Course description: This course is an introduction to the legal issues of cyberspace. Legal issues in this domain are complex. Technology has been evolving faster than the law's ability to handle the changes, so partially this course will be an education in the legislating and policy making of moving targets. It will also be an education in jurisdiction, privacy, surveillance, and copyright as it relates to the Internet. The perspective will be from US law and jurisprudence, although there will be periodic forays into international issues. Topics covered will include cyberlaw and cybergovernance, the Digital Revolution and its impact on First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment issues, copyright in the Digital Age, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Students need not be computer science majors to take Cyberlaw and Cyberpolicy, but the course will assume some familiarity with how the Internet works as well as some familiarity with laws and policy making. The latter need not be through formal education --- e.g., it could come from frequent reading of the press. By this, I mean the parts of the press that cover legal issues in a thoughtful and detailed way (e.g., the New York Times or the Washington Post). During the course, students will be expected to integrate knowledge of technology with law, politics, economics, and domestic and international affairs. There will be significant amounts of reading, writing, and discussion in this class (and no programming).

Prerequisites: For PS and IR Majors: PS 11: Introduction to American Politics or PS 61: Introduction to International Relations. No computer science background is required, but academic maturity is required. Permission of the instructor is required.

For CS students in A&S or SoE: COMP 11: Introduction to Computer Science and COMP 15: Data Structures. Some technical and academic maturity is required. Permission of the instructor is required.

Documented Disabilities:

In accordance with federal and state law, Tufts University provides reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. If you believe you require an accommodation, e-mail accessiblity@tufts.edu or Catherine.Flynn@tufts.edu.

Schedule:

This course will meet Mondays and Wednesdays 3-4:15. Because of the Jewish holidays at the beginning of term, there will be no classes on September 10 or 19 and an extra class on Thursday September 6; this extra class will be at 7-8:15 with room TBA.

Syllabus and Course Policies: Please see syllabus and policies for further information.