Elon University

Archives: Expert Predictions

The Law of the Net: Problems and Prospects

The law of intellectual property, which includes the law of copyright, will have to adapt to a world in which advances in technology increasingly undercut one’s ability to enforce intellectual-property rights … decentralization of the Net makes billing for and tracking use of intellectual property very difficult, since there’s no central tracking mechanism, nor has any credible one been proposed … When a law’s requirements are so unrealistic that they are routinely broken by otherwise law-abiding citizens, it’s a sign that the law needs to be changed.

The Law of the Net: Problems and Prospects

Even negligence law has its challenges in a world where the standards of due care have not yet been widely established. Is an access-provider negligent if his or her system becomes the means by which a virus is spread? To what extent must service providers inspect their systems for dangerous programs? These are issues over which reasonable people can disagree.

The Law of the Net: Problems and Prospects

The changes wrought by distributed computer networks will likely change some of the traditional balances our society has struck between rights and responsibilities. Take libel, for example … These differences may undermine the whole rationale for holding those who merely republish information (and who do not review it beforehand) legally responsible for libelous statements.

Virtual Casinos Test Legal Limits of On-Line Gambling

Online gaming will never rival the real thing. “They like to have the cards in their hands, they like to handle the chips and the money. They even like to hear the sound of the coins dropping in the trays. Regardless of what they hear or what they’re told, they’re going to think that somebody manipulated the results. Sports betting has a chance, but I don’t think it’s going to fly for casino games where they can’t see the event taking place in front of their eyes.”

The Tomorrow Makers

Law enforcement and “intelligence” efforts to increase governmental control over the populace are things I cannot sit still for, especially given the cheesy and blatantaly propagandistic reasons (drug dealers, terrorists, organized crime and child molesters/pornographers) given for turning America into a surveillance network.

The Tomorrow Makers

ATM switches, which can move information at ferocious speeds, will take over the backbone activity on the Internet.

The Tomorrow Makers

My dream is to build … a community for the young and the old, for the millions of retired people in this country to connect to the 8- to 18-year-olds.