Internet Law Commons^™

Form And Substance In Cyberspace, A. Michael Froomkin

Articles

In this Response to the preceding article by Joe Sims and Cynthia Bauerly, A. Michael Froomkin defends his earlier critique of ICANN. This Response first summarizes the arguments in Wrong Turn In Cyberspace, which explained why ICANN lacks procedural and substantive legitimacy. This Response focuses on how the U.S. government continues to assert control over the domain name system, and how this control violates the APA, the nondelegation doctrine as articulated by the Supreme Court in Carter Coal, and public policy. Professor Froomkin then proposes that ICANN's role be more narrowly focused away from policy making towards true …

Digital Tv, Copy Control, And Public Policy, Jonathan Weinberg

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Your Money Or Your Speech: The Children's Internet Protection Act And The Congressional Assault On The First Amendment In Public Libraries, Steven D. Hinckley

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the inherent conflict between This article examines the inherent conflict between two Congressional approaches to public access to the Internet - the provision of federal funding support to schools and public libraries to ensure broad access to online information regardless of financial means, and federal restrictions on children's use of school and public library computers to access content that the government feels could be harmful to them. It analyzes the efficacy and constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Congress's attempt to use its powers of the purse to control objectionable online content in the very …

The Legislative Response To The Evolution Of Computer Viruses, Mark R. Colombell

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

On July 19, 2001, and again on July 31, 2001, the United States Government was attacked by a worm. The Code Red worm, a malevolent computer program, spread across the Internet impacting thousands of computers globally. The initial target of the Code Red worm was the White House website. Just days after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania on September 11, the Nimda virus was unleashed on the Internet. By consuming up to ten percent of the Internet's capacity, Nimda quickly received the distinction as the worst computer infestation to date.

Letter From The Editor, John Joseph Meadows

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Welcome, readers, to the ninth year of publication at the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology. The entire Journal Editorial Board and Staff are pleased to report that our inundation with submissions since last Spring has permitted us to be quite choosy in selecting articles for this Issue and we hope you will enjoy them and find them to be insightful and current.

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy: A Practical Guide, Bradley J. Freedman, Robert J.C. Deane

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Disputes involving alleged bad faith registration and use of certain Internet domain names may be arbitrated pursuant to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the Policy) mandated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN").

The Policy is the first attempt to establish a global set of substantive rules regarding certain kinds of Internet-related trademark disputes, and a single, international system for the arbitration of those disputes. In many respects, the Policy has fulfilled its objective of providing an efficient and cost effective means of resolving certain domain name disputes. In other respects, however, the experience with …

Who Was That Masked Man? Online Defamation, Freedom Of Expression, And The Right To Speak Anonymously, Jonathon T. Feasby

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

As the internet continues to reach into the lives of people around the world, it facilitates interaction and the exchange of ideas between far-flung individuals and groups to an extent unprecedented in communications history. However, with this positive effect, the potential of the internet as a forum for defamation and other malfeasance has increased as well. Words online can be heard or read in places conventional forms of speech might never reach. As the United States Supreme Court put it, with the aid of the internet ". . . any person with a phone line can become a town crier …

Book Review: A Guide To Electronic Legal Research By A. Zivanovic (Markham Ont.: Butterworths Canada, 2001), David H. Michels

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Personal Information Protection And Electronic Documents Act: An Annotated Guide By Stephanie Perrin, Heather H. Black, David H. Flaherty And T. Murray Rankin, Q.C. (Concord, Ont.: Irwin Law, 2001), Teresa Scassa

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In April 2000, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act was passed by the House of Commons. The legislation dealt with both personal information privacy and the use and validity of electronic documents in areas governed by federal law. On January 1, 2001, the portion of the Act dealing with electronic documents took effect, as did the privacy provisions, to the extent that they related to the collection use or disclosure of personal information inter-provincially, or in connection with a federal work, undertaking or business. The Act applied to personal health information as of January 1, 2002, and will …

Is Internet Gaming Legal In Canada: A Look At Starnet, C. Ian Kyer, Danielle Hough

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The development of the Internet has kindled many new business opportunities in the online environment. Despite the recent slump in online business growth and popularity, one line of online business is generating profit and growing at a rapid rate: the business of online gaming.

The legality of such businesses is questionable in Canada and there are few gaming cases to assist Canadian lawyers. The following analysis must be considered in light of the dearth of jurisprudence in this area and should not be considered legal advice. This area of the law is in flux and developments may be unpredictable.

When …

Suing The Insecure?: A Duty Of Care In Cyberspace, Stephen E. Henderson, Matthew Yarbrough

Faculty Articles

The Internet, already of major significance throughout much of the globe, is expected to become increasingly pervasive in diverse arenas, from health care, to commerce, to entertainment, and is expected to become increasingly critical to essential infrastructures, including banking, power, and telecommunications. Yet the medium is both inherently and unnecessarily insecure. In particular, today’s Internet can be crippled by distributed denial-of-service attacks launched by relatively unsophisticated and judgment-proof parties. Not every computing system involved in such attacks, however, is necessarily without resources. Application of traditional negligence liability, coupled with other government incentives and support institutions, will encourage better security and …

In Search Of A Balance Between Police Power And Privacy In The Cybercrime Treaty, D.C. Kennedy

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Imagine that you wake up one morning, turn on your computer, and open an e-mail message with a catchy phrase in the subject line. Immediately after opening the e-mail’s attachment, your personal computer is severely damaged. Obviously having a bad day, you head to your job as an attorney for a multinational corporation. By the time you arrive at work, there has been damage to company computers across the globe. The monetary costs of the damage, coupled with the downtime, are astronomical. The CEO of your company is furious. You hope to diffuse the situation by informing your boss that …

Trusting And Non-Trusting On The Internet, Tamar Frankel

Faculty Scholarship

The Puzzle: The Internet is a wonderful innovation, allowing people around the world to communicate, trade, and obtain services. Convenient and rich in choices and opportunities, the Internet is tremendously attractive to buyers. Naturally, businesses are flocking to the Internet. The warning has been sounded that those who do not stake a claim in this incredible new communication medium will be left behind to perish. Yet, with all the enthusiasm, many buyers hesitate to take a serious plunge. Businesses are told repeatedly that they must obtain their customers' trust, yet find it more difficult to gain this trust in cyberspace …

Juries And Technology: Equipping Jurors For The Twenty-First Century (Symposium), Nancy S. Marder

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Data Mines And Battlefields: Looking At Financial Aggregators To Understand The Legal Boundaries And Ownership Rights In The Use Of Personal Data, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 313 (2001), Julia Alpert Gladstone

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Financial Web aggregation is a service that allows the customer to view all data from various accounts including financial institutions, stockbrokers, airline frequent flyer and other reward programs. Financial Web aggregation services may be offered on a stand-alone basis but the trend is to offer them in conjunction with other financial services, most commonly bill payment. HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”) technology is used to obtain the account information, this is most often done without the permission of the provider. The alternative to HTML connection is direct feed aggregation…the aggregator requires the implementation of specific software, i.e. Open Financial Exchange software. …

Fair Warning: Preemption And Navigating The Bermuda Triangle Of E-Sign, Ueta, And State Digital Signature Laws, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 401 (2001), Renard Francois

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Problems with authenticity, integrity, and repudiation can create a barrier for both individuals and businesses using the Internet for transactions and negotiations. To help address these issues, the federal government enacted E-Sign. This statute protects consumers and ensures no signature will be denied legal effect. E-Sign is sometimes in conflict with state adopted statute, UETA. E-Sign has preemption provisions that are inconsistent with the goals of creating legal uniformity. This comment suggests amending E-Sign so that it is clear that any modification to UETA will cause the state’s version of UETA to be completely preempted.

Self-Prescribing Medication: Regulating Prescription Drug Sales On The Internet, 20 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 57 (2001), Kristin Yoo

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

"Online pharmacies, your friendly neighborhood drugstores." The Internet is not only a great telecommunication medium but also a low-cost and convenient commercial marketplace. It is no exception that online pharmacies flourished as a result, but the consequences of such development pose grave danger to the public and great challenges to regulations. The author discusses the benefits and risk of online pharmacies, the different types of online pharmacies, state governments' involvement in regulating online prescriptions and federal involvements. Despite both state and federal legislations and regulations, proliferation of online pharmacies, established inside and outside of the US, proves to be a …

Internet Jurisdiction Today, Adria Allen

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper will use the Yahoo case to illustrate the unique jurisdictional dilemma posed by the Internet as countries try to enforce their laws in an era when laws may be broken, through the use of the Internet, from other countries with conflicting laws.' Part I of this paper will address the Yahoo case and its importance to Internet jurisdiction. Part II will explore traditional jurisdiction and apply it to the Yahoo case. Part III will identify twopotential theories of Internet jurisdiction and investigate whether they are feasible solutions to the problem posed by the Yahoo case. Part IV will …

The Proposed E.U. Vat On Electronically Transmitted Services: Enforcement And Compliance Issues, Thomas Fawkes

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper will begin by discussing the current VAT system in the E.U. It will also describe in detail the provisions of the proposed VAT amendments as they affect electronic commerce transactions with respect to both B2B and B2C transactions. Next, the practical effects of the VAT amendments in terms of increased VAT revenue for the E.U. and its mem-ber states will be discussed. Following will be a discussion on the past and present failures of the E.U. and its Member States in encouraging and en-forcing compliance under the current VAT Directive, and the implication of such failures on the …

Consequential Damages Exclusions Under Ucita, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 295 (2001), Douglas E. Phillips

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act ("UCITA") elicits both love and hate, but decision time is here. Two states have enacted UCITA, several others are considering it, and UCITA choice-of-law clauses are already beginning to appear in software license agreements and other computer information contracts. This article focuses on how UCITA affects a pivotal issue: enforceability of contract clauses that exclude consequential damages. Losses from software development gone awry often far exceed the customer's investment and the developer's return. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, questions remain about the enforceability in certain circumstances of consequential damages exclusions. UCITA answers these questions …

The Internal Revenue Service Is Shifting American Taxpayers From A Paper Based Filing System To Electronic Filing - Is The Irs Offering A Capable System That Protects Taxpayer Confidentiality?, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 367 (2001), Anthony D. Skidmore

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The IRS utilizes Internet technology, such as electronic filing, to aid in the enormous task of processing individual tax returns annually. The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (“1998 Act”) allows signatures to be waived by the IRS or to provide alternative means of signing. Litigation challenging the IRS administration of its electronic filing program to date has been upheld. Recent decisions illustrate the authority the IRS has to set standards for participating in the electroinc filing system. Recent litigation surrounding the validity of refund-anticipation loans has been upheld, despite the annual percentage rate charged. Criminal litigation …

The Regulation Of New Media Broadcasting In Canada Post-Icravetv.Com, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 331 (2001), Danistan Saverimuthu

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Broadcasters in both the U.S. and Canada were perplexed when iCraveTV.com began intercepting American and Canadian television signals and began broadcasting them for free over the Internet. Broadcasters in Canada contend that these type of actions constitute a violation of section 3 of the Canadian Copyright Act. Provisions of section 31(2) of the Copyright Act appear to allow new media broadcasters to rebroadcast signals in return for paying a tariff, however, these criterion must be meet: the communication must be a retransmission of a local or distant signal, the transmission must be lawful under the Broadcasting Act, the signal must …

Privacy Protection For Electronic Communications And The “Interception Unauthorized Access” Dilemma, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 435 (2001), Carlos Perez-Albuerne, Lawrence Friedman

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

When Congress foresaw the need for privacy protection for personal and commercial communications, it modified the Wire and Electronic Communications Interception and Interception of Oral Communications Act (“Wire-Tap Act”) through the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and added the Stored Communications Act to broaden the scope of prohibitions against electronic eavesdropping. Some questions, however, are raised by the interpretation of the Wiretap Act’s definition of “intercept” and the Stored Communications Act’s definition of “unauthorized access.” The authors of this comment explore the decisions in the cases Steve Jackson Games v. U.S. and Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines to resolve this question …

Do You Want To Step Outside? An Overview Of Online Alternative Dispute Resolution, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 457 (2001), William Krause

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The first section of the article discusses the different sites of online Alternative Means of Dispute Resolution (ADR). The author discusses Virtual Magistrate, settlement sites (focusing on ClickNSettle), SquareTrade, iLevel, Internet Neutral, and the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Process of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The second section of the article addresses the usefulness and policy issues surrounding online ADR. Among the issues discussed in this section are the effect on consumer confidence, jurisdiction and enforcement, fees, and limited hearings and discovery.

Cyberslapp Suits And John Doe Subpoenas: Balancing Anonymity And Accountability In Cyberspace, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 493 (2001), Shaun B. Spencer

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The first section of the article examines the history of cyberSLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) suits. The second section looks at the conflicting goals of anonymity and accountability. The third section discusses how existing law does not adequately protection the people whose names are being subpoenaed. The final section proposes an amendment to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Internet Business Method Patents: The Federal Circuit Vacates The Preliminary Injunction In Amazon.Com V. Barnesandnoble.Com, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 523 (2001), Sue Ann Mota

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article is a casenote that examines the appellate decision in Amazon.com v. Barnesandnoble.com. The first section of the article reviews the history of business method patents and the precedent case of State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Fin. Group, Inc. The second section looks at the history of the Amazon.com case. The final section examines the major developments in business method patents since the Amazon.com case.

Privacy Rights In Personal Information: Hipaa And The Privacy Gap Between Fundamental Privacy Rights And Medical Information, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 535 (2001), Kevin B. Davis

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Advancements in computers and technology have affected nearly every aspect of health care. Although many of the effects of modern technology have benefited health care, a vast increase in the amount of people with access to medical information has led to numerous privacy concerns. In response to these new problems, and at the direction of Congress through the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), Health and Human Services (“HHS”) implemented the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule “protects privacy by regulating the ways in which certain medical information may be used by certain entities.” The constitutional right to …

Cybermedicine: Mainstream Medicine By 2020/Crossing Boundaries, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 557 (2001), Kim Solez, Sheila Moriber Katz

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Cybermedicine, or “the discipline of applying the Internet to medicine,” is rapidly becoming more and more mainstream, and it will ultimately transform medicine completely. Cybermedicine uses “global networking to educate, innovate and communicate in ways that promote medical practice, commerce, scholarship, and empowerment.” Cybermedicine is taking place all over the world and in all walks of life. Currently, Web and e-mail based programs connect doctors to patients, doctors to doctors, and patients to patients with numerous beneficial results. E-mail is particularly important today because not everyone has access to high-speed Internet connections. The impending improvements in technology and the possibilities …

Issues For Healthcare Companies When Contracting With Asps, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 569 (2001), Karen K. Harris

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The first section of the article gives the reader information on what to look for when choosing an outsourcing or ASP provider. The second section provides information negotiating a service level agreement, including information on service levels, payment terms, customer responsibility, dispute resolution and confidentiality.

Cybermedicine: How Computing Empowers Doctors And Patients For Better Health Care, 19 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 589 (2001), William B. Powers

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

In Cybermedicine: How Computing Empowers Doctors and Patients for Better Health Care, Dr. Warner V. Slack takes the reader on an interesting journey from the advent of experimental computer usage in the early 1960s, to comprehensive, hospital-wide computing systems in the 1980s, and into the future. As a professor of medicine and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and co-president of the Center for Clinical Computing and co-director of the Division for Clinical Computing at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Slack, who has been involved with computers in medicine for some thirty-five years, demonstrates how the use of computers can …