BKCYSPLW.RVW   980817

"Cyberspace and the Law", Edward A. Cavazos/Gavino Morin, 1994,
0-262-53123-2, U$19.95
%A   Edward A. Cavazos polekat@well.sf.ca.us
%A   Gavino Morin gmorin@bga.com
%C   55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA   02142-1399
%D   1994
%G   0-262-53123-2
%I   MIT Press
%O   U$19.95 +1-800-356-0343 fax: +1-617-625-6660 manak@mit.edu
%O  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262531232/robsladesinterne
%P   215 p.
%T   "Cyberspace and the Law: Your Rights and Duties in the On-Line
      World"

"Net Law" (cf. BKNLHLUI.RVW) was written for the lawyer.  "SysLaw"
(cf. BKSYSLAW.RVW) was written for the layman, rather than lawyer, but
was still aimed at sysops rather than the common herd.  This book
fills that space, and is the first I can recall that does so.

Chapter one provides a very brief description of cyberspace, starting
with William Gibson's invention of the term, running through various
different electronic entities, and including some basic online
activities.  Privacy, and particularly the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act as applied to the Steve Jackson Games case, is the topic
of chapter two.  The chapter ends with a rather odd look at
encryption.  Eventually getting around to PGP's problems with ITAR
(the International Traffic in Arms Regulations), the book seems to
state that PGP should be avoided because simple possession of it may
be illegal.  Since the book is based entirely on US law, it is
obviously aimed at an American audience, and the issue of export does
not appear to be mentioned.  Contracts are the subject of chapter
three, mostly dealing with common law.

Chapter four covers copyright.  I must say that I am always amused by
the wording of the American First Amendment; that government shall
make no laws regarding the abridgement of freedom of speech or press;
since there are laws about defamation, fraud, and pornography.  These,
and free speech, are dealt with in chapter five.  Considerations of
prurient material are discussed in significantly more detail in
chapter six, and I must say that this is one of the most informative
and even-handed explanations of the topic in any book reviewed to
date.  Chapter seven closes off the book with a grab bag of
potentially illegal computer related activities.  The intent seems to
be to warn users about apparently innocuous actions that could bring
them afoul of the law.  As usual, there is a section on computer
viruses, and, as usual, it isn't very good.  Appendix A provides a
good list of contacts for legal and paralegal interest groups.  Other
appendices list various US statutes examined in the book.

While this work once again limits itself to the US, and fails to note
the international nature of cyberspace, it does provide its
information in a readable and accessible form.  The authors do not
always deliver on their promise to avoid legal jargon (such as "color
of law"), but all the contents can be understood by the intelligent
and determined lay reader.  Where legal niceties are not completely
delineated they would only be of interest to other lawyers anyway.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998   BKCYSPLW.RVW   980817