Information Technology Law: The Law and Society

Citation

Murray, A. (2023). Information Technology Law: The Law and Society (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Chapter Summary

The fifth edition has twenty-five chapters in six parts, in a volume of about 730 pages. The publisher describes a "clearly defined part structure": the book begins by defining the information society and discussing how it may be regulated, and then moves to internet governance, privacy and surveillance, intellectual property and commerce in the digital sphere. The publisher also lists attention to the digital public sphere, the digital divide, virtual environments including gaming, and the challenges of Web 3.0. Each chapter is described as including highlight and case-study boxes that place the legal theory in context.

Part I, Chapters 1–4: The World of Bits; The Network of Networks; Net Neutrality; Regulating the Information Society

The opening part sets the scene before turning to any single field of law. By their titles, Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the digital environment and the network on which it runs; Chapter 3 addresses net neutrality; and Chapter 4 asks how the information society can be regulated. The publisher says the text begins by defining the information society and discussing how it may be regulated, before the later parts take up particular areas.

Part II, Chapters 5–7: Cyber-speech; Social Networking and Antisocial Conduct; Defamation

Part II is about content. Its three chapters deal with speech online, social networking and antisocial conduct, and defamation.

Part III, Chapters 8–15: Digital Content and Intellectual Property Rights

This is the longest part. It opens with "Intellectual Property Rights and the Information Society" (Chapter 8) and "Software" (Chapter 9), then treats copyright in sequence: "Digital Creatives and Copyright Law" (Chapter 10), "Copyright in the Digital Environment" (Chapter 11) and "Copyright Infringement in the Digital Environment" (Chapter 12). "Databases" (Chapter 13) follows, and the part closes with two chapters on branding: "Branding, Trade Marks and Domain Names" (Chapter 14) and "Brand Identities, Search Engines, and Secondary Markets" (Chapter 15).

Part IV, Chapters 16–18: Electronic Contracts; Electronic Payments and Cryptocurrency; Consumer Protection

The e-commerce part covers contracts made electronically, electronic payments including cryptocurrency, and consumer protection. The publisher's description lists commerce within the digital sphere as one of the book's main themes.

Part V, Chapters 19–21: Computer Misuse; Obscenity in the Information Society; Crime and Law Enforcement in the Information Society

Part V, titled "Criminal Activity in the Information Society", treats computer misuse, obscenity, and the broader question of crime and law enforcement.

Part VI, Chapters 22–25: Data Protection; The International Trade in Personal Data; State Surveillance and Data Retention

The final part is on data privacy. "Data Protection: The Legal Framework" (Chapter 22) and "Data Protection: Rights and Obligations" (Chapter 23) are followed by "The International Trade in Personal Data" (Chapter 24), and the book closes with "State Surveillance and Data Retention" (Chapter 25).

Key Concepts

Part I: The Information Society

• Net neutrality: the principle that network traffic should be treated equally, which has a chapter of its own.
• Regulating the information society: the question of how a networked environment can be governed, which frames the rest of the book.

Part II: Content

• Cyber-speech and defamation: how the law of expression and reputation applies to online communication.
• Social networking and antisocial conduct: the subject of Chapter 6, on harmful behaviour in online communities.

Part III: Digital Content and Intellectual Property

• Copyright in the digital environment: how copyright, and infringement of it, apply to digital works.
• Databases: the protection of collections of data.
• Trade marks and domain names: the relationship between brands and internet addresses, and, in Chapter 15, search engines and secondary markets.

Parts IV–VI

• Electronic contracts and payments: contract formation and payment, including cryptocurrency.
• Computer misuse: criminal liability for the misuse of computers, the subject of Chapter 19.
• Data protection and data retention: the legal framework, rights and obligations of data protection, international transfers of personal data, and state surveillance.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A clear part structure. The six parts move from the nature of the information society, through content, intellectual property, commerce and crime, to data privacy. A reader who needs one field, such as copyright or data protection, can enter at the relevant part without reading the book in sequence.
• Breadth in a single volume. The twenty-five chapters cover speech, defamation, intellectual property, electronic commerce, computer crime, data protection and surveillance. A course that spreads across these topics can be taught from a single text.
• Law set in its social setting. The title and the publisher's description stress the relationship between legal rules and the wider "information society", with discussion of the digital public sphere and the digital divide, so that the book supports essay questions about why regulation takes the form it does and not only what the rules are.
• Learning supports. The publisher lists highlight and case-study boxes in the text, and online resources including outline answers to end-of-chapter questions, web links and a flashcard glossary.

Limitations

• Length. At about 730 pages and twenty-five chapters, the book contains more than most single modules can use; Part III alone accounts for eight chapters. Courses must select.
• Scope of the contents. The contents list no chapter devoted to artificial intelligence, and the publisher names Web 3.0 only as a future challenge, so readers following the newest technologies will need current sources.
• A fast-changing subject. The edition dates from 2023. Data protection, online content regulation and surveillance law change quickly, so the legal detail in those parts should be checked against current statutes and decisions.

Where It Fits in the Course

This is a full course textbook in the course's information technology law strand, and it is the broadest of the books listed. Ian Lloyd's Information Technology Law covers a similar range of topics, including privacy, data protection, cybercrime, intellectual property, e-commerce and consumer rights, and is a natural alternative or a second text for comparison.

On the intellectual property side, Bently and colleagues' Intellectual Property Law is a dedicated treatment of copyright, patents, designs, trade marks, passing off and confidentiality, and is the book to turn to when Part III's chapters need more depth than a general IT law text can give. Robin Jacob, Matthew Fisher and Lynne Chave's Guidebook to Intellectual Property is a short introduction without footnotes, suitable before starting Part III for a reader with no intellectual property background. James Boyle's The Public Domain is a critical, argument-led work on intellectual property and creativity that complements the copyright chapters.

How to Use This Book

The book is for students taking a module in information technology, internet or cyberlaw, usually in the later years of an undergraduate law degree, and for postgraduates and practitioners who need a map of the field. The publisher states no prerequisites; a first course in contract law and in public law is a sensible background, particularly for Parts IV and VI.

A practical plan:

• Core: Part I, to understand how the book approaches regulation, followed by the parts the course covers. For a general module, that usually means Chapters 5 to 7 on content, one or two intellectual property chapters from Part III, the e-commerce chapters of Part IV, and the data protection chapters of Part VI.
• Selective: Part III has eight chapters, and most courses will take only the copyright and trade mark chapters; Part V suits a module with a criminal-law component.
• Alongside the text: use the end-of-chapter questions, the outline answers and the flashcard glossary the publisher provides, and read the leading cases and the current legislation on data protection and online content, since this is an area where the law moves quickly.