The Internet: an introduction for lawyers
Date
01/1999Author
Terrett, Andrew
Monaghan, Iain
Metadata
Abstract
Given the intense media coverage that the Internet has attracted over the past few years, one might
reasonably argue that the Internet needs no introduction. It has successfully permeated into our
everyday lives in a myriad of ways. Every parent must now feel the obligation to ensure that their
child has access to the Internet as part of their overall education. Similarly, no advertising campaign
is now complete without reference to a Web site and if you want to know something about an
unknown organisation (whether company, University or law firm), the first thing you do is look up
their Web site. Over the past few years, most Internet users have ceased worrying about what the
Internet is and how it works and have begun to treat it more like the telephone – a convenient
appliance for certain tasks. But at the same time, the Internet is becoming an increasingly complex
place. There are an ever-increasing number of different terms that are being used in Internet circles –
not only do we have e-mail, we now have e-anything e.g. e-commerce, e-business, e-journals, esolutions
and not just the Internet but intranets and extranets as well. Meanwhile the digirati are
dreaming up ever more obscure terms of art – channels, clickstream and enterprise information
portals to name but a few of the current buzzwords.
This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is designed to explain a little of how the Internet
works, both in terms of the technology and the administration. In the second part, the main legal
issues relating to the Internet are addressed. This second part of this chapter is intended to set the
stage for the remainder of this book.