Comprehensive Volume, 18 th Edition Chapter 11: Cyberlaw

What is Cyberlaw? Cyberlaw is not a new body of laws. Cyberlaw is the application of existing laws and legal precedent to new problems presented with the technology of the Internet. Cyberlaw issues include: TortsContracts Intellectual Property Criminal Law Constitutional Restraints and Protections Securities Law

Tort Issues in Cyberlaw Privacy sent over an employer’s network is not guaranteed private. sent over a home-use network may be intercepted; this issue is still developing. Web sites routinely collect information about their customers; this information may be sold to other businesses. Identity theft, or the use of someone else’s identity to purchase or obtain credit, is a growing problem. Most web merchants minimize this problem by providing a secure mode of transmitting personal information.

Tort Issues in Cyberlaw Appropriation (the unauthorized use of someone’s image) is illegal both on the Internet and elsewhere. Defamation (untrue statements about someone) remains illegal in the realm of the Internet. The anonymity of the Internet makes it seem “safe,” but the law is dealing with whether an Internet Service provider must reveal the hidden identity of a customer accused of defamation.

Contract Issues in Cyberlaw Though most contract issues have not changed with the Internet, a few new questions have arisen. At what point is the contract formed? Is an electronic signature valid? Misrepresentation and Fraud Fraud is the most reported crime committed via the Internet. This is in part due to the high volume of sales transactions over the Internet.

Intellectual Property Issues The Internet has not actually changed intellectual property rights, but has facilitated the illegal copying of copyrighted material. The best known case dealing with intellectual property via the Internet is the suit against Napster, the web site which facilitated the free downloading of copyrighted songs.

Criminal Law Issues Most computer related crime is conventional crime carried out through the use of the computer. A computer may be the target of the crime, as when someone “hacks” into a bank’s computer records. Sometimes the computer is the tool of the crime, as in the transporting of pornography across state lines.

Constitutional Issues and Cyberlaw First Amendment Rights Internet free speech is protected as it is anywhere. Violations outside the First Amendment protection are common on the Internet due to ease of communication and anonymity. Commerce Clause Requires some connection between a business and the taxing authority; questionable with Internet transactions. Due Process Can an Internet business be required to travel to a state where a customer is bringing a suit against them?

Securities Law Issues The Internet has facilitated new methods of securities trading, including day trading and minute-by-minute tracking of stock performances. Abuses have arisen from the use of the Internet; most notably the practice of “pump and dump.” This is where a trader spreads false information about a stock to quickly raise its price, then selling existing shares at an inflated price.