, addresses, telephone numbers, and other identifying data without demanding any court oversight or providing any notice to those identified. Left unchecked, such reporting could undermine free speech and the free exchange of ideas by encouraging users to censor their own online conduct.
19 June 2011
Non-State Actors and Global Informal Governance - The Case of Icann by Jonathan Weinberg [Wayne State University Law School Research Paper] Social Science Research Network
Abstract: This chapter will appear as part of the forthcoming INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK ON INFORMAL GOVERNANCE (Thomas Christiansen & Christine Neuhold eds.). It examines the history of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. ICANN is an unusual beast. When it came into existence, it faced legitimacy challenges: some were unconvinced that it was an appropriate wielder of the power it claimed, that they had any obligation to cooperate in its governance functions, or that they should comply with its pronouncements.
16 June 2011
Pornography in Cyberspace: An Analysis of Legal and Technological Challenges by Farooq A. Mir & M. Tariq Banday Social Science Research Network
Abstract: Cyberspace facilitates dissemination of Pornographic material of various forms that include text, drawings, cartoons, sculptures, paintings, photographs, films, videos, animations and computer generated images. This pornographic material often contains malware and other related security threats that can infect the system and thus make it vulnerable to attacks.
12 June 2011
ISP Liability for Copyright Authorisation: The Trial Decision in Roadshow Films v iinet Part One Communications and Media Law Association Communications Law Bulletin
This is Part One of a two part exploration of the contours of copright authorisation liability as that liability relates to a case involving the Australain internet service provider iiNet and thirty-four film and television companies.
08 June 2011
Intermediary Liability and Child Pornography: A Comparative Analysis by Arun B. Mattamana, Anjali Anchayil Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology
Abstract: With the increasing instances of transmission of child pornography over the internet, the liability of the host of service providers who facilitate the transmission of the content has become a contentious issue. With varying legal regimes, jurisdictional issues and standards of obscenity applied as well as varying degrees of care to be exercised, this area is a legal quagmire. This article addresses the question of whether we need an intermediary liability regime or not.
05 June 2011
Sexting and Teenagers: OMG R U Going 2 Jail??? by: Catherine Arcabascio Richmond University Journal of Law and Technology
Sexting is a relatively recent practice engaged in by the young, and sometimes not-so-young, and foolish.1 "Sexting" is "the practice of sending or posting sexually suggestive text messages and images, including nude or semi-nude photographs, via cellular telephones or over the Internet." While sexting can and does occur between and among people of any age, the real concerns are with teenagers who are sexting.
03 June 2011
Council Special Report: Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Insecurity Council on Foreign Relations
Overview: The Internet, since its debut in 1989, has revolutionized commerce, communication, military action, and governance. Much of the modern world is simply inconceivable without it. This revolution, however, has not come without a price. The annual cost of cyber crime has now climbed to more than $1 trillion, while coordinated cyberattacks have crippled Estonia, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan and compromised critical infrastructure in countries around the world. While no fewer than six UN bodies and multiple regional and national forums have sought to build a consensus on the future of Internet governance, there has been little progress thus far. The United States has largely abstained from these discussions, instead focusing on developing its own offensive and defensive cybersecurity capabilities while entrusting the ongoing stability of the system to the expertise of the private sector.
29 May 2011
Making the Punishment Fit the (Computer) Crime: Rebooting Notions of Possession for the Federal Sentencing of Child Pornography Offenses by Jelani Jefferson Richmond University Journal of Law and Technology
Sexual exploitation of children is a real and disturbing problem. However, when it comes to the sentencing of child pornography possessors, the U.S. federal system has a problem, as well. This Article adds to the current, heated discussion on what is happening in the sentencing of federal child pornography possession offenses, why nobody is satisfied, and how much the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are to blame.
27 May 2011
Peering: Is Google Evil? by Charles Petrie Computing Now
Is Google the new "evil empire?" Microsoft has long held that title for many people, especially here in Silicon Valley. Google is arguably now more important for more people and invites a comparison because of its informal corporate slogan: "Don't be evil." Indeed, you can find many rants now on the Web that include the words "Google," and "evil," as well as curse words. Wired ran an article long ago on the topic of Google and evil. Wikipedia devotes a page to criticisms of Google. So, is it evil?
22 May 2011
2010 Computing Outlook: Internet Predictions by Vinton G. Cerf and Munindar P. Singh Computing Now
In Computing Now this month, we take a broad look at prospects for computing in 2010, focusing on technology, policy, and applications. We've included several essays from the "Internet Predictions" issue of IEEE Internet Computing (Jan/Feb 2010), in which invited experts share their thoughts about the prospects for the Internet in the coming decade. We've also included a couple of articles from recent issues of other IEEE Computer Society publications.
15 May 2011
Singapore teens' perceived ownership of online sources and credibility by Andrew Michael Duffy, Tan Liying, Larissa Ong First Monday
Abstract: This study investigates teenage attitudes towards unofficial versus mainstream media as a source of information. It starts from three unproven premises. First, that young people place more trust in unofficial online news than in mainstream media, because they feel a greater ownership of the cyberworld.
08 May 2011
Internet Governance and Democratic Legitimacy by Olivier Sylvain Federal Communications Law Journal
Even as the Internet goes pop, federal policymakers continue to surrender their statutory obligation to regulate communications in the first instance to extralegal nongovernmental organizations comprised of technical experts. The FCC's adjudication of a dispute concerning a major broadband service provider's network management practices is a case in point. There, in the absence of any enforceable legislative or regulatory rule, the FCC turned principally to the transmission principles of the Internet Engineering Taskforce, the preeminent nongovernmental Internet engineering standard-setting organization.
05 May 2011
Reasonableness Meets Requirements: Regulating Security and Privacy in Software by Paul N. Otto Duke Law and Technology Review
Software security and privacy issues regularly grab headlines amid fears of identity theft, data breaches, and threats to security. Policymakers have responded with a variety of approaches to combat such risk. Suggested measures include promulgation of strict rules, enactment of open-ended standards, and, at times, abstention in favor of allowing market forces to intervene.
29 April 2011
Cybersieves by Derek e. Bambauer Duke Law and Technology Review
Abstract: This Article offers a process-based method to assess Internet censorship that is compatible with different value sets about what content should be blocked. Whereas China's Internet censorship receives considerable attention, censorship in the United States and other democratic countries is largely ignored. The Internet is increasingly fragmented by nations' different value judgments about what content is unacceptable. Countries differ not in their intent to censor material -- from political dissent in Iran to copyrighted songs in America -- but in the content they target, how precisely they block it, and how involved their citizens are in these choices. Previous scholars have analyzed Internet censorship from values-based perspectives, sporadically addressing key principles such as openness, transparency, narrowness, and accountability.
23 April 2011
Cyber Warfare and the Crime of Aggression: The Need for Individual Accountability on Tomorrow's Battlefield Duke Law and Technology Review
As cyberspace matures, the international system faces a new challenge in confronting the use of force. Non-State actors continue to grow in importance, gaining the skill and the expertise necessary to wage asymmetric warfare using non-traditional weaponry that can create devastating real-world consequences.
15 April 2011
Almost Free: An Analysis of ICANN's 'Affirmation of Commitments' by A. Michael Froomkin University of Colorado at Boulder Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law
Introduction: On September 30, 2009, the United States Department of Commerce and ICANN signed an "Affirmation of Commitments" that purports to recast the public-private relationship at the heart of the management of the domain name system. ICANN trumpeted this document as a culmination of the move from public to private control of the DNS, one that ICANN said "completes a transition that started 11 years ago" and "places beyond doubt that the ICANN model is best equipped to coordinate" the DNS.
Knowledge and Misfeasance: Tiffany v. eBay and the Knowledge Requirement of Contributory Trademark Infringement by Matthew C. Berntsen Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law
eBay created a new business model, made possible by the internet. The popular legend is that eBay was originally intended as a site at which consumers could offer for sale and sell still useable items sitting in garages and basements. But it blossomed into the world's largest marketplace where anonymous sellers offer unseen and unexamined merchandise to distant buyers. Given such circumstances, it was not long before the counterfeiters and grifters of the world realized that the site could be exploited by them without risk.
06 April 2011
Copyright Infringement in Cyberspace and Network Security: A Threat to E-Commerce by Tabrez Ahmad [The IUP Journal of Cyber Law] Social Science Research Network
Abstract: The growth of information and digital technology has rapidly increased the number of internet users. Many countries, including India, have enacted legislations to regulate the activities related to Internet. The Government of India has passed Information Technology Act in 2000 and further amended it on October 27, 2009, which gave fillip to cyber law. Though the amended Act contains considerable changes, the issues such as copyright, payment issues, media convergence, domain name, cybersquating and jurisdiction still remain unsolved.
03 April 2011
Intellectual Property and Its Protection in Cyberspace by Vijaykumar Shrikrushna Chowbe [The IUP Journal of Intellectual Property Rights] Social Science Research Network
Abstract: The advent of Information Technology (IT) and computers have created a new world in the cyberspace giving rise to various legal challenges and at times solutions. Intellectual Properties (IP) such as copyrights, trademarks, designs, layout and circuit designs in the current digital environment, are interwoven with the electronic technology. The changed environment demands more affirmative protective laws to guard new inventions and creations and also to save the real owners from economic losses.
30 March 2011
ONI Releases Special Report on the Use of Western Technologies by Middle East Censors OpenNet Initiative
The recent political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has thrown into focus the information shaping, events-based blocking, and counter-control activities undertaken by governments throughout the region. New research by the OpenNet Initiative shows that many of these activities are supported by Western filtering tools and services.
28 March 2011
The Italian Google-Case: Privacy, Freedom of Speech and Responsibility of Providers for User-Generated Contents by Giovanni Sartor & Mario Viola de Azevedo Cunha Social Science Research Network
Abstract: In a recent decision of the Tribunal of Milan three Google executives were convicted for violating data protection, in connection with the on-line posting of a video showing a disabled person being bullied and insulted. This paper, after illustrating the facts of the case and the reasoning of the judge, discusses the main issue at stake, namely, the role and responsibilities of providers of platforms for user-created contents with regard to violations of data privacy.
20 March 2011
Cybersquatting: Pits and Stops by Slahudeen Ahmed Social Science Research Network
Abstract: This article shall begin by outlining the domain name disputes and the problem of cybersquatting. The main thrust of the article shall be to consider how the authorities react to allegations of cybersquatting and attempt to analyze whether this has been sufficiently effective as far as India is concerned. First of all, the US approach and their specific Anti-cybersquatting legislation shall be discussed.
