COURSE PROJECT OPTIONS

According to studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding access and connectivity to the National Information Infrastructure (which includes the Internet, World Wide Web, e-mail, cable, telephone, and the like), there is a significant gap between the information “haves” and “have nots.” In fact, the gap is widening. In particular, African Americans and other minorities, as well as poor people who live in rural areas, are far less likely than others in our society to have access to the increasingly elaborate world of electronic information. Thus, the high-tech revolution that many promoted as the beginning of a new egalitarian era, has so far primarily benefited those who are already the nation's most privileged. The benefits are likely to continue to accrue disproportionately to certain sectors of the population. Advantages and disadvantages that result seem rather obvious. For example, ready access to information systems quickly translates into power. As the state writes new policies to deal with the new “information age,” are there any legal implications to the growing “digital divide?” How does this fit within our framework of individual liberty versus social order?

Internet Voting

Hate Group Websites 

In January 2000, Ryan Wilson and the group he runs, ALPHA HQ, were charged by federal authorities with civil rights violations for running a Web site that threatened a housing activist, and suggested acts of domestic terrorism against her organization. The target was Bonnie Jouhari, who chaired the Hate Crimes Task Force for a county in Pennsylvania. The ALPHA HQ Web site carried an animated picture of Jouhari's office being blown up by explosives and a picture of Jouhari, who is white, labeling her a “race traitor.” It said: “Traitors like this should beware, for in our day, they will be hung from the neck from the nearest tree or lamp post.” This is certainly not the first such incident involving websites and threatening messages. In exploring this problem, be sure to identify the liberty-order conflict and indicate how you think the conflict will ultimately be resolved. 

Liberty or Piracy?

Music has been at the heart of a great deal of modern intellectual property litigation. And, a good bit of the battle here has revolved around an issue near-and-dear to the hearts of many college students, downloading music off the Internet -- a practice put in the less flattering terms of “online piracy” by the music industry and its recording artists. Music companies, song writers, singers, and musicians contend that the practice is costing them a fortune – literally robbing them of property. In any event, we have here a classic conflict pitting one group’s liberty interests against another’s. You should explore the current legal terrain, including recent and ongoing litigation and congressional actions. What do you think the end result will be?

Community Without Borders

Where is the Web? In part, one could answer that question by addressing the physical components of the Internet - individual computers, servers, nodes, and cables all are parts of the Web, and enable communication over it. However, there is a distinct lack of "where-ness" to the Web, in the sense that it is very difficult to make certain types of geographic delineation of borders. A server for a website about Chinese political events, as observed and posted by Chinese citizens, may physically sit in a room in New Zealand, and be accessible worldwide. Such a server might fall under the laws of New Zealand - and yet China may want to have something to say about what its citizens are saying on the page hosted by this server. Closer to home, a person in New York City, one of the more liberal areas in America, may have a website about his personal sexual experiences. This website is accessible nationwide, including by those in much more conservative communities. Members of those communities may consider the site to be obscene, and file suit against it. Obscenity is often judged by the application of 'community standards' - but which community? Does the Web erase borders, and if so, how does this affect the type of community a user participates in? A user can leapfrog physical boundaries and create communities with people of common interest worldwide - but how then can laws of geographical communities be applied? A push for standardization of certain Internet law exists, but can this be done? Should it be done? What if all communities had to behave by the standards of the strictest among them - or the most liberal?

Privacy at Work

Many people access the Internet from their workplaces - some people's primary access is by this method, and many people are spending more and more time at work.. They exchange e-mail, access Web pages, and download files, all on company time and company hardware. What many people do not realize is the ease with which their employer can track their online activity, and the legal haziness of this type of surveillance. Protections exit for physical property that is taken onto a work site - simply bringing a purse to work does not give the employer a perfect right to search it. Such protections do not exist for Internet communications, or only exist in a spotty and localized fashion. Yet businesses argue that unmonitored and unrestricted Internet access from work can substantially detract from an individual employee's attention to their work. In addition, the behavior of employees may put the company itself at risk - what of the worker who accesses inappropriate websites from work, such as pornography? Not only does this take away from time rightly spent working, but may contribute to a climate of discomfort or harassment of fellow workers. Where should the rights of the individual to, in a reasonable fashion, intersect their private life with work, balance against the legitimate needs of a business to restrict their employees' behavior? In addition, consider the increasing trend of people to work from home - how does this change the employer/employee dynamic, and the rights and responsibilities of both parties?

E-Commerce and Advertising

Advertising is becoming more and more common on the Web, and it is becoming difficult to find Web sites that do not have at least one or two banner ads on them. Advertisers seek to make their ads available to as wide an audience as possible, while simultaneously targeting those computer users most likely to find their products appealing. A variety of tracking technologies are available which allow advertisers to keep a record of the types of sites a user visits, as well as the types of ads the user has clicked on. Some of this information is kept only in an aggregate form, with no way of tracking any given user. Other information is more specific, keeping track of an individual (if anonymous) user as he surfs from site to site. In some cases, the user may be aware that data is being collected on his Web use, though in other cases, this is far less clear. In addition, information that was gathered in an anonymous format may become identifiable when merged with giant databases that can supply the names, addresses, and other personally-identifiable information about an individual. On the one hand, advertisers argue that these tactics allow them to present to the Web user only those ads that he may find appealing, thereby not wasting the users time, nor the company's money, on pointless ads. It is certainly the case the the Web is growing as a place to do business, and that the rapid and powerful growth of the Internet economy seems to benefit more than just the individual businesses who venture online. On the other hand, the potential to infringe on personal privacy is vast, and few laws exist outlining what may or may not be done with information gathered by online advertisers. Consider the balance between the needs of corporations and the rights of individuals. What types of laws exist to help and restrain both sides of this issue? How valuable is a person's personal data, both to the individual, and to the company which he may or may not wish to do business with?  

Censorship and Responsibility

It's possible to find almost anything online, from simple children's stories, to material judged illegal in most American jurisdictions. Information can be placed on the Web without a lot of the permissions that are required for other forms of media - there is no 'editor' to make sure the material is not libelous, no broadcast commission to make sure the material does not break FCC guidelines. To complicate matters, it is unclear what type of model the Internet follows - is it like television, which is freely available to all and therefore falls under certain types of restrictions? Is it more like a book, which only must follow very loose guidelines? Is it a combination of these types of media, and more? In addition, how should this material be monitored? Is it up to individuals to monitor their children's use, or is it up to the state to make sure material inappropriate for children is not accessible by them? These questions even cross international borders - recent decisions concerning Nazi material for sale on Yahoo auctions (which is legal to buy and sell in the US, but not in other countries, including France) make this point. Censorship, and who should have the power to make these types of decisions, is a topic which will significantly impact the development of the Internet - consider some of the above questions, and possible outcomes.

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Last Updated:  08/17/01