ESLJ Volume 2 Number 1 Book Reviews
CYBERSPACE AND ITS SOCIO-LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
The Internet, Law and Society
by Yaman Akdeniz, Clive Walker and David S. Wall (eds.).
Harlow: Longman, 2000.
Pp.388, £32.99 (pb),
ISBN 0 582 35656 3.
Reviewed by:
CATHERINE RUSSELL
School of Law,
Manchester Metropolitan University
The Internet represents the greatest technological development of recent times, breaking down communication boundaries, presenting opportunities for commercial and economic growth while creating an ever-changing medium open to abuse and criminal activity. Alongside the thundering development of technology, established legal frameworks need to adapt and develop in order to accommodate the blurring of international jurisdictions, the empowerment of the individual and the expansion of commercial activities. This book does not focus upon 'case materials' for the study of Internet law but it is an accessible investigation into how the Internet, the law and our society co-exist and how they can and should interact and develop together.
The Internet, Law and Society encompasses contributions from experts in the field covering the areas of: the governance of cyberspace; the Internet's impact on legal institutions and professions; and 'legal controversies' surrounding the Internet, such as defamation and the dissemination of child pornography. This examination of the social and political implications of the Internet is drawn together by Yaman Akdeniz, member of the Cyberlaw Research Unit at the University of Leeds, Professor Clive Walker and David Wall, both also of the Department of Law at the University of Leeds.
In its treatment of the issues surrounding the governance of the Internet, the book presents a clear, concise examination of how public and private institutions stand side by side in any attempt to regulate this media, breaking away from the traditional strata of governance and moving towards a multi-layered approach. A similar stance is taken in the investigation of how the Internet can be policed, with the need for many agencies to work together whilst also promoting a system of accountability.
The book professes to be a study of 'law in action' and lives up to this remit by paying attention to how the development of technology has impacted upon the legal profession. It is argued that the modern lawyer has a continuing need to adapt and keep ahead of the opportunities and threats created by the information technology boom. Although this section cannot be treated as a 'how to' manual, it does give the legal practitioner an excellent overview of developments and pitfalls in this area. In a separate chapter strong argument is advanced for the greater use of IT within the criminal justice system to simplify and demystify processes and to create a broader base for citizen participation.
Walker's investigation of the issues surrounding 'cyber-constitutionalism and digital democracy' offers a thought-provoking, in-depth analysis of the impact that our ever-expanding ability to communicate through IT could have on democracy and democratic institutions, the attitudes of governments and the drawbacks and advantages of the citizen's relatively new-found voice. The discussion touches upon many different facets of this ever-changing situation. The difficulties posed to authoritarian nation-states of control of new technologies can lead to the promotion of democracy through the global sharing of information and the empowerment of the citizen in the face of repression. A further democratising effect of new technology is the ability to provide vast amounts of governmental information in a relatively easily accessible format. This should lead to an increase in governmental accountability but, as the author holds, the UK's opportunity to increase accountability has been diluted as the use of new technology has been advocated in the name of modernisation, not the transformation of the nature of democracy.
The author of this chapter presents new technology as a method for increasing informed engagement and participation in political issues. In the current climate of disenchantment with the political process and the recent low election turnouts, enhancing the link between the citizen and the government, or political parties, could reinforce waning popular involvement in the democratic process. While advocating this increased popular involvement the author does signal some drawbacks, such as the tendency for political debate through new media, as a sphere dominated by leisure services, to be provided as a kind of 'entertainment', a mere distraction with its real message and importance being lost.
This is an excellent, broad-based introduction to the main issues surrounding cyber-constitutionalism. However, the whole notion of enabling the citizen by providing a voice can be expanded to examine democratic theory and the tension between equality and rationality. By engaging each citizen in informed political discussion through the Internet, there is the possibility that in place of a democratic consensus, a sphere is fostered in which increased political debate leads to increased polarisation and social fragmentation.
The main issues surrounding the policing of the Internet are examined by David Wall, beginning with an examination of the various 'harmful behaviours' which have developed with the expansion of the Internet, such as 'cybertheft' and 'cyberviolence', the latter seen to encompass activities ranging from harassment to hate speech. The chapter covers responses to the need to impose order in such a shifting environment, showing a multi-layered approach, encompassing input from individual users, user groups, interest groups, service providers and public sector organisations. It is suggested that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will increase in their legal accountability due mainly to their profit making status, thereby providing the most likely starting point from which order could be imposed. The discussion of the main issues here is measured and very well researched and although the situation is ever-changing, this chapter stands as an excellent general introduction to the increasingly complex area of policing the Internet.
Akdeniz has produced or collaborated upon the majority of the chapters in the final section, entitled 'Legal Controversies in Cyberspace'. As the founder and director of the civil liberties organisation Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK), it is unsurprising that he presents a strong case for the protection of the right to free speech on the Internet, criticising, for example, governmental attempts to impose controls on sexually explicit material. Other chapters discuss issues such as whether the often hysterical, media-fuelled reaction to the Internet as a medium for the dissemination of child pornography merely serves to enhance a rationalisation of Internet censorship while detracting from the 'real world' problem of child abuse. The book also covers subjects such as defamation, hate speech, privacy rights and e-commerce.
The work contains extensive footnotes, many with links to the relevant material on the web, and it is also supported by its own website. The fast moving evolution of the Internet presents a problem for anyone seeking to publish work in this area. However, The Internet, Law and Society admits to being a 'snap-shot of work on the subject', and as such is an essential, accessible handbook for anyone, student, law professional or interested party, seeking a critical discussion of the socio-legal situation surrounding the development of cyberspace and an examination of the main policy issues.
This is a book review published online on March 7th 2005.
Citation: Russell, Catherine, 'The Internet, Law and Society by Yaman Akdeniz, Clive Walker and David S. Wall (eds.)', Entertainment and Sports Law Journal (ESLJ) Volume 2, Number 1 <http://www.warwick.ac.uk/go/eslj/issues/volume2/number1/reviews/russell/>.
