Cyberlaw Fall 2001: Professor Susanna Fischer
ASSIGNMENTS
Required and recommended reading assignments are posted for Weeks 1-15.
A. About the Assignments
This assignment list will be provided in installments. Assignments are currently posted for classes up to and including September 5. Click on TOPIC LIST for a list of topics to be covered in subsequent classes.
You are required only to read materials labeled as "required". There are links to additional, recommended materials that you can use as an additional resource if you find yourself particularly interested in a topic. Before each class, you should also prepare to discuss the "discussion questions".
B. Course Materials
1. Required
There are two required books:
i. Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999) (abbreviated as "Code");
ii. Jerry Kang, Communications Law and Policy (2001) (abbreviated as "CB")
You should bring these books to every class for which they are assigned as required reading.
All other course materials are online materials. You can link to them from this assignment list. Please inform me if any links are down.
2. Recommended:
Your casebook has a useful companion website at: http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/kang/commlaw
The first reference to cyberspace was by science fiction writer William Gibson in Neuromancer (1984). Gibson's book is not on the Web, although you can purchase it through one of the many online bookstores. Another book you may find interesting is Tim Berners-Lee's account of the development of the World Wide Web, Weaving the Web, (1999). For information, see: http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/Weaving/Overview.html
C. Useful Cyberlaw Resources
I highly recommend the following sites for news and information about cyberlaw:
Cnet News: http://news.cnet.com/
ZDNet: http://www.zdnet.com/
Professor Jessica Litman's excellent and regularly updated site on New Developments in Cyberspace Law at http://www.law.wayne.edu/litman/newdev.html
The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/
Telecom Glossary at: http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/
D. List of Assignments
Unit 1: Introduction to Cyberspace and Cyberlaw
WEEK ONE
August 20, 2001: Class 1 - Introductory Class: Cyberspace vs. "Real Space"
CLASS 1 REQUIRED READING:
Excerpt from ACLU v. Reno, 929 F.
Supp. 824 (E.D.Pa. 1996) in your casebook (Jerry Yang, COMUNICATIONS LAW AND
POLICY (Aspen Law & Business 2001)) at pp. 2-7
John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the
Independence of Cyberspace at: http://www.eff.org/~barlow/Declaration-Final.html
(February 1996) (For information about the author of this declaration, see: http://www.eff.org/~barlow/)
The Declaration of Independence
(July 4, 1776), available at: http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declaration/declaration.html
John Perry Barlow, Declaring
Independence, Wired 4.06 (June 1996), available at: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.06/independence.html
India Today Business Today interview with John Perry Barlow (December 12, 2000), available at: http://www.india-today.com/btoday/20001206/interview.html
CLASS 1 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What similarities and differences exist between the rhetoric, content, purpose and effect of the two declarations?
2. How does Barlow respond to his critics in his later article "Declaring Independence?
3. How, if at all, does Barlow later qualify his 1996 Declaration? Is there anything that he regrets about his Declaration?
4. In your view, how, if at all, is cyberspace different from physical space? How are Internet communications different from other communications media such as radio, newspapers, and television? Do you agree with the statement in ACLU v. Reno that the "Internet is . . . a unique and wholly new medium of worldwide human communication?"
5. What kind of government do you think should exist for cyberspace?
6. What are some of the legal problems arising from the Internet that are discussed in the excerpt from ACLU v. Reno? How does the decentralized nature of the Internet exacerbate these problems?
August 22, 2001: Class will not be held today. A makeup class will be rescheduled later in the semester. There is no reading assignment for this class, but one required activity. Prior to August 27, 2001, please send me an e-mail, using your preferred e-mail address. I strongly encourage you to use your CUA e-mail address, since the law school administration uses this address for important correspondence. You should check this e-mail on a regular basis throughout the semester (every couple of days, at least).
WEEK TWO
August 27, 2001: Class 2 - Introduction to the Architecture of Cyberspace
CLASS 2 REQUIRED READING:
1. CB pp. 7-27, 244-52
2. Rus Shuler, How Does The Internet Work? at: http://rus1.home.mindspring.com/whitepapers/internet_whitepaper.html
3. Review CB pp. 2-7
CLASS 2 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Consider the questions at pp. 12-13, 17-18, 22-23, 26-27, 250-52 of your CB
2. How has computer technology changed over the past 60 years? How are these changes transforming our culture, society, politics, and economics?
3. How do physics and atmospheric conditions affect communications technologies?
4. To what extent are the physical limitations of the electromagnetic spectrum significant for modern communications?
5. How does the physical medium used for wireline communications affect communications? What different types of wires exist? What are their advantages and disadvantages?
6. What are the major problems and risks of new digital technologies?
7. Do you agree or disagree with Nicholas Negroponte's optimism about the future of "being digital"? Why or why not?
CLASS 2 REVIEW QUESTIONS: After completing the reading, you should be able to answer the following questions:
What is a signal?
What is an electro-magnetic wave? What is amplitude? What is frequency? What is wavelength? How does it relate to frequency?
Arrange in order of frequency: infrared waves, radio waves, gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet rays? What is higher frequency, FM or AM broadcast radio?
What is electrical current? What is voltage?
What is the unit that is used to measure frequency?
What is the difference between an analog and a digital signature?
Is your voice analog or digital?
What is transduction?
What are the advantages of digital signals? (that is, why would you bother converting analog signals to digital signals?)
What is a channel?
Must a channel be some kind of wire or other physical medium?
What is meant by the "spectrum"?
Why does the frequency used by a communication service matter?
What kinds of physical media are used for wireline communications? What are the advantages and disadvantages of copper pair, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable?
What's the PSTN?
What is passband? What is bandwidth?
What's a transistor? An integrated circuit? A microprocessor?
What's a terminal?
What's the Altair 8800?
What's a server?
What's a client?
What's the physical layer, protocol layer, and applications layer of a computer network?
What is the Internet?
What's the physical layer, protocol layer, and applications layer of the Internet?
What's the World Wide Web?
What's an IP (Internet Protocol) Address? What is the IP address for the law school's web page (http://www.law.edu or http://law.cua.edu)
What's a domain name?
What's a URL? (uniform resource locator)
What is packet switching?
What is TCP/IP?
What's a port number? How does this relate to TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)?
What is a protocol stack?
What is an applications protocol? What are some examples of applications protocols?
What kind of communications equipment do you have at home to connect to the Local Loop? Phone line (analog modem, ISDN, DSL), cable modem, satellite? What about the law school?
What's a LAN? What's an Ethernet card? What's a firewall?
What different kinds of broadband access exist?
What local loop carrier connects you to your ISP's Point of Presence (POP)? (RBOC, cable, satellite, wireless?)
What's an ISP? If you are connected to the Internet at home, who is your ISP? What services does your ISP provide?
What services does your ISP provide? (internet access, email, usenet, domain name server, user web hosting, telnet, ftp) Make sure you know what all these are!
What's the ISP's backbone? What's a switch? What's a router?
What is a NSP (Network Service Provider) A NAP? (Network Access Point)?
What does the ISP backbone connect to?
What is a web browser? What web browser do you usually use at home or at the law school?
What is HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol)?
What is HTML (hypertext markup language)?
What's a web server?
What happens when you type a URL into your browser?
What is SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol)
What role do RBOCs have in the Internet?
What is the Domain Name Service ("DNS")?
What is a Domain Name Service server ("DNS server")?
What is a root server?
What is ICANN? Is it public or private? What does ICANN do?
August 29, 2001 - Class 3: Introduction to the Problem of Regulating Cyberspace - How Should Internet Activity Be Regulated, and Who Should Regulate It?
CLASS 3 REQUIRED READING:
1. SKIM CB pp. 35-48
2. Lawrence Lessig, Code, pp. 1-23.
3. David Post, What Larry Doesn't Get: Code Law and Liberty in Cyberspace, 52 Stanford L. Rev. 1439 (2000) at: http://www.temple.edu/lawschool/dpost/Code.pdf
CLASS 3 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Consider the Discussion Questions at CB pp. 39-40
2. Who currently regulates communications and conduct in cyberspace? How?
3. Who currently regulates telecommunications other than Internet communications? How?
4. Who currently regulates communications in cyberspace? How?
5. What is "convergence"? What effect should convergence have on the regulation of telecommunications generally?
6. How should cyberspace be regulated, if at all? Why?
7. Should (or must) regulation of conduct cyberspace differ from regulation of conduct in "real" space? Why or why not?
8. How much liberty should be permitted in cyberspace?
9. To what extent do Lessig and Post agree on the question of regulation of conduct of cyberspace? How do they disagree?
10. Whose argument do you find more convincing -- Lessig's or Post's? Why?
WEEK THREE
September 3, 2001: Labor Day - No Class
UNIT 2: A PROBLEM OF REGULATION - PRIVACY IN ONLINE PERSONAL DATA
September 5, 2001: Class 4 - Children's Privacy under U.S. Law
CLASS 4 REQUIRED READING:
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA): link to this statute from http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html [scroll down to find link -- it is a pdf file]
See also 16 CFR part 312 Children's Online Privacy Protection Final Rule, Oct. 1999 -- effective effective April 21, 2000 at http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/9910/childrensprivacy.pdf;
FTC How to Comply With the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/coppa.htm
Please advise on whether the following sites comply with COPPA's requirements. Why or why not? 1. Cowdance.com at: http://www.cowdance.com 2. Ecrush.com at: http://www.ecrush.com 3. Disney.com at: http://disney.go.com/park/homepage/today/flash/index.html?clk=1004398 4. Lunchables.com at: http://www.lunchables.com
CLASS 4 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Who must comply with COPPA?
2. To what information does COPPA apply?
3. What does COPPA require regarding privacy notices on web sites?
4. What notice does COPPA require to be given to parents?
5. When is parental consent required under COPPA? Is it required for monitored chatrooms?
6. How should parental consent be obtained under COPPA?
7. What is COPPA's "sliding scale"?
8. What exceptions apply to the parental consent rules under COPPA?
9. What rules exist under COPPA regarding parental revocation of consent?
10. Under COPPA, can parents require disclosure of information being collected on their children?
11. Under COPPA, can cookies be left on a child's personal computer?
12. What is the COPPA "safe harbor"?
13. How is COPPA enforced?
14. Can COPPA be effectively enforced?
15. Does COPPA really protect kids? What about teenagers?
16. Should all personally identifiable information about children be filtered before being disclosed?
WEEK FIVE
September 10, 2001 : Class 5 - U.S. Law: Privacy in Online Personal Data Generally
Required Reading:
Lessig, Code, pp. 142-63
- Julie E. Cohen, Privacy, Ideology, and Technology: A Response to Jeffrey Rosen, 89 Geo. L.J. 2029 (2001) [scroll down to article; it is in Adobe Acrobat format]
- FTC Identity Theft Page at: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
- Graham-Leach Bliley Outline at: http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact/glboutline.htm
- Department of Health and Human Services Guidance on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) at: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/finalmaster.html (July 6, 2001)
CLASS 5 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How does Julie Cohen assess Jeffrey Rosen's argument that a liberal society should respect privacy because it is essential for individual dignity. Do you agree with Cohen?
Cohen states: "The profit-driven search for personal information via digital networks is also catalyzing an erosion of the privacy that individuals have customarily enjoyed in their homes, their private papers, and even their thoughts. This process is transforming not only the way we experience privacy, but also the way we understand it. Privacy is becoming not only harder to protect, but also harder to justify protecting." Is she right? Why or why not?
Are there any dangers in protecting privacy in personal data on the Internet? If so, what?
What is the main threat posed by new monitoring technologies? (e.g., employer e-mail/v-mail searches, video cameras, cell phone tracking, supermarket discount cards, profiling/data mining by Internet businesses,
What is the your definition of privacy? What do you believe is the moral justification for privacy?
Assuming that you agree with Cohen that there should be some limits on the destruction of privacy in a digitized world, how can these limits be most effectively implemented and how extensive should they be? Are invasion of privacy lawsuits the answer? Privacy self-help technologies? Federal privacy legislation?
Do you agree with Larry Lessig that code has both upset, and could recreate, the traditional balance of control that individuals have over facts about their private lives?
What is the constitutional value in privacy: human dignity, the substantive value of constraining the state's power to regulate, or a utilitarian conception of minimal intrusion (the importance in protecting individuals from the unjustified burden of searches by the state)? Can we obtain guidance from the Framers of the Constitution in a new digital world where searches have become far less intrusive?
How does U.S. law currently protect privacy in personal data on the Internet?
How does Lessig think that U.S. law should protect privacy in personal data on the Internet? What do you think? Is industry self-regulation the answer? How about technology? What is P3P? Is it the answer? Should the law recognize a property rights in personal information?
September 12, 2001/September 17, 2001: Classes 6 & 7 - The European Union Approach (Class Maven Christy Lopez)
CLASS 6/7 REQUIRED READING
- Council Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, http://www.datenschutz-berlin.de/gesetze/europa/den.htm [official version available on Lexis at 1995 OJ L 281 - www.lexis.com]
- European Union Guide on data protection (May 15, 2001) at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/dataprot/news/guide.htm [click on guide "en" for english version]
- Gregory Shaffer, Globalization and Social Protection: The Impact of EU and International Rules in the Ratcheting Up of U.S. Privacy Standards, 25 Yale J. Int'l L. 1 (2000).
- Department of Commerce Safe Harbor Overview at: http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/sh_overview.html
- Count the Number of Organizations Currently Adhering to the Safe Harbor at: http://web.ita.doc.gov/safeharbor/shlist.nsf/webPages/safe+harbor+list
CLASS 6/7 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What does the European Union directive 96/46 on data protection require?
- What does the European Union directive 97/66 on privacy in telecommunications require?
- How does the European Union approach to data protection on the Internet differ from that of United States law?
- Which approach do you prefer? Why or why not?
- What is the "safe harbor"? Who developed the safe harbor?
- Who can join the safe harbor? What benefits accrue to those joining the safe harbor?
- How and where will the safe harbor be enforced?
- What should a privacy policy acceptable under the safe harbor contain?
- To what extent are globalization pressures causing United States privacy laws on online data protection to change?
WEEK FIVE
September 19, 2001: Class 8 - The Australian and Canadian Approach
CLASS 8 REQUIRED READING
Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's Overview of Privacy in Australia at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/pia.html
Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's Information Sheet 1, Overview of the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act of 2000 at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/fs1.html
National Privacy Principles at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/npps01.html
Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's Information Sheet 4 Privacy Commissioner's Powers at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/fs4.html
Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's Information Sheet 6, Does the Privacy Act apply to my organization? at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/fs6.html
Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner Information Sheet 7, How to Prepare for December, 2001, at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/fs7.html
Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner Study Privacy and the Community (July, 2001) at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/rcommunity.html#1 [You are only required to read the Executive Summary]
Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner Study, Privacy and Business (July, 2001) at: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/rbusiness.html [You are only required to read the Executive Summary]
Canadian Privacy Commissioner page Guide to the new law (Feb. 2001) at: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/information/02_05_d_08_e.asp
CLASS 8 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is the function of the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner?
How does the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act of 2000 change Australian privacy law concerning personal data on the internet?
What are the National Privacy Principles?
When does the new privacy scheme under the 2000 Amendments come into effect?
To which entities and which information does the new privacy scheme under the 2000 Amendments apply?
Generally, how does Australian privacy law regarding privacy of personal information on the internet differ from United States law? Which approach is better? Why?
According to the Federal Privacy Commissioner's recent studies, what are the general attitudes of Australian people and businesses toward privacy in personal data on the Internet? Do these differ greatly from your own attitudes?
WEEK SIX
UNIT III: The Problem of Governance and Regulation of Cyberspace
September 24, 2001: Class 9 - The Role and Legitimacy of ICANN
CLASS 9 REQUIRED READING
Explore the ICANN website at http://www.icann.org/
Explore the ICANN Watch website at http://www.icannwatch.org/
Laura Rohde, Defections at ICANN's Support Organization, Industry Standard (June 4, 2001) at: http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26873,00.html
Markle Foundation Backs ICANN Governance Study, Newsbytes (Feb. 22, 2001) at: http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/162312.html
CLASS 9 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
September 26, 2001: Class 10 - Territorial Boundaries, Sovereignty, and the Regulation of Cyberspace
CLASS 10 REQUIRED READING
Joel R. Reidenberg, Lex Informatica: The Formulation of Information Policy Rules Through Technology, 76 Texas L. Rev. 553 (1999) at: http://reidenberg.home.sprynet.com/lex_informatica.pdf
Jack Goldsmith, The Internet and the Abiding Significance of Territorial Sovereignty, 5 Indiana J. of Global Studies 475 (1998) at: http://ijgls.indiana.edu/vol5/no2/toc.html [scroll down to Goldsmith article]
James Boyle, Foucault in Cyberspace: Surveillance, Sovereignty & Hard-Wired Censors, 66 U. Cin. L. Rev. 177 (1997) at http://www.james-boyle.com/ [click on article's title] . See also James Boyle, Foucault in Cyberspace, 2 Yale Symp. L. & Tech. (2000) at http://lawtech.law.yale.edu/symposium/00/comment-boyle.htm#note00a
CLASS 10 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
WEEK SEVEN
October 1, 2001: Class 11 - Internet Access, the Digital Divide, and Human Rights
OCT. 1 DEADLINE FIRST DRAFTS DUE IN CLASS! You are required to prepare a first draft of your paper by the class meeting on Monday, October 1. You should bring TWO hard copies of your first draft to class on Monday, October 1. At class on October 1, each student will be assigned an editing partner by random selection. At the October 1 class, you should give one copy of your first draft to your editing partner. The other should be submitted to me. If your editing partner is absent from the October 1 class, you should leave a copy of your first draft in your editing partner's mailbox by 5:00 p.m. on October 1. If you must be absent from the October 1 class, please contact me prior to class by e-mail to discuss how you should submit your drafts.
CLASS 11 REQUIRED READING
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Economics and Statistics Administration, Falling Through the Net - Towards Digital Inclusion (October 2000) at: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn00/contents00.html (You are required to read only the Executive Summary). Please note that a new report is due out in October, 2001.
CB pp. 462-496 (skim 462-71, which is background, and focus on access to the Internet)
Articles 19, 29 and 30 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
Bridges.org, Spanning the Digital Divide: Understanding and Tackling the Issues, Executive Summary (June, 2001) at: http://www.bridges.org/spanning/summary.html
Brian Krebs, Web Filters at Schools, Libraries by 2002, Newsbytes (April 6, 2001) at: http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/164204.html
Melanie Austria Farmer, Rally to Protest Broadband Bill, CNet News (June 22, 2001) at: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-6350668.html?tag=mainstry
Center for Democracy and Technology, The Internet and Human Rights: An Overview (Jan. 5, 2000) http://www.cdt.org/international/000105humanrights.shtml
Reporters Sans Frontieres, The Enemies of the Internet http://www.rsf.fr/uk/home.html (click on "Enemies of the Internet")
Human Rights Watch World Report 2001, China: Controls on the Internet at: http://www.hrw.org/advocacy/internet/china-internet.htm
Tom Malinowski, China's Willing Censors, Washington Post (April 20, 2001) available online at: http://www.hrw.org/editorials/2001/china0420.htm
Kate Miller, Digital Divide Now Has Two Spans, Industry Standard, Feb. 22 2001 at: http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,22407,00.html
CLASS 11 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
To what extent does a "digital divide" exist in the United States? Is this divide based primarily on income, or on other factors, such as race, age, disability, location, or sex? Is this divide growing or shrinking?
To what extent does a "digital divide" exist globally? What factors give rise to the global digital divide? Is it widening or narrowing?
Compare the U.S. and global digital divides. Which is more serious? Why?
Do you think that the federal government should step in to redress the American digital divide? Or are you sympathetic with the deregulatory stance of FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who, when asked about government digital divide programs at a Feb. 6, 2001 press conference, stated: "I think there is a Mercedes divide and I'd like to have mine but I can't afford one." (See Aaron Pressman, Damn It, I'm The FCC Chairman, Not A Magician, Industry Standard, Feb. 7, 2001 at: http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,21982,00.html)
How should the law play a role in overcoming the digital divide, whether national or global?
How can the Internet be used to promote human rights and democracy?
How has the Chinese government sought to control its citizens' use of the Internet? How have other governments sought to do this? Have these efforts been successful? Why or why not?
Do other nations have any duty to challenge another nation's efforts to control the use of the Internet by its citizens?
Do private corporations have a duty to challenge Internet censorship by a foreign government?
Do you think that Internet access is a fundamental human right? Why or why not?
October 3, 2001: Class 12 - Open Access to Broadband Technologies (Class Maven: Melissa Atkinson)
CLASS 12 REQUIRED READING
CB pp. 87-91, 496-510
MediaOne Group, Inc. v. County of Henrico, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 15540 (July 11, 2001)
Mark Lemley and Lawrence Lessig, The End of End-to-End: Preserving the Architecture of the Internet in the Broadband Era, 48 UCLA L. Rev. 925 (2001) Read pp. 925-30, 933-34, 939-57, 968-72
CLASS 12 Discussion Questions
1. Consider Notes and Questions at CB pp. 501-502, 508-510
2. Was the Portland case correctly decided by the Ninth Circuit? Why or why not?
3. Who were the real winners in the Portland case?
4. Was the Fourth Circuit case correctly decided? Why or why not?
5. Should the FCC regulate to mandate open access or should this be left to market forces? What is the current FCC position?
6. What are Lawrence Lessig's views on open access? Are they consistent with his more general arguments on Internet regulation in Code?
WEEK EIGHT
October 10, 2001: Class 13 - Personal Jurisdiction over Internet Activity under U.S. Law (Class Maven: Shari Keiser)
OCTOBER DEADLINE FOR FIRST DRAFTS First drafts must be edited by Wednesday, October 10. You should bring TWO hard copies of your edits to your editing partner's first draft to class on October 10. One copy should be handed in to me and the other copy should be given to your editing partner. If your editing partner is absent from the October 10 class, you should leave a copy of your edits in your editing partner's mailbox by 5:00 p.m. on October 10. If you must be absent from the October 10 class, please contact me prior to class to discuss how you should submit your edits.
CLASS 13 REQUIRED READING
1. Cases:
Zippo Manuf. Co. v. Zippo Dot Com, 952 F. Supp. 1119 (W.D.Pa 1997) at: http://www.bodi.com/papers/advertising/sources/zippo.htm (Parts I, II, and IIIA only)
Bensusan Restaurant Corp. v. King, 126 F.3d 25 (2d Cir. 1997) at: http://lw.bna.com/lw/19970930/969344.htm
Intercon, Inc. v. Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions, Inc., 205 F.3d. 1244 (10th Cir. Okla. 2000)
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=10th&navby=case&no=9864282. Articles:
Prof. David Post, Personal Jurisdiction in Cyberspace (1998) at: http://www.temple.edu/lawschool/dpost/personaljurisdiction.html
Andrew E. Costa, Minimum Contacts in Cyberspace, 35 Hous. L. Rev. 453 (1998) [YOU ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO READ PART VII] [please download from Westlaw at http://www.westlaw.com/ or LEXIS at http://www.lexis.com/]
CLASS 13 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How applicable is traditional U.S. personal jurisdiction doctrine, based on the geographical boundaries, to cyberspace activities and transactions, where "borders" do not exist in the same way as in physical space?
2. What realistic alternatives are there to traditional U.S. personal jurisdiction doctrine for cyberspace?
3. To what extent is the jurisprudence on personal jurisdiction in cyberspace consistent with the "sliding scale" test laid down in the Zippo case? If it is not consistent with this "sliding scale" test, is it consistent at all?
4. Can you come up with a test that courts could apply to determine whether there is personal jurisdiction based on Internet contacts?
WEEK NINE
October 15, 2001: Class 14 - Judicial Jurisdiction: Foreign Defendants and Foreign Courts (Class Maven: Ryan Baron)
CLASS 14 REQUIRED READING
Joel R. Reidenberg, The Yahoo Case and the International Democratization of the Internet, draft (April 4, 2001) at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID267148_code010419520.pdf?abstractid=267148
Ben Laurie, An Expert's Apology, (21 Nov. 2000) at: http://www.apache-ssl.org/apology.html
Twentieth Century Fox v. iCraveTV.com, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11670 (W.D. Pa. 2000)
- Simson Garfinkel, Weleome to Sealand, Now Bugger Off, Wired 8.07 (July 2000) at: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.07/haven.html or http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.07/haven_pr.html
CLASS 14 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Ben Laurie has stated: "What is being fought over is literally what people think. No-one should be able to control what I know or what I think. Not the government. Not the Thought Police. Not my family. Not my friends. The Internet is pure information. The fact that I cast aside my libertarian leanings in order to answer the question for the court, and yet was still unable to help in any substantive way, I find encouraging. We know we've done the right thing when our own best efforts cannot thwart it. Some people seem to think that this sets some kind of important precedent. If it does, then the precedent is surely that the Internet does not adapt well to the control of subject matter, not that governments will intervene and censor it successfully - people have been trying to do that since it started, and they've never got anywhere. This case is no exception." Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
- Would a U.S. court have exercised jurisdiction in a case analogous to the Yahoo! case? Why or why not?
- Will Sealand be successful as an off-government data haven? Why or why not?
UNIT IV: The Problem of Free Speech in Cyberspace
October 17, 2001: Class 15 - Indecency, Obscenity, Blocking and Filtering (Class Maven: Melissa Quinley)
CLASS 15 REQUIRED READING
CB pp. 252-88, 575-78
SKIM Free Speech Coalition v. Reno, 198 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 1999) at: http://www.comm.uiuc.edu/Helle/FreeSpee.htm, reh'g denied, 220 F.3d 1113 (9th Cir.), cert. granted, 148 L.Ed.2d 788 (2001)
CLASS 15 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Consider the questions at CB pp. 263-66, 271-4, 278-81, 286-87
Should virtual child pornography be denied First Amendment protection? Why or why not?
Should the law treat virtual child pornography differently from actual child pornography? Why or why not?
Is the Child Pornography Protection Act of 1996 (CPPA) constitutional? Why or why not?
Should there be a national obscenity standard for online materials? For offline materials?
WEEK TEN
October 22, 2001: Class 16 - Online Defamation and Harassment (Class Maven: David Hess)
CLASS 16 REQUIRED READING
CB pp. 288-306, 573-575
Joanna Lee Mischler, Comment: Cyberstalking -- Can Communications Via the Internet Constitute a Credible Threat and Should an ISP Be Liable if it Does?, 17 Computer & High Tech. L.J. 115 (Dec. 2000)
CLASS 16 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Consider questions at CB 292-93, 296-97, 301-02, 305-06
Barry Waldman has stated: "In defining the protections afforded by the CDA, the courts have nearly foreclosed the possibility of recovery for Cyber-Libel. Such an approach creates a special area of unique protection that can serve to encourage wild speculation without fear of liability. While Congress had laudable goals in attempting to encourage self-regulation of the Internet, the protection provided has eliminated the possibility of substantial recovery, even where an Internet service provider retains editorial control over the defamatory content. This Cyber-Libel scheme eviscerates the protections and disincentives to information sources in ensuring that false statements are not disseminated. The court is short-sighted in completely foreclosing recovery against Internet "publishers," as it ignores the dual interests of states in protecting the reputation of its domicilliaries and protecting its citizens from the dissemination of false information." Do you agree or disagree with Waldman's statement? Why or why not?
October 23, 2001: Class 17 - Extremist Speech
CLASS 17 REQUIRED READING:
- U.S. v. Alkhabaz (the Jake Baker case), 104 F.3d 1492 (6th Cir. 1997) at: Eric B. Easton, Learning Cyberlaw in Cyberspace: The First Amendment in Cyberspace Unit 4 (1999) at: http://www.cyberspace.law.org/easton/easton4.html [NB Complete version of U.S. v. Alkhabaz is at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=6th&navby=docket&no=9700
Planned Parenthood v. American Coalition of Life Activists, 244 F.3d 1007 (9th Cir. 2001) at: http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/getcase/9th/case/9935320&exact=1
- Internet Freedom: The Hate Speech Controversy: Hate on the Net at http://www.netfreedom.org/racism/material.html
- Lessig pp.
- ADL FAQ About Extremist Speech Online at: http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/adl-2000-07-p5.html [slightly out of date on e.g. the Planned Parenthood case]
CLASS 17 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- What kind of speech, if any, is excluded from First Amendment protection in the "real world"? Should this be any different for online speech?
- Why did Jake Baker win his case on appeal? On First Amendment grounds?
- Is the Sixth Circuit's opinion in the Jake Baker case consistent with the statutory language of section 875(c)?
- Is the Sixth Circuit's opinion in Jake Baker a dangerous precedent? Why or why not?
- Have there been any successful prosecutions under U.S. law for the sending of racist e-mails?
- What online speech was at issue in the Planned Parenthood case? On appeal, did the 9th Circuit find this to be protected by the First Amendment? Why or why not? Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
- Is the Planned Parenthood case consistent with Jake Baker?
October 24, 2001: Class 18 - SPAM (Class Maven: Patrick Sullivan)
CLASS 18 REQUIRED READING
- Why is spam bad? See: http://spam.abuse.net/spambad.html
- What is spam? http://spam.abuse.net/whatisspam.html
Compuserve v. CyberPromotions, Inc., 962 F. Supp. 1015 (S. D. Oh. 1997) http://legal.web.aol.com/decisions/dljunk/compuord.html
David E. Sorkin, Technical and Legal Approaches to Unsolicited Electronic Mail, 35 U.S.F.L. Rev. 325 (2001) at: http://www.spamlaws.com/articles/usf.html
SpamCon Foundation material on 18 states that have laws regulating spam at: http://law.spamcon.org/us-laws/index.shtml (up to date site).
CLASS 18 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What problems does SPAM cause?
How, if at all, can SPAM be best regulated? Via self-regulation, technological regulation, state legislation, federal legislation, common law theories like trespass to chattels, hiding from SPAM, some combination, or not at all? Why or why not?
WEEK ELEVEN
UNIT V: The Problem of Intellectual Property in Cyberspace
October 29, 2001: Class 19 - ICANN, the Domain Name System, and Cybersquatting Disputes (Class Maven: Lakeisha Munn)
CLASS 19 REQUIRED READING:
CB pp. 247-50
ICANN Announcement, Icann Accredits New Top Level Domains -- .biz and .info registration process to begin this summer (May 15, 2001) at: http://www.icann.org/announcements/icann-pr15may01.htm
ICANN New TLD Program page at: http://www.icann.org/tlds/
InterNIC FAQ How Domain Names Work at: http://www.internic.net/faqs/authoritative-dns.html
InterNIC FAQ on Domain Names, Registrars, Registries at: http://www.internic.net/faqs/domain-names.html
IANA Generic TLDs at: http://www.iana.org/gtld/gtld.htm
Keith Dawson, Cybersquat , Industry Standard (Aug. 10, 2001) at: http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,28623,00.html
James Ledbetter, Competing Domain Name Registries Creating Tower of Cyber-Babel, Industry Standard (July 25, 2001) at: http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,27694,00.html
ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy at: http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-policy-24oct99.htm
ICANN's Rules for Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy at: http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm
ICANN's UDRP page at: http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm
CLASS 19 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Please consider the questions at CB pp. 250-52
2. What is a domain name? A domain name server? What is a root server? What is a resolver?
3. What happens when I type a domain name, such as http://www.law.cua.edu/, into my browser?
4. What is ICANN's function with regard to domain names? Does ICANN have legitimate authority to exercise this function? Why or why not?
5. What's a generic top level domain name (gTLD)? Which are approved by ICANN? Which can currently be registered? What, if any, restrictions exist for each gTLD?
6. Why has ICANN introduced new gTLDs? Is this a good idea? Should others be introduced?
7. What problems exist regarding preregistration of the new gTLDs. Could these problems have been avoided> Are they really serious?
8. What's a country code domain name (ccTLD)? What is the ccTLD for the US? For Japan? For France?
9. Please describe the system of domain name registration for .com, .net, and .org domain names.
10. How will registration work for the new gTLDs? Is it an illegal lottery? Why or why not?
11. Should one be able to register domain names anonymously?
12. List the registries accredited by ICANN for top level domain names.
13. What is an alternate root? Why is ICANN concerned about it? Should they be concerned about it?
14. Try reaching http://www.antiquities.inc/ Could you reach this page? If no, why not? If yes, why?
15. What is ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)? Does ICANN itself conduct arbitration under the policy? If not, who is accredited to do so?
16. When must you submit to arbitration under the UDRP?
17. Under the UDRP, can you litigate rather than arbitrate if you are the complainant? If you are the respondent?
18. How does the UDRP arbitration procedure work?
19. Under the UDRP, what constitutes evidence of the use of a domain name in bad faith?
20. Under the UDRP, who selects the arbitrator? Who pays the arbitration fees?
21. Is ICANN involved in UDRP arbitrations?
22. What remedies are available under UDRP arbitrations?
23. How many arbitrations have occurred to date?
October 31, 2001: Class 20 - Domain Names, Cybersquatting, and U.S. Trademark Law (Class Maven: Tina Williams)
CLASS 20 REQUIRED READING:
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 at: http://www.gigalaw.com/library/anticybersquattingact-1999-11-29-p1.html
Margaret Smith Kubiszyn, When Is A Domain Name Considered a Trademark?, Gigalaw.com (Jan. 2001) at: http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2001/kubiszyn-2001-01-p1.html
Margaret Smith Kubiszyn, Battling Cybersquatters: New Tools for Trademark Holders, Gigalaw.com (2000) at: http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/kubiszyn-2000-02-p1.html
Xuan-Thao N. Nguyen, Blame It On the Cybersquatters: How Congress Partially Ends the Circus Among the Circuits With the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 32 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 777 (Summer, 2001)
Sporty's Farm LLC v. Sportsman's Market Inc., 202 F.3d 489 (2d Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 530 U.S. 1262 (2000) (finding that holder of domain name confusingly similar to trademark owned by competitor acted "with bad faith intent to profit" from domain name in violation of 1999 Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act which applied even though this statute was not enacted until case was on appeal)
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. v. Allporsche.com, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 12843 (4th Cir. 2000)
CLASS 20 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What's a trademark? A service mark?
2. What is the difference between arbitrary/fanciful marks, descriptive marks, suggestive marks, and generic marks?
3. Must you federally register your trademark to gain legal protection for it?
4. When is a domain name a trademark?
5. Under current U.S. law, when can a domain name infringe a trademark? When can a domain name dilute a famous trademark?
6. What is cybersquatting?
7. From a trademark owner's perspective, what was the problem with the NSI dispute resolution policy?
8. What did a trademark owner have to prove to succeed in a trademark infringement action over a domain name under U.S. federal trademark law, the Lanham Act?
9. What new legal tools have recently been provided to trademark owners to fight cybersquatters?
10. To what extent should traditional trademark law doctrines apply to the Internet? In particular, to what extent can the trademark law of a particular country apply to the global Internet? How should the law apply to domain names that are personal names of a living individual?
11. Describe the in rem jurisdiction provisions of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 (ACPA) Are these provisions constitutional?
12. What remedies are available for violation of the ACPA. Are these excessive? Why or why not?
13. Are there any valid free speech concerns arising from the ACPA? If so, what?
14. What are the different options for enforcing trademark rights in cybersquatting disputes? Which means is more powerful? Which means is more convenient? What remedies are available for each?
15. Should words with the "e" prefix be trademarked or should commonly used "e" words like "e-ticket" or "e-commerce" be in the public domain? Why or why not?
WEEK TWELVE
November 5, 2001: Class 21 - MP3 and U.S. Copyright Law (Class Maven: Ellen Herr)
CLASS 21 REQUIRED READING
- A& M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc, 239F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2001)
http://www.nyls.edu/samuels/copyright/beyond/cases/napster.html- Music Online Competition Act of 2001, HR 2724, 107th Cong. (2001), available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.02724: ; Summary available at http://www.house.gov/boucher/docs/moca-summary.htm
- Brad King, And Now Assault on Music Labels, Wired News, Oct. 19, 2001 at: http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,47698,00.html
- Brad King, Music Rights Battle Spin On, Wired News, Oct. 17, 2001 at: http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,47632,00.html
- Brad King, File Trading Suits in Crosshairs, Wired News, Oct. 3, 2001 at: http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,47296,00.html
- Napster Settles, Eyes Relaunch, Wired News, Sept. 24, 2001 at: http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,47075,00.html
- Brad King, More Suits Over Streaming Music, Wired News, June 9, 2001 at: http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,44416,00.html
John Borland, RIAA Sues Aimster Over File Swapping, CNET News.com, May 25, 2001, http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6033575.html
- Students who have not studied copyright law may find helpful Terry Carroll, Copyright FAQ, at: http://www.tjc.com/copyright/
In the unlikely event that you have never heard MP3 music, a sample MP3 song
sung by your professor is available at:
http://www.signiform.com/susanna/songs/y2k.htmlCLASS 21 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is MP3? What is Napster? Why do these technologies cause problems for copyright holders
What is the current status of the Napster litigation? What about other legal disputes involving MP3 or file sharing technologies?
What other file-sharing technologies are being developed? Do those pose the same problems as Napster or additional problems? If so, what?
How, if at all, should such file-sharing technologies be regulated? Can the law regulate them?
Are Napster users infringing copyright? Is Napster infringing copyright through the use of its service?
Does Napster and other file sharing technologies pose a threat to the rule of law?
To what extent do you think users will be willing to pay for online music?
November 7, 2001: Class 22 - The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - November 7 (Class Maven: Monica Monroe)
NOVEMBER 7 DEADLINE: SECOND DRAFT A second draft of the paper is due by 5:00 p.m. on November 7. On or before Nov. 7, you will be required to sign up for an appointment to discuss your second draft. You must attend this appointment once it has been scheduled, unless you obtain my prior written or e-mailed permission to reschedule.
CLASS 22 REQUIRED READING
- Universal City Studios v. Reimerdes, 111 F. Supp. 2d 294 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) (On appeal - to be decided soon), available at http://eon.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/DVD/NY/trial/op.html
- Larry Lessig, Jail Time in the Digital Age, N.Y. Times, July 30, 2001 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/30/opinion/30LESS.html
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (U.S. Copyright Office Summary (Dec. 1998)) at: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf
See U.S. Copyright Office Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of
Technological Measures that Control Access to Copyrighted Works (Oct. 27, 2000) at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/1201/anticirc.htmlSKIM Larry Lessig, Code, Chapter 10 - Intellectual Property
CLASS 22 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is the DMCA? What does it prohibit? In particular, what are the "anti-circumvention" provisions of the DMCA in section 1201(a)(1)? What about the "anti-device" (also known as the "anti-trafficking") provisions in section 1201(a)(2)?
Pamela Samuelson has described the battle in Congress over the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA as a battle between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Why do you think Hollywood (and the entertainment industry generally) supported this legislation? Why did Silicon Valley firms tend to oppose it?
What is your assessment of the anti-circumvention and anti-device/anti-trafficking provisions? Are they necessary? Do they further the interests of the digital economy? Are they overbroad and unclear? Are the statutory exceptions adequate? Are the penalties for violation of these provisions reasonable?
What is CSS? What is DeCSS? Who created DeCSS? What does it do? What happened to the Norwegian creator of DeCSS? Who put DeCSS on the Internet? Why?
Who are the plaintiffs and defendants in the Reimerdes case? Why are they suing? How is the DMCA relevant? Which provisions of the DMCA are the focus of this lawsuit? How did Judge Lewis Kaplan rule on the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction in August, 2000? Why? How should the Second Circuit rule on appeal? Should it vacate the existing injunction?
The defendants have termed their acts in supporting links to other websites purporting to offer DeCSS as "electronic civil disobedience"? What historical events are they attempting to invoke by the use of this mantra? Is this an accurate description of their activities? Why or why not? Is what the defendants are attempting to do a threat to the rule of law?
Does the DMCA violate the First Amendment to the Constitution? In particular, is a prohibition on linking to sites that make DeCSS available unconstitutional? Why or why not?
WEEK THIRTEEN
November 12, 2001: Class 23 - Business Method and Software Patents (Class Maven: Kevin Murphy)
CLASS 23 REQUIRED READING
Amazon.com, Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com, 239 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (2001) at: http://www.law.emory.edu/fedcircuit/feb2001/00-1109.wp.html
Rich Stim, Internet Business Method Patents, (2001) http://www.nolo.com/encyclopedia/articles/ilaw/method_patents.html
State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc., 149 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 119 S.Ct. 851 (1999) http://www.law.emory.edu/fedcircuit/july98/96-1327.wpd.html
AT&T Corp. v. Excel Communications, 172 F.3d 1352 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 120 S.Ct. 368 (1999) http://www.law.emory.edu/fedcircuit/apr99/98-1338.wp.html [Read Background at A (1 page); Discussion at C (2 pages)]
The Letters of Thomas Jefferson No Patents on Ideas at: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl220.htm
Richard Stallman, The Anatomy of a Trivial Patent (May, 2000) at: http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2000-05-26-004-04-OP-LF
CLASS 23 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
UNIT VI: The Problem of E-Commerce
November 14, 2001: Class 24 - Issues in E-Commerce: Electronic Signatures (Class Maven: Shani Butts)
CLASS 24 REQUIRED READING
- Patricia Brumfield Fry, A Preliminary Analysis of Federal and State Electronic Commerce Laws (2000) at: http://www.uetaonline.com/docs/pfry700.html
- P.L. 106-229, Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN) at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:s.00761:
- NCCUSL Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) at: http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/fnact99/1990s/uetast84.htm
- A. Michael Froomkin, The Essential Role of Trusted Third Parties in Electronic Commerce, 75 Or. L. Rev. 49 (1996) at: http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin/articles/trusted.htm
- Susanna Frederick Fischer, Saving Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a Virtual World? A Comparative Look at Global Electronic Signature Legislation ,7 Boston University Journal of Science & Technology (Summer, 2001) at: http://www.bu.edu/law/scitech/volume7/Fischer.pdf
CLASS 24 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What is an electronic signature? What is a digital signature?
- What is public key infrastructure? What is a certification authority and what does it do?
- To what extent are electronic signatures currently in use in e-commerce? Do you predict that digital signatures will supersede traditional signatures for paper contracts?
- How will, if at all, electronic signatures be used in e-commerce?
- Why did the government enact E-SIGN? How does it relate to UETA? Do they work effectively together?
- How does the technology-specific and technology-neutral approaches to electronic signature legislation taken in the United States differ from approaches taken elsewhere in the world? Which approach is better, in your view? Why?
WEEK FOURTEEN
November 19, 2001: Class 25 - Encryption and Security (Class Maven: Tracey Elliott)
CLASS 25 REQUIRED READING:
- Steven Levy, Did Encryption Power These Terrorists?, Newsweek, Sept. 12, 2001http://msnbc.com/news/627390.asp?cp1=1
- Ann Harrison, Terror Revives Crypto Debate, Security Focus,
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/256- Duncan Campbell, How the Plotters Slipped US Net, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4264719.00.html
- A. Michael Froomkin, It Came From Planet Clipper: The Battle Over Crytpographic Key Escrow, 1996 U. Chi. L. Forum 15 (1996), http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin/articles/planet_clipper.htm
- Junger v. Daley, 209 F.3d 481 (6th Cir. 2000) http://pacer.ca6.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=00a0117p.06
UNIT VII: Looking Ahead: The Future of Cyberlaw
November 21, 2001: Class 26 - Internet Voting: the Future of Democracy (Class Maven: Alexis Reisin)
CLASS 26 REQUIRED READING
- Eben Moglen and Pamela Karlan, The Soul of a New Political Machine: The Online, The Color Line, and Electronic Democracy, 34 Loy. L.A.L.Rev. 1089 (2001), online version at: http://www.lls.edu/internetvoting/moglenkarlan.pdf
- R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler, The Likely Consequences of Internet Voting for Political Representation, 34 Loy. L.A.L. Rev. 1115 (2001), online version at: http://www.lls.edu/internetvoting/ivote3c.pdf
- Jerry Kang, E-racing E-lections, 34 Loy. L. A. L. Rev. 1168 (2001), draft at: http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/kang/Scholarship/Kang_Eracing_Elections.pdf
- James Evans, Internet Voting: Could It Be Worse Than What We Have Now?, Wordcom at: http://www1.worldcom.com/ie/resources/techtrends/t008/?flash=1 (2001)
- SKIM: Report of the National Workshop on Internet Voting, Issues and Research Agenda (March 2001) (sponsored by National Science Foundation) at: http://www.netvoting.org/Resources/InternetVotingReport.pdf
CLASS 26 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. To what extent are new communications technologies likely to change U.S. politics and government?
2. Will the Internet usher in an era of direct democracy?
3. Will the Internet change the role of political parties? If so, how?
4. Will the Internet change political campaigns? If so, how?
5. Are there any serious risks associated with Internet voting? If so, what are they?
WEEK FIFTEEN
November 26, 2001: Class 27 - Studying Law Online: the Future of Legal Education
CLASS 27 REQUIRED READING
Explore the Concord Law School (online law school) website at: http://www.concord.kaplan.edu/default.htm
- See Andrew Rosen "Andrew Rosen on online education," CNN, Sept. 15, 2000 at: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/09/15/index.elearning/elearning.chat/
- ABA's Perspective on Distance Education/Temporary Distance Education Guidelines at: http://www.abanet.org/legaled/distanceeducation/distance.html#ABAdistance
Bernard J. Hibbitts, "Last Writes? Reassessing the Law Review in the Age of Cyberspace", 30 Akron L. Rev. (1996) available at: http://www.law.pitt.edu/hibbitts/lw_p1.htm [skim Part I; read carefully Parts III, and IV]; also available at http://www.uakron.edu/lawrev/hibb.html
Trotter Hardy, Review of Hibbitt's Last Writes?, 30 Akron L. Rev. (1996) at: http://www.uakron.edu/lawrev/hardy.html
Henry H. Perritt, Jr., Reassessing Professor Hibbitt's Requiem of Law Reviews, 30 Akron L. Rev. (1996) at: http://www.uakron.edu/lawrev/perritt.html
CLASS 27 DISCUSSION questions
How is technology currently being used in legal education?
What obstacles exist to increased use of technology in legal education?
What are the advantages and disadvantages in increased use of technology in legal education?
Do you think that the Internet will transform the law review? Legal education?
Should the ABA accredit distance learning law schools, such as Concord?
Would you have liked to have attended Concord Law School or another wholly online law school? Why or why not?
Check out the description of the recently added first-year course at the University of Chicago School of Law entitled "Technology, Innovation, and Society" (course no. 308) in the online course catalogue at: http://catalogs.uchicago.edu/law-folder/law-courses.html . Do you think that our law school should modify its curriculum to incorporate such a first year course? Why or why not?
November 28, 2001: Class 28 - Looking Ahead: New Technologies: the Future of Cyberlaw and Cyberspace
CLASS 28 REQUIRED READING
Lessig pp. 211-234
CLASS 28 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Is Lessig optimistic or pessimistic about the future? Why or why not?
Do you share Lessig's views about the future? Why or why not?
What model of regulation do you predict for the Internet? Why?
What new technological developments most excite you? Which frighten you most?
WEEK SIXTEEN
DECEMBER 3 DEADLINE The final draft of the paper is due on December 3 by 5:00 p.m. You should deliver your paper to the faculty receptionist on the fourth floor of the Law School. You should ensure that the receptionist time stamps your paper.
DECEMBER 5 DEADLINE By December 5 at 5:00 p.m. you are required to post your paper on the Internet.
© 2001 Susanna Fischer. Last Revised Tuesday, November 13, 2001 09:58:58 PM