This Land Is Your Land. Service Versus Surveillance: Has Computer Technology Outpaced the Legal System? Still, you will come up short. In fact, you may wind up creating such a maze of conflicting virus-protectors, screening protocols and passwords that your computer, TV, telephone and DVR are rendered inoperable and non-repairable, especially if you have “bundled” these services. Refusing surveys and other cross-matchable data-collection instruments will help you temporarily. Evading surveillance cameras, directional laser-based detection devices, shredding documents and purchasing sensors to stem eavesdropping and voice/facial recognition may buy you time … or ensure that you “do time,” depending.
Welcome to the world of computer forensics. Those who watch TV programs like CSI tend to think of forensics as applying only to crime-solving techniques. But the term has morphed into “figuring out how the heck stuff works.” Therein lies the problem. It’s a twenty-first-century Catch-22. Last weekend a perfect example surfaced. That said, two factoids jumped off the page: _________ Beverly K. Precautionary Principle Law. Precautionary Principle states that when an activity causes some threat or harm to the public or the environment, general precautionary measures should be taken. When a scientific investigation proves that there is a possible risk in doing some activity, then this principle should be applied. Internationally, one of the most important expression of the Precautionary principle is the Rio Declaration from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration reads: “In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. This principle is applied in the context of human activities on the environment and human health. In U.S the precautionary principle is not expressly mentioned in any laws or policies. However, some U.S. laws have a precautionary nature.
Author Larry Downes: When Innovation and the Legal System Collide. Once, technological innovation was embraced by early adopters, who were followed by the masses. Today, technological innovation is embraced by early adopters, who are followed by the lawyers. According to Larry Downes, partner, Bell-Mason Group, a venture consulting firm focused on corporate investments in start-ups, it is the lawyers' job to shut down innovation before it reaches the masses.
He warns that the market isn't the only place where innovators must prepare to fight. Downes has written prodigiously about IT, business strategy, and law. His book on the subject, "The Laws of Disruption," comes out from Basic Books in October. The premise of your book is that innovation—especially technological innovation—happens very fast, while legal systems move very slowly. Historian Lynn White Jr. tells the story of the stirrup, which was adapted in Europe around 800 and turned the tide in invasions from the east by creating a mounted cavalry—the knights. The Internet is our stirrup. The Future of Environmental Law Mapping. By Laurent Granier Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and mapping offer great opportunities for the transfer of legal data from books to maps. GIS applications have been evolving in many directions, well beyond geography. Many fields such as environmental economics, social science, health science and administration are now aggregated with scientific representations.
The methods for environmental and social mapping are now participatory too. Maps and plans have been considered legal tools in urban and planning law for a long time here in France. Part of our environmental legislation is made of data, standards and zones that make sense horizontally. In the case of participatory PAs mapping (in the Gabonese legislation for example), legal data in mapping can include: - Representations of general laws and regulations, for example health rules on malaria applying to the entire country, the ban on fishing after 3 miles, general building rule, roads, etc. - Specific laws and regulations.
Internet Law 101, Part 2 - Search Engine Watch (SEW)