Media and Communications - Laws and Regulations

This book will focus on the host of legal and regulatory issues that have come with the expansion of the digital age. Privacy often seems to be a thing of the past, and how has the law coped with this? Intellectual property - to whom does it belong?Cyber-terrorism, cyber-criminality, cyber-bullying - all have taken root and blossomed in various ways throughout the Internet. Laws and regulations simply cannot keep up with the fast paced evolution of ways to thwart them. One of the central issues that jurisprudence struggles with when it comes to the digital age is the notion of privacy, and what it means in a networked society. We are awash in data, much of it personal. All of the topics we cover in this book boil down in one way or another to privacy. With the advent of the Internet came a new medium via which criminals can operate. From petty scams to global heists, the Internet is host to a plethora of illicit and illegal activity. Regulators and lawmakers are struggling to keep up with the challenges. Here, we present a number of the challenges, as well as some of the tools that are in development to counter criminal activity on the Internet.Crime and how the Internet has enabled it in new ways will be the subject of the first articles in this book. Cyber-criminals perpetrate cyber-attacks. But not much scholarly research has been performed on these attacks. “Cyber-Attack Attributes” identifies some types, their objectives, and their targets. Cyber-criminals have honed their trade, developing ever more sophisticated tools to achieve their goals - whether that be hacking for information (spying) or money. In fact, “crimeware” can now be bought and sold in online marketplaces, stymying law enforcement efforts. “Crimeware Marketplaces and Their Facilitating Technologies” takes an in depth look. So, how to counter these sophisticated criminals? Cyber security is key. There are many ways of improving cyber security - which very much depend on what is protected. “Cybersecurity and Cyber-Resilient Supply Chains” looks at the legal challenges to enforcing cyber security measures for customer supply chains. “Cybersecurity Futures: How Can We Regulate Emergent Risks?” examines trends in this rapidly growing sector. Of course, it is not only criminals who wish to access our private information. Governments, too, want the ability to monitor their citizens, citing security concerns. And they have the power to influence laws granting that right. Read how security firms work with governments to monitor private citizens - and why it’s legally problematic - in “Internal Security Institutions Meeting Internet Governance” and “EU Law and Mass Internet Metadata Surveillance in the Post-Snowden Era”. Social media gives those who want to surveil unfettered access to individuals’ lives. Facebook, especially, has come under legal scrutiny. “Battling for Rights” provides an Irish view, while “Data protection laws and privacy on Facebook” provides a South African opinion. Intellectual property in new media is a major concern for legal regulators. Copyright law has had to evolve with the profusion of Internet activity. It is not only individuals whose rights are infringed upon, but also companies. Napster, of course, was the landmark case for copyright infringement, but issues have arisen far and wide of the music industry (although that continues to be a problem). Copyright advocates and media companies seek to tighten laws, while “pirates” and those who want less privacy, seek to stymy the creation of laws restricting their activities. Watermarking, e-signatures and other electronic authorization methods are some of the ways lawmakers and technology developers counter copyright infringements. The next few articles will focus on these issues. “A Pirate too Needs to be Heard” shows just how difficult copyright cases can be to prove - the author notes that most current laws are simply inadequate - and also how procedurally, criminals are treated differently from those whose crimes take place “in real life”. In some cases, expanding access to intellectual property can be a positive. In the case of e-books in Swedish libraries, increased availability to copyrighted material brings increased access to those who perhaps would not have had that opportunity. “Degrees of Secrecy in an Open Environment” also approaches open access as a positive and presents some of the legal challenges in promulgating it. Cyber-bullying is another type of attack that takes place online - while it is often more personal than cyber-criminality, it is equally difficult to prosecute, albeit for different legal reasons. We often hear of children and adolescents who suffer from cyber-bullies, but, unfortunately, it is not a phenomenon one outgrows.Adolescent victims’ mental health has been shown to be severely impacted, sometimes permanently, as a result of their experiences; “Bullying in school and cyberspace” presents some research of this. Cyber-bullying is present in adult life, as well, as examined in “Cyberbullying at work”. The question is, should this be subject to the rule of law? Or is it simply out of the reach of the law because it takes place in another medium? Would it be prosecutable offline? Not only do individuals find their privacy invaded in their online lives, but their online private lives have begun to seep into their professional ones, sometimes with very negative consequences - should it be legal for professional lives to be compromised as a result of online life? Providing a relevant example from the legal profession itself is the article “Does Avoiding Judicial Isolation Outweigh the Risks Related to “Professional Death by Facebook”?”. Public figures, like celebrities, sometimes have to accept that their private lives, including those of their children, will be used by media companies for financial gain. Is there legal recourse to protect the privacy of these kids? “Kids Sell: Celebrity Kids’ Right to Privacy” looks into it. The content available via various media outlets can be controversial. Pornography is an industry that has flourished with the growth of the Internet. Yet, should it also be regulated, in terms of who has access? “Pornography: Human right or human rights violation?” examines this from two perspectives. The main argument is that access should be restricted, as childhood exposure to pornography can have detrimental effects. There are few subjects more distressing than that of child pornography. Technology has enabled its spread, but there are now hopes that emerging technology and legal regulations together can put an end to it. “Fighting Child Pornography” reviews some of these developments.