Law Commons^™

Social Networking: A Conceptual Analysis Of A Data Controller, Rebecca Wong

Dr Rebecca Wong

This article updates a working party looking at the definition of a "data controller" under the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC within the context of a social networking environment. In brief, the article considers twhether the phenomenom of social networking (through Facebook (FB), MySpace and Bebo) has produced unintended consequences in the interpretation and application of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC to the online environment. The Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC defines a "data controller" broadly to refer to the 'natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means …

Ip Policy Void In The 'Grand Climate Bargain', Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

In September, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd emphasized the need for national and global action on climate change and called for “a grand bargain” between “the developed world and the developing world in order to reach an outcome for the planet earth as a whole”.No doubt, action on climate change will need new technology, which most likely will be predominately developed in a few, innovative countries. It is also clear, however, that if this ‘grand bargain’ is to be more than a wistful hope we need appropriate intellectual property rights in place for these new technological developments.The chairs of the Ad …

Media Futures: A Review Essay On 'The Future Of Reputation', 'Tv Futures', And 'The Future Of The Internet And How To Stop It', Prometheus, Vol. 27 (3), P. 267-279., Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

This review essay considers three recent books, which have explored the legal dimensions of new media. In contrast to the unbridled exuberance of Time Magazine, this series of legal works displays an anxious trepidation about the legal ramifications associated with the rise of social networking services. In his tour de force, The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet, Daniel Solove considers the implications of social networking services, such as Facebook and YouTube, for the legal protection of reputation under privacy law and defamation law. Andrew Kenyon’s edited collection, TV Futures: Digital Television Policy in Australia, explores …

A Submission On The Hawke Interim Report On The Environment Protection And Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), Sarah Holcombe, Matthew Rimmer, Terri Janke

Matthew Rimmer

There are currently no regulatory mechanisms, laws or policies that specifically provide rights to Indigenous peoples over their Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property. We strongly recommend that the commonwealth take the lead to ensure that national sui generis laws are developed (perhaps to operate initially in areas of Cth jurisdiction, such as IPAs and national parks). The development of such laws should be in tandem with practical guidelines to assist their implementation. A comprehensive, nationally consistent scheme for access to genetic resources, which offers meaningful protection of traditional knowledge and substantive benefit-sharing with Indigenous communities, has to be developed. There …

Caméras De Surveillance : La Cohabitation Légale Reste Houleuse…, Franck Dumortier

Franck Dumortier

La nouvelle loi du 21 mars 2007 relative à l’installation et à l’utilisation de caméras de surveillance (ci après « loi caméras) est loin d’être la seule norme juridique réglant l’utilisation des caméras en Belgique. Outre cette loi existent, en effet, un certain nombre de textes généraux et particuliers ayant une incidence normative sur l’installation et l’utilisation des yeux électroniques. Il s’agit notamment de la loi du 8 décembre 1992 relative à la protection de la vie privée à l’égard des traitements de données à caractère personnel , de la loi du 2 septembre 2005 simplifiant la loi du 10 …

Wikipedia, Collective Authorship, And The Politics Of Knowledge, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

This chapter considers the legal ramifications of Wikipedia, and other online media, such as the Encyclopedia of Life. Nathaniel Tkacz (2007) has observed: 'Wikipedia is an ideal entry-point from which to approach the shifting character of knowledge in contemporary society.' He observes: 'Scholarship on Wikipedia from computer science, history, philosophy, pedagogy and media studies has moved beyond speculation regarding its considerable potential, to the task of interpreting - and potentially intervening in - the significance of Wikipedia's impact' (Tkacz 2007). After an introduction, Part II considers the evolution and development of Wikipedia, and the legal troubles that have attended it. …

A Submission To The House Standing Committee On Procedure Inquiry Into The Effectiveness Of House Committees, Simon Rice, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission to your inquiry into the effectiveness of the House Committees. Our Parliamentary committees have six basic roles: to advise, to inquire, to administrate, to legislate, to negotiate, and to scrutinise and control’. After a slow start in Australia, committees have become increasingly important to democratic governance in Australia.

The committees’ effective performance of their tasks are vital to a healthy Australian democracy. It is our experience, as frequent participants in parliamentary committee inquiries, that the committees are not sufficiently resourced, in time and personnel, to effectively discharge their increasingly important role.

Cuarto Congreso Nacional De Organismos Públicos Autónomos, Bruno L. Costantini García

Bruno L. Costantini García

Memorias del Cuarto Congreso Nacional de Organismos Públicos Autónomos

"El papel de los Organismos Públicos Autónomos en la Consolidación de la Democracia"

Invoking And Avoiding The First Amendment: How Internet Service Providers Leverage Their Status As Both Content Creators And Neutral Conduits, Rob M. Frieden

Rob Frieden

Much of the policy debate and scholarly literature on network neutrality has addressed whether the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has statutory authority to require Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) to operate in a nondiscriminatory manner. Such analysis largely focuses on questions about jurisdiction, the scope of lawful regulation, and the balance of power between stakeholders, generally adverse to government oversight, and government agencies, apparently willing to overcome the same inclination. The public policy debate primarily considers micro-level issues, without much consideration of broader concerns such as First Amendment values. While professing to support marketplace resource allocation and a regulation-free Internet, the …

Les Aspects Légaux De La Vidéosurveillance En Belgique: Analyse De La Loi Du 21 Mars 2007, Franck Dumortier

Franck Dumortier

No abstract provided.

Droit À La Vie Privée Et "Cloud Computing", Franck Dumortier

Franck Dumortier

No abstract provided.

A Submission To The Senate Community Affairs Committee Inquiry Into Gene Patents, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

I am a senior lecturer and the associate director for research at the Australian National University College of Law based in Canberra, Australia. I am also an associate director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA). I have a BA (Hons) and a University Medal in literature, and a LLB (Hons) from the Australian National University, and a PhD in law from the University of New South Wales. I am a member of the Copyright and Intellectual Property Advisory Group of the Australian Library and Information Association, and a director of the Australian Digital Alliance. I am …

Etat Des Droits De L'Homme En Matière De Fichage Et De Respect Du Droit À La Vie Privée, Franck Dumortier

Franck Dumortier

Le déploiement de nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication lié à certains développements sociopolitiques contemporains défient la liberté individuelle en ce qu’ils induisent un type de contrôle particulier communément appelé « fichage ». Ce phénomène, qui s’est considérablement amplifié ces dernières années, menace tout particulièrement le droit au respect à la vie privée en raison de plusieurs de ses tendances récentes a priori hétérogènes les unes aux autres mais qui pourtant se renforcent entre elles : l’utilisation de technologies d’identification réputées plus précises et plus fiables, un recours accru à la technologie RFID (identification par radio-fréquences) permettant la …

Social Networking: A Conceptual Analysis Of A Data Controller, Rebecca Wong

Dr Rebecca Wong

This paper will look at the definition of a “data controller” within the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and consider whether the phenomenom of social networking (through Facebook (FB), MySpace and Bebo) has produced unintended consequences in the interpretation and application of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC to the online environment. The Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC defines a “data controller” broadly to refer to the ‘natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of processing are …

Rethinking Anticircumvention's Interoperability Policy, Aaron K. Perzanowski

Aaron K. Perzanowski

Interoperability is widely touted for its ability to spur incremental innovation, increase competition and consumer choice, and decrease barriers to accessibility. In light of these attributes, intellectual property law generally permits follow-on innovators to create products that interoperate with existing systems, even without permission. The anticircumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) represent a troubling departure from this policy, resulting in patent-like rights to exclude technologies that interoperate with protected platforms. Although the DMCA contains internal safeguards to preserve interoperability, judicial misinterpretation and a narrow textual focus on software-to-software interoperability render those safeguards largely ineffective. Subjecting restrictions on …

Ip Addresses And Personal Data: K.U. V Finland, Karen Mccullagh

Karen McCullagh

Classifying IP addresses as personal data could have serious implications for search engines and many other electronic businesses, in particular, the personalised advertising business model of the Internet. Recent court decisions have not clarified the position, so businesses that log IP addresses should proceed with caution.