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Cyber Warfare:
Jokes, Hoaxes, or Hypes?
--Xingan Li
Cyber warfare is increasingly listed alongside nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as a
potential weapon of mass destruction. Interest in and concerns for cyber warfare have also been
prevalent for decades. War-oriented writers usually exploited such serious and expensive terms as cyber
war, information war and electronic war to spread their impetuous and cheap ideas. This paper by
no means devaluates serious designs and plans, studies and research, ideas and claims revolving
around cyber warfare. Rather, the purpose of this paper is to analyze existing jokes, hoaxes and hypes
on the so-called cyber warfare, so as to distance serious research from misleading information.
© 2010 Xingan Li. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright Infringement
in Cyberspace and Network Security:
A Threat to E-Commerce
--Tabrez Ahmad
The growth of information and digital technology has rapidly increased the number of internet
users. Many countries, including India, have enacted legislations to regulate the activities related to
Internet. The Government of India has passed Information Technology Act in 2000 and further amended
it on October 27, 2009, which gave fillip to cyber law. Though the amended Act contains
considerable changes, the issues such as copyright, payment issues, media convergence, domain
name, cybersquating and jurisdiction still remain unsolved. Infringement over Internet and piracy
of copyrighted works are considered as big threats hampering the growth of the Internet,
e-commerce and digital economy. Dissemination of computer virus, hacking and disabling the
network system are still the challenging tasks for corporate houses, service providers, and the internet
users. This paper suggests that there is a need for an appropriate legislation, policies and strong
legal institutions to effectively enforce cyber laws for the promotion of
e-commerce and reduction of copyright related disputes.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Formulating Specialized Legislation to
Address the Growing Spectre of Cybercrime: A Comparative Study
--F Cassim
This paper makes a comparative study on the prevalent cyber legislations and related issues
with respect to the US, the UK, Australia, India and South Africa. It emphasizes the need for
enactment of efficient cyber legislations to tackle cyber crimes in lieu of rapidly emerging computer and
internet technologies. The evolution of new technologies has forced many countries either to amend or
enact new laws to curb the menace of cyber crimes. The presence of strong education system and
constant training of personnel at different hierarchical levels especially officers connected with
law enforcement, would considerably curb/control cyber attacks. This paper further suggests that
there is a need for cooperation between the member nations globally to effectively address the
problem of cyber crimes. A balanced approach that considers the protection of fundamental human
rights and the need for the effective prosecution of cyber crime is essential to control different forms
of cyber crimes.
© 2009 Fawazia Cassim. This paper was earlier published in
The PER, Vo. 12, No. 4. Reprinted with Permission.
Virtual Third Parties
--Michael Risch
This paper emphasizes the Third-Party Beneficiary (TPB) concept to virtual worlds by signifying
third party interactions, application of the doctrine and the possible means by which the users of
virtual world can overcome their problems. In virtual worlds, rules of life are governed by contract,
and three-party transactions are more common; every exchange of virtual cash, property, sound,
pictures, and even conversation involves a third party into the contractual relationship between the user
and virtual world provider. TPB doctrine applies whenever a contract affects a non-party. Many
states have relaxed TPB requirements and most of them have adopted an approach similar to that of
the Second Restatement of Contracts, which looks at the totality of circumstances to determine
whether a third party can enforce the terms of a contract to protect their own interests. The author
opines that the third-party beneficiary enforcement envisioned by the Restatement is important, and in
some cases it could be the only option to vindicate user rights in the hub and speak contractual
relationships between a virtual world provider and its users.
© 2009 Michael Risch. This article was earlier published in
The Santa Clara Computer and High Technology Law
Journal, Vol. 25, pp. 415-425. Reprinted with permission.
The Shaky Foundations
of the Regulated Internet
--James B Speta
This paper explores the theory of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC's)
"ancillary jurisdiction" and its relevancy to the Comcast order. Legal analysis and observations of the
court reveal the absence of ancillary jurisdiction of the FCC as the comcast order directs at an
untenable theory of regulatory power. The paper suggests a feasible plan for the FCC with an
appropriate degree of regulatory authority over the internet through an appropriate legislation. The FCC
authority to regulate unfair competition practices committed by Internet service providers is more
pertinent because it checks antitrust doctrine and other related issues. It concludes that FCCs cannot
entitle to total ancillary jurisdiction and power to regulate any aspect of internet service, including the
price and quality of service.
© 2010 James B Speta. This paper was earlier published in the
Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology
Law (JTHTL), Vol. 8, pp. 101 and 134, School of Law, University of Colorado. Reprinted with permission.
A Comparative Study
of Shrink-Wrap License
--Jiao Xue
This paper presents the dilemma of e-commerce age that huge amount of computer-related
litigation poses a challenge to the law of different countries as to how to appropriately resolve these
difficulties. Through this paper, the author tries to compare Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act
(UCITA) and European Union (EU) with China's approaches, seeks for guidance or inspiration for
policymakers in China. The author seriously examines the conflicting interests and problems faced by both
software suppliers and users. In conclusion, the author believes that there exists a number of grey areas
and there is an urgent need for new judicial interpretation in China.
© 2009 Jiao Xue. This paper was earlier published in the
Journal of Politics and Law, Vol. 2, No. 2, Canadian Center of Science
and Education. Reprinted with permission.
Online Auctions: An Overview
--L Padmavathi
Over the past decade, online transactions have changed a lot and enabled the merchants to
increase their customer base and also initiated a number of successful companies which operated
online. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) commerce has created new opportunities for consumers
and businesses. The use of Internet has made auctions very easy, cost-effective and transparent.
eBay India, Yahoo, auctionindia.com and Bidrivals.com are some of the famous auction sites in India.
The present article traces the evolution of auctions by highlighting its advantages, challenges, issues
and legislations related to online consumer protection in various countries.
This article takes the example of eBay and critically examines the mechanism, payment
method, and consumer protection policies at eBay.
© 2010 L Padmavathi. All Rights Reserved.
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