Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 14:13:30 CST
>From: Mike.Riddle@IVGATE.OMAHUG.ORG(Mike Riddle)
Subject: File 4--SYSLAW (Review #1)
 
SYSLAW (Second Edition). By Lance Rose and Jonathan Wallace.  Winona
(Minn.): PC Information Group, Inc.  306 pp. $34.95 (paper).
 
The old truism that law follows technology comes as no surprise to
readers of the Computer Underground Digest.  Many, if not most, of the
(horror) stories we hear about "evil hackers", or the (sometimes)
excesses of various law enforcement agencies, can be understood much
better when we realize the lack of computer knowledge within society
at large.  System operators, be they sysadmins at a large university
or commercial site, or sysops of a PC-based bulletin board in a
basement or closet, increasingly have questions about their legal
rights and responsibilities.  Can I delete that user?  Should (or can
I legally) censor or delete that message or file?  How can I protect
myself from civil or criminal liability?  Can my equipment be seized
because of something a user does?
 
SYSLAW is an attempt to explore the gap between statutes and case law
on the one side, and technological reality on the other.  Since the
law works slowly, many of the questions about the intersection of law
and technology do not have textbook answers.  But "the smallest
journey begins with a step."  Messrs. Rose and Wallace have made a
substantial step down that path.
 
While the courts have yet to rule on many of the questions posed by
sysops, sysadmins, and others, we still have fundamental principles of
constitutional and communications law to rely upon.  Rose and Wallace
begin by exploring Sysop rights within the traditional framework of
Constitutional law, particularly the First Amendment.
 
After discussing the Constitutional principles that apply to Sysops,
they then go on to explore the contractual nature of computer
communications.  Contracts are legally enforceable agreements, and we
find them everywhere in daily life.  Sometimes we even realize that a
contract is involved, and a small fraction of those contracts are
important enough to be written down.
 
Bulletin boards are the same way.  Explicit or implied contracts are
established when a user logs on to a bulletin board.  Rose and Wallace
suggest the wise sysop recognize this reality, and explicitly lay out
a contract for use.  They also include a sample as an appendix.
 
Another area of concern is the law of intellectual property.  Who owns
the posts?  Does a moderator (either usenet or Fido style) have any
ownership in the overall newsgroup or echo?  When can messages legally
be copied?  What about files and executable code?  While the context
may be new, many of the questions are old and have relatively
well-established answers.
 
What about "injurious materials" on a bulletin board?  Is the sysop
liable?  What did _Cubby v. Compuserve_ really decide?  What are the
rules on search and seizure, and what has actually happened in the few
cases we know about?  Does the sysop have an obligation to search for
and/or warn about viruses?  What about sexually explicit material?
 
Many of these areas do not have clear answers, and one of the
strengths of SYSLAW is that the authors do not attempt to invent law
where it doesn't exist.  But in the places where the law is unsettled,
they do a good job explaining the legal, social and sometimes moral
considerations that a court would consider if the question arose.
They sometimes tell you what they think the result might be, or what
they think it should be.  They caution at the start that until courts
consider several cases, and/or until we get appellate decisions, the
users and  operators incur some degree of risk in engaging in certain
activities.  The reader is left with a better understanding of the
issues involved, and reasonable actions sysops might take to insulate
themselves from liability of one sort or another.
 
SysLaw is available from PC Information Group, 800-321-8285 or
507-452-2824, and located at 1126 East Broadway, Winona, MN 55987.
You may order by credit card or by mail.  Price is $34.95 plus $3.00
shipping and (if applicable) sales tax.  Price is subject to change
after January 1, 1993.  For additional information, please
 
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