The question ‘what can we control?’ underpins both the information society and the knowledge economy, and represents the maturity of information technology. Most importantly, it signals a transition from a world that saw economic value in terms of atoms to a world which values information in bits. This chapter examines this transition and the role of bits in the information society. It first provides an overview of bits and their place in the digitization process. The chapter then looks at the advent of digital music and other digital goods such as digital video and electronic books. It also considers the shift from rivalrous goods to nonrivalrous goods before concluding with a discussion of the legal challenge of the information society.
Chapter
The question ‘what can we control?’ underpins both the information society and the knowledge economy, and represents the maturity of information technology. Most importantly, it signals a transition from a world that saw economic value in terms of atoms to a world which values information in bits. This chapter examines this transition and the role of bits in the information society. It first provides an overview of bits and their place in the digitization process. The chapter then looks at the advent of digital music and other digital goods such as digital video and electronic books. It also considers the shift from rivalrous goods to nonrivalrous goods before concluding with a discussion of the legal challenge of the information society.
Book
Information Technology Law: The Law and Society is the ideal companion for a course of study on information technology law and the ways in which it is evolving in response to rapid technological and social change. The fourth edition of this groundbreaking textbook develops its unique examination of the legal processes and their relationship to the modern ‘information society’. Charting the development of the rapid digitization of society and its impact on established legal principles, Murray examines the challenges faced with enthusiasm and clarity. Following a clearly defined part structure, the text begins by defining the information society and discussing how it may be regulated, before moving on to explore issues of internet governance, privacy and surveillance, intellectual property and rights, and commerce within the digital sphere. The author’s highly original and thought-provoking approach to the subject also makes it essential reading for researchers, IT professionals, and policymakers. This fourth edition includes expanded coverage of net neutrality, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology as well as being significantly explained to cover developments in data retention and protection in light of significant developments in the area.
Chapter
The topic of privacy has many aspects. In some instances, especially where well-known figures are involved, it relates to the legal ability to stop the bringing of information about their private lives into a more public arena. For most people, it involves the ability to go about everyday life without having details of movements and actions recorded and analysed to form the basis for further actions relating to them. In some cases, this may appear relatively harmless. Most people are familiar with the notion of web advertising targeted by reference to a user’s browsing history but there have been more potentially threatening applications ranging from the use of automated facial recognition systems to monitor activity in public spaces to the oft cited use of Facebook data for political purposes as seen in the 2016 US Presidential election. More and more actions are recorded, processed and used as the basis for action that affects the individual concerned. Whether this is a force for good or ill is something that can be debated. What is clear is that informational surveillance will impact very significantly upon debates as to the nature of the societies that we wish to live in.
Book
Information Technology Law: The Law and Society is the ideal companion for a course of study on information technology law and the ways in which it is evolving in response to rapid technological and social change. The fifth edition of this ground-breaking textbook develops its unique examination of the legal processes and their relationship to the modern ‘information society’. Charting the development of the rapid digitization of society and its impact on established legal principles, Murray examines the challenges faced with enthusiasm and clarity. Following a clearly-defined part structure, the text begins by defining the information society and discussing how it may be regulated, before moving on to explore issues of internet governance, privacy and surveillance, intellectual property and rights, and commerce within the digital sphere. The author’s highly original and thought-provoking approach to the subject also makes it essential reading for researchers, IT professionals, and policy-makers. This fifth edition includes expanded coverage of AI authorship and computer generated works, cryptocurrency, cryptoassets and blockchain technology as well as being significantly expanded to cover developments in defamation law, net neutrality, data protection, and smart contracting.
Chapter
This chapter examines online alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options and online dispute resolution (ODR) options. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in relation to all forms of dispute resolution is a major area of current development. In saving time and money in resolving disputes, ICT has much to offer, especially in relation to lower-value cases, and this is seen in the growing use of online portals and software-based support for dispute resolution. Indeed, software is already used successfully to mimic some negotiation and mediation processes, and this is likely to develop further. ODR comprises systems designed to work online that do not necessarily fit within existing ADR definitions. International and cross-border ODR is now being developed, especially to support e-commerce and deal with lower-value disputes.
