Legal Assessment Individuals and Technology

Introduction
As individuals, we are exposed to technology and its limitless advancements everyday From being as simple as driving a car, buying things over the internet or being able to listen to music on portable devices. Technology has undoubtedly made everyones lives more simple and convenient however with rise to new technology comes potential harm and use of it, issues which governments have little or no influence in its domains as it is evolving at extraordinary fast rate while the government and legislation limps behind. An important area of technology is information technology which is, storage, sending, exchanging and retrieval of information through PCs, mobile phones and other media/informative devices. Information in the technological world is the broad category encompassing all data types. This information can be expressed in many different ways through mathematical form, computer codes such as binary and ASCII, verbally or in another language. This essay will focus on the individuals interactions with cyberspace and will address key issues and many legal implications of new technologies for society, as well as the dynamic response from governments in order to amend these issues and challenges in protecting individuals rights relating to technology. This essay will focus on the aspects of: Cybercrime such as hacking, internet fraud and spam.

The impact of the internet on the individual in relation to the chosen issue
Since the creation of internet, this new piece of technology impacted on individuals and societies forever, providing benefits in the case of: Wide range of communication and socialisation from everywhere around the world. Access to data, information types through websites and forums. Accessing sites for entertainment purposes. Buying and selling things through auctioning sites such as eBay Doing simple necessities with a click of a button such as shopping, groceries etc.

However with the introduction of the internet and its benefits, individuals and underground groups began exploiting and abusing the internets evolving potential for criminal and harmful purposes such as:

Hacking Unauthorised access to data held in a computer/device. Individuals can lose vital data such as credit card numbers and personal information and can be infected with viruses which could lead to identity theft, rendering the victims computer to almost useless and the misuse of personal, vital information. Internet fraud is manipulating and deceiving online users with false information. This impact on individuals by offering false, tempting offers/click mes with intention of taking the victims money or details which can lead to identity theft, false purchases, misuse of personal information. Spam Spam is junk mail received electronically. Some spam are harmless and useless while other spam can be malicious and potentially threatening on individuals by concealing coded spyware and key loggers which active on opening spam. This type of cybercrime can infect victims computers with various spywares and key loggers some which can transfer personal information to the criminals infect and alter various program data to monitor and control what the victims do.

In conclusion of this section, the internet is a double edged sword. A technological revolution with limitless potential to expand empowering individuals to do many things while in the hands of criminals and underground groups it is a technological weapon also empowering them, to achieve their ends, harming the unaware and even the most cautious of individuals and society.

Four separate sources of domestic and international law that deal with the issue of cybercrime
As technology grows and evolves every day, the many laws, governments and agencies fall behind trying to amend and reform previous laws or introduce new laws that can protect the rights of society. However during the recent increase in cybercrime in the 2000 which is still increasing by the day, governments and agencies alike realised an area in law that was difficult to enforce and protect the rights of individuals without interfering with human rights to information and content exposed on the internet. To combat this growing threat these organisations have taken arms, introducing tough, new cybercrime legislations to protect the best interest of the online users and bring to justice to the criminals plaguing the net with malicious and harmful acts of crime using the internet. Before outlining the 4 separate sources of domestic/international legislation I will explain the differences of domestic and international law. Domestic law Is the national or internal law of a sovereign state defined opposition to international law. Domestic law not only includes legislation made at a national level, but law of the state, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels. An example of domestic law can vary between states or can affect the whole nation such as the carbon tax.

International Law Are laws that govern the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with neighbouring countries. This differs from other legal systems in that it only warns or concerns provinces rather than private citizens. In other words governments can choose to integrate international laws into their legal systems or have the state sovereignty not too. An example of international law is the Declaration of Human Rights. I will now outline the 4 separate legislations concerning with cybercrime.

Spam Act 2003(Cth)

It is illegal to send, or cause unsolicited commercial electronic messages through email, instant messaging services (IM), telephone and text message(short message service, or SMS), or multimedia message services(MMS). It does not cover faxes, voice telephones calls or messages or unsolicited ads that pop up to be seen by an internet user.

Spam (Consequential Amendments) Act 2003(Cth)

This act amended the telecommunications Act 1997(CTH) and the Australian communications authority Act 1997(CTH) to enable effective enforcement. The spam act is enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), a commonwealth statutory authority responsible for the regulation of radio and television broadcasting, telephone communications and the internet.

The Cybercrime Act 2001(Cth)

The Cybercrime Act 2001(Cth) amended the Criminal Code 1995(Cth), as well as the Crimes Act 1914(Cth) and several other Commonwealth Acts. This a.ct created offences involving the use of computers, data/information and the internet to harm individuals and the society, now contained in the Criminal Code 1995(Cth). As these are federal offences, there must be a link or relation with the Commonwealth. For example the offenders actions were carried out via a Telecommunications network which includes the internet.

The Telecommunications Act 1997

This act is now incorporated into the Spam (Consequential Amendments) Act 2003(Cth) however beforehand it introduces restrictions such as communication services and providers not to give personal details to any outside organisation unless they have proof from the government in addition it introduces communication rights and benefits to individuals and users.

Evaluate the effectiveness of current law in protecting and enforcing the rights of individuals and meeting the needs of society.
After carefully analysed the legislations i will now begin to evaluate each one of them below.

Spam Act 2003(Cth)

This was the first step to tackle cybercrime and more importantly focusing spamming. It protects the rights of individuals to an extent. For instance, it is illegal for individuals to send and cause unsolicited commercial electronic messages through emails etc that may cause malicious harm to users consequently it does not cover faxes, voice telephones etc, and more importantly the internet. I believe this Act had many loopholes rendering it ineffective and inefficient to deal with the rising threat of cybercrime although it protected individuals to some extent, criminals can still do as they please on the internet using fraudulent advertisements, tempting scams and unwanted hacking of personal computers. It did not limit or stop the criminals ability to harm us.

Spam (Consequential Amendments) Act 2003(Cth)

After a few months of introducing the Spam Act 2003(Cth) the government realised their flaw about not protecting individuals and online users on the internet. This amendment included the Telecommunications Act 1997(Cth) and the Australian Communications Authority Act 1997(Cth). This amended added all that was not included in the original spam act, in addition the legislation from the two acts, more importantly it introduces criminal offences and new empowerment rights for individuals and online users alike to help them receive the justice they deserve. Examples of new empowerment rights individuals receive are: Online users can report constant spamming and other false advertisements on government cybercrime and federal police websites Governments have taken initiative to censor suspicious websites and addresses. Introduces monetary benefits to most spam cases.

In conclusion this amended act is more efficient and effective than the previous one due to it revamp of the other acts and including wider range of technology, restrictions on the previously original Spam Act 2001(Cth) consequently restricted the amount of harm criminals inflict to online users.

The Cybercrime Act 2001(Cth)

The Cybercrime Act 2001(Cth) was the first major breakthrough in dealing with cybercriminals and a variety of problems. This act is a combination of the amended and reformed versions of The Crimes Act 1914(Cth) and the Criminal Code 1995 with references to several more. This act introduced criminal offences involving the use of computers, data and information and more importantly the internet that intend to harm individuals and online users. It also extensively protects individuals rights with the government intervention on the internet censoring certain websites and IP addresses, and introducing cybercrime police and agencies that monitor and append criminals responsible. In terms of effectiveness it is still inefficient in terms of enforcing law in cyberspace however it focuses and provides greater protection to individual rights in addition to a safer cyberspace and tougher new consequences to criminals involved acting as a deterrent for others who are involved with cybercrime.

The Telecommunications Act 1997

Although this legislation does not exist by itself, it has been implemented into Spam Act 2003(Cth) to amend the loopholes the original flaws the act had. The references implemented in the spam were telecommunication and individual rights, right to privacy, restrictions with using telecommunicative devices and software to lessen crimes involving with communicative devices. In terms of effectiveness it was relatively proactive by itself already providing and protecting individuals communicative rights and piracy but when it was implemented into the Spam Act it focused more on reinforcing what the Spam Act already improvised, still providing benefits and rights to online users and all.

Assessing the role of law reform in addressing emerging technological issues

As technology evolves at an extremely fast rate laws limp behind but are an essential need to combat cybercrime of all sorts and most importantly they must be enforceable laws. Cyberspace was a new and exciting development in society. But arguably there is no reason to think individuals are better able to regulate social behaviour than any other place, in the absent of external authority and its influence. Referring to Chapter 8 Contemporary issues: individuals and technology page 185. An example of why laws are needed to regulate online activity is the website/company eBay, as the owners believed they didnt need the governments help and restricting laws to efficiently run their company. As most online companies they had a feedback forum where their buyers and sellers can voice their opinions, praise and compliant about one anothers transactions. However with the expansion and growth of the company, scams began increasing. Goods were offered, money was taken, but the items were never delivered. It didnt affect one or two online users but everyone was

affected and it was only a matter of time before eBay felt the wrath of alleged victims of fraud by issuing lawsuits at the company. With the little or no influence of threats of prosecutions to limit the relatively small number of dishonest users, cybercrime destroyed online businesses and bankrupted them. I believe governments are vitally needed to create an environment where the rule and influence of law is absolute and where law enforcement mechanisms and structures can deter those who violate the law. Governments provide benefits that enable individuals and businesses to the use internet effectively. These benefits are: The cable and communication network laws. Law governing property rights. Enforcement agencies.

Essentially, the more the government intervenes and prevents harm to individuals and protect rights in the cyber world the more efficient and smooth the functioning of the internet. It is not just governments who try to bring order to cyberspace but other organisation such as internet providers and online agencies lend a hand to the government in passing reasonable legislation with the advice of experts of that field. As technology rapidly expands and change our lives hopefully the law can adapt and enforce quickly enough to protect the best interest of individuals.

Bibliography
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. http://www.cybercrimelaw.net/Australia.html http://www.afp.gov.au/policing/cybercrime.aspx Legal Studies book Legal Studies booklet Chapter 8 Contemporary Issue: The Individual and Technology http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2011C00237