Code

and other laws of cyberspace

297 pages

English language

Published Jan. 6, 2000 by Basic Books.

OCLC Number:
44799528

View on OpenLibrary

No rating (0 reviews)

Although the book is named Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Lessig uses this theme sparingly. It is a fairly simple concept: since cyberspace is entirely human-made, there are no natural laws to determine its architecture. While we tend to assume that what is in cyberspace is a given, in fact everything there is a construction based on decisions made by people. What we can and can't do there is governed by the underlying code of all of the programs that make up the Internet, which both permit and restrict. So while the libertarians among us rail against the idea of government, our freedoms in cyberspace are being determined by an invisible structure that is every bit as restricting as any laws that can come out of a legislature, legitimate or not. Even more important, this invisible code has been written by people we did not elect and who have …

7 editions

Subjects

  • Information superhighway -- Social aspects
  • Cyberspace -- Social aspects
  • Freedom of information
  • Computers and civilization
  • Privacy, Right of
  • Electronic commerce

Lists