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Fair Information Practices and the Architecture of Privacy: (What Larry Doesn't Get)

Marc Rotenberg

In his book Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Larry Lessig states that "code is law," or in other words, that decisions regarding the architecture of the evolving communications infrastructure exercise control over individuals in much the same way as does legal code and should, therefore, be subject to democratic considerations such as accountability and public participation.... Read more about Fair Information Practices and the Architecture of Privacy: (What Larry Doesn't Get)

Where Everybody Knows Your Name: A Pragmatic Look at the Costs of Privacy and the Benefits of Information Exchange

Kent Walker

Contemporary privacy discussions too often assume that more privacy is necessarily better and limit the debate to a bipolar continuum pitting businesses against consumers. Kent Walker maintains that this view is too limited. In constructing new and better privacy protections, we risk neglecting the implicit costs of privacy and the individual and collective benefits of information exchange.... Read more about Where Everybody Knows Your Name: A Pragmatic Look at the Costs of Privacy and the Benefits of Information Exchange

Resurrecting the Woolly Mammoth: Science, Law, Ethics, Politics, and Religion

Corey A. Salsberg

The recent cloning of a sheep, "Dolly" (by the Roslin Institute in Scotland), has sparked a great deal of debate on the moral and ethical implications of cloning. To date, such debate has focussed primarily on the cloning of human beings, which no longer seems such a remote possibility. But in the shadow of this debate about the cloning of humans or farm animals, researchers from several nations have been actively collecting tissue from the remains of the woolly mammoth in preparation for an attempt to bring the beast back from ten thousand years of extinction.... Read more about Resurrecting the Woolly Mammoth: Science, Law, Ethics, Politics, and Religion

Privacy in the Digital Age: Encryption Policy—A Call for Congressional Action

David B. Walker

As digital encryption and privacy-enhancing technologies have become more sophisticated, law enforcement and national security concerns have grown more acute. In response, the Clinton administration has restricted the export of strong encryption and has proposed various means to provide "back-door" access to data by law enforcement. This article examines the historical precedent to digital on-line privacy today, finding that courts have historically had difficulty protecting privacy interests through the Fourth and Fifth Amendments in the context of new technologies.... Read more about Privacy in the Digital Age: Encryption Policy—A Call for Congressional Action

Altered States: Electronic Commerce and Owning the Means of Value Exchange

Robert D. Fram
Margaret Jane Radin
Thomas P. Brown

As information technology plays a larger role in the everyday business of value exchange, the question of ownership of that technology, through the traditional legal means of patent rights, will likely come to the fore in banking and related industries. At the same time, the increasing importance of contracting for information and the role of technology in the contracting mechanisms themselves are giving rise to a new regulatory environment for these industries.... Read more about Altered States: Electronic Commerce and Owning the Means of Value Exchange

Controlling Chaos: The Emerging Law of Privacy and Speech in Cyberspace

Eric J. Sinrod
Barak D. Jolish

The explosion of Internet usage has provided users with avenues to make purchases, invest, and explore issues as deeply personal as sexuality, politics and cultural beliefs. This explosion has been accompanied by concerns over user privacy and access to objectionable content. The concerns over privacy relate to the collection of personal information from users, often through surreptitious technological means, and the risk of eventual dissemination of this information to businesses, governmental authorities, and even those with criminal, fraudulent intent.... Read more about Controlling Chaos: The Emerging Law of Privacy and Speech in Cyberspace

Trashing "Junk Science"

Gary Edmond
David Mercer

The concept of "junk science" is widely believed to account for a myriad of problems with interactions between law and science. It is regularly blamed for precipitating an ongoing legal "crisis" resulting in longer trials, more expensive litigation, and inconsistent, irrational judgments. The alleged prevalence of junk science is used as evidence for the failure of the judiciary and the public to comprehend science.... Read more about Trashing "Junk Science"

Intent to Deceive: Mental State and Scienter in the New Uniform Federal Definition of Scientific Misconduct

Jennifer Kulynych

As we continue to advance towards the information economy, scientific research becomes increasingly more lucrative as well as more competitive. This changing world of scientific research has, not surprisingly, led to an increase in the frequency of research misconduct. From the honest error to the willful fabrication, the increased frequency of research misconduct threatens to damage the research process, and its product, the scientific record.... Read more about Intent to Deceive: Mental State and Scienter in the New Uniform Federal Definition of Scientific Misconduct

Invoking Law as a Basis for Identity in Cyberspace

Philip Giordano

The Internet teems with virtual communities whose vitality is all the more intriguing because it is hidden from view. Stitched together by the electronic network, people from Boston to Beijing engage in the timeless themes of human experience. They pray together, face birth and death together, discuss their most personal of problems, and pursue their inner fantasies. Reputedly prizing independence and eschewing taboo, 'Net citizens portray the Internet as a lawless frontier. Yet law is as prevalent in cyberspace as in real space.... Read more about Invoking Law as a Basis for Identity in Cyberspace

Detours on the Information Superhighway: The Erosion of Evidentiary Privileges in Cyberspace and Beyond

Thomas F. O'Neil III
Kevin P. Gallagher
Jonathon L. Nevett

In this paper, the Authors describe how the technological advancements in telecommunications over the last century have eroded many protections of attorney communication afforded by various common law evidentiary privileges. They note that although federal law now makes the unauthorized interception of any oral, wire, or electronic communication a criminal offense, most courts and state ethics rules fail to protect the privileged nature of attorney communication when attorneys use new forms of communications technology such as cellular telephones or e-mail.... Read more about Detours on the Information Superhighway: The Erosion of Evidentiary Privileges in Cyberspace and Beyond

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