Internet Law Commons^™

Information Vs. Commercialization: The Internet And Unsolicited Electronic Mail, Karin Mika

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In November of 1996, the District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania allowed America Online to prohibit a business from using the Internet for sending bulk, unsolicited electronic mail.[1] The decision highlighted some intriguing issues related to how the Internet interacts with the current legal framework and how legal standards that have adequately encompassed most business uses for emerging technologies are not a perfect fit for issues related to the Internet. This article will focus on the current struggle to fit the Internet into some type of existing legal framework, especially with respect to Internet business uses. It will focus primarily on …

Sovereign Indignity? Values, Borders And The Internet: A Case Study, Eric Easton

All Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on the publication ban issued by a Canadian court in a notorious murder trial, and the popular reaction to the publication ban, as a case study of the new global communications environment. Part I reconstructs the factual circumstances that provoked the ban, as well as the responses of the media, the legal establishment, and the public. Part II examines the ban itself, the constitutional challenge mounted by the media, and the landmark Dagenais decision. Part III reflects on the meaning of the entire episode for law, journalism, and national sovereignty.

The Dagenais decision demonstrates the continued independence …

Withdrawal Of The Reference: Rights, Rules, And Remedies For Unwelcomed Web-Linking, Walter Effross

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Logos, Links, And Lending: Towards Standardized Privacy And Use Policies For Banking Web Sites, Walter Effross

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Megan’S Law And The Protection Of The Child In The On-Line Age, Nadine Strossen

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Personal Jurisdiction And The Internet--Proposed Limits On State Jurisdiction Over Data Communications In Tort Cases, David Wille

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Information Superhighway: Trolls At The Tollgate, Charles M. Oliver

Federal Communications Law Journal

Prior to the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, policymakers sought funding and regulatory mechanisms capable of fulfilling the vision of an Information Superhighway. Vice President Gore, the Clinton Administration's point person on the issue, initially proposed assessing fees on other sectors of the telecommunications industry to fund construction. Meanwhile, conservatives asserted that deregulation of the industry would achieve the desired result. A compromise ultimately was reached: the 1996 Act requires local exchange carriers to unbundle their networks and provide access at a reasonable cost to competitors. The use of regulatory formulas in lieu of taxes to subsidize a national …

International Jurisdiction In Cyberspace: Which States May Regulate The Internet?, Stephan Wilske, Teresa Schiller

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet now reaches 60 million users in 160 countries, with the number increasing each year. Although cyberspace has been viewed as a self-regulating entity controlled by no government, this myth is being destroyed as the global Internet community expands. With this expansion comes a question: Who has the authority to regulate cyberspace? Given that decisions about the Internet reach far beyond national borders, the answer to this question is unknown, but certainly has broad implications. Traditional laws of international jurisdiction, including jurisdiction to prescribe, jurisdiction to adjudicate, and jurisdiction to enforce, offer some clear answers. However, further development of …

Renov. Aclu: Insulating The Internet, The First Amendment, And The Marketplaceof Ideas , Stephen C. Jacques

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Linking Copyright To Homepages, Matt Jackson

Federal Communications Law Journal

The explosive growth of the Internet as a widespread medium of communication raises many novel copyright issues. One issue that has escaped much examination is the copyright implications of "links"--references to other Internet Web sites that allow immediate access to those sites. This Comment analyzes such questions as whether linking gives rise to direct or contributory liability to the copyright owner of a linked site, and whether the links themselves are copyrightable. It concludes that, although contributory liability is possible, linking cannot constitute a direct infringement any more than dialing a phone number to reach an answering machine with a …

Computer Ram 'Copies:' Hit Or Myth? Historical Perspectives On Caching As A Microcosm Of Current Copyright Concerns, I. Trotter Hardy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Internet: A Critical Technology For The State Of Environmental Law, Jocelyn C. Adkins

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Internet Jurisdictional Issues: Fundamental Fairness In A Virtual World, Karin M. Mika, Aaron J. Reber

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article explains Internet jurisdictional issues within the current framework that enables a state to assert in personam jurisdiction. This Article argues that existing jurisdictional tests are appropriate in determining the fairness of jurisdiction in cases involving the Internet, despite the vast outreach capacity of computers. This Article will first examine the development of law concerning in personam jurisdiction. Next, this Article will reflect on how courts have handled jurisdictional issues respecting other modes of communication, namely the mail and telephone. Third, this Article will argue that in traditional jurisdictional analysis, courts have placed primary emphasis on business contacts and …

The Presence Of A Web Site As A Constitutionally Permissible Basis For Personal Jurisdiction, Christine E. Mayewski

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Online Law: The Spa's Legal Guide To Doing Business On The Internet, Thomas J. Smedinghoff, Tom W. Bell

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Attorneys and academics have of late benefitted from a surge in the number of texts discussing the emerging law of the Internet. Online Law: The SPA's Legal Guide To Doing Business On The Internet, edited by Thomas J. Smedinghoff and published by the Software Publishers Association, represents a particularly welcome contribution. It achieves its limited goals about as well as any paper-bound book could--and does so at a nicely limited price.

Is The Environmental Movement A Critical Internet Technology, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Legal Aspects Of The Internet, Etienne Pichat

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis will explain the legal aspects of the Internet so that users who wish to protect their rights and avoid liability can log on with a better understanding of the rules of the game. This work will be divided into two chapters. The first chapter will focus on existing legal regulation of the Internet to advise users on which law is relevant, and how to solve problems of conflicts of laws in the cyberworld. It will answer the question of whether cyberspace is, or not, a "no laws land", and what kind of regulation would better fit the cyberworld. …

Lex Informatica: The Formulation Of Information Policy Rules Through Technology , Joel R. Reidenberg

Faculty Scholarship

Historically, law and government regulation have established default rules for information policy, including constitutional rules on freedom of expression and statutory rights of ownership of information. This Article will show that for network environments and the Information Society, however, law and government regulation are not the only source of rule-making. Technological capabilities and system design choices impose rules on participants. The creation and implementation of information policy are embedded in network designs and standards as well as in system configurations. Even user preferences and technical choices create overarching, local default rules. This Article argues, in essence, that the set of …

The Communications Decency Act, Jim Exon

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pornography Drives Technology: Why Not To Censor The Internet, Peter Johnson

Federal Communications Law Journal

Historically, the development of new media has been advanced by the creators of pornography. This was evident as communications media evolved from vernacular speech to movable type, to photography, to paperback books, to videotape, to cable and pay-TV, to 900 phone lines, to the French Minitel, and to the Internet. In short, pornography, far from being an evil that the First Amendment must endure, is a positive good that encourages experimentation with new technology. Accordingly, society should not view cyberpornographers as pariahs, rather they should be viewed as explorers who pave the roads for civilization to follow.

The Legislative History Of Senator Exon's Communications Decency Act: Regulating Barbarians On The Information Superhighway, Robert Cannon

Federal Communications Law Journal

Among the most visible and controversial provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 have been those of an amendment to the larger act known as the Communications Decency Act. This article critically examines the legislative history of this amendment, creating a record of both official and unofficial sources. The article also notes the relevance of the legislative history as demonstrating both the unconstitutionality and the practical inefficacy of the statute.

The Quest For Enabling Metaphors For Law And Lawyering In The Information Agae, Pamela Samuelson

Michigan Law Review

A Review of James Boyle, Shamans, Software, and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society and M. Ethan Katsh, Law in a Digital World

Computer Media For The Legal Profession, Eugene Volokh

Michigan Law Review

A Review of communication media.

Law And The Internet: What Are The Dangers Of Putting The World At Your Fingertips?, I. Trotter Hardy

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Law In Cyberspace, Fred H. Cate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Accidents On The Information Superhighway: On-Line Liability And Regulation, Marc L. Caden, Stephanie E. Lucas

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In one way or another, the Internet has affected or will affect our lives in a profound fashion. The Internet has fundamentally changed the way society works and plays by providing an inexpensive medium to obtain information and communicate with others. The current generation of children will be educated through computer communication, rather than from the confines of a dusty library with outdated books. However, the benefits of rapid Internet development have also opened a Pandora's box of legal issues and concerns which merit careful consideration. With roots in over 160 countries, and without a centralized authority, many now consider …

International Law And The Information Age, John K. Gamble

Michigan Journal of International Law

The subject of this article is problematic because of the paucity of other work addressing the topic and its amorphous and technical nature. The author shall argue that the information age will affect almost all aspects of how international law is made and studied, everything from theory to sources to research to teaching. Rather than limiting the article to one or two aspects of the changes brought by the information age, the author offers a tour d'horizon. This risks superficiality, but is consonant with the goal of stimulating discussion about issues that are important to the future of international …

Garbage In: Emerging Media And Regulation Of Unsolicited Commercial Solicitiations, Michael W. Carroll

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Property (And Copyright) In Cyberspace, I. Trotter Hardy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Closing The Barn Door After The Genie Is Out Of The Bag: Recognizing A "Futility Principle" In First Amendment Jurisprudence, Eric Easton

All Faculty Scholarship

This article argues for a simple proposition: the First Amendment imposes a presumption against the suppression of speech when suppression would be futile. Suppression is futile when the speech is available to the same audience through some other medium or at some other place. The government can overcome this presumption of futility only when it asserts an important interest that is unrelated to the content of the speech in question, and only when the suppression directly advances that interest.

In Part I, the article explores the role that this unarticulated "futility principle" has played in Supreme Court and other decisions …