Law of the Internet

1 – 3 credits

LAW-2010

Law
School of Law

Society has moved online – so have our legal disputes. Most of us have tapped “I agree” without reading the fine print; streamed copyrighted works without paying a license fee; and creeped someone via google and social media. Most of us have also been digitally hacked, phished, and spied upon; our personal data has been collected by private and governmental entities; and we have repeatedly heard these buzzwords of network neutrality and bitcoin. This is a survey course in the law of the internet — civics of the internet. We cover regulation of the internet and big media companies such as Facebook and Google; privacy law from various angles; liability for various nefarious activities (including actions taken by AI rather than humans); and yes, what happens when you click “I agree.” Although we discuss computer technology, this is not a high-tech class. You will not need any technical expertise beyond knowing about email, the world wide web, and texting.