Information Technology and Law

Information Technology and Law

The use of the Internet for communication, marketing, and commerce necessitated government regulation through the establishment of various acts. As the Internet grew in use by people of all ages many people had begun to use it for the collection of private information. As e-mail grew commonplace in the 1990s, many unscrupulous users would collect e-mail addresses for mass marketing purposes. Credit card fraud began to rise so profusely that many credit card companies greatly restricted or refused to honor online transactions. The need for regulation of the use of this new technology was growing extremely apparent.

One of the foremost important issues on the Internet was the regulation of the collection of children's private information. Because of its growing popularity, many schools began to adopt the Internet as a teaching tool for children. As children began to use the Internet, marketers began to collect their information for marketing purposes (Electronic Privacy Information Center, 2010). The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in 1998 established restrictions on the collection and distribution of the minor children's private information for those under the age of 13. "Since the implementation of the rule, several companies have received rather large civil fines for violations of COPPA. Most recently, UMG Recordings was fined $400,000.00 for violations" (Information Shield, Inc., 2004).

Another important issue was the use of electronic mail for unsolicited marketing messages. As the popularity of email grew, so did the amount of emails. In the mid-to-late 90s marketers would collect mass email addresses and indiscriminately send marketing messages to every email address they could find. In 2003 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the Controlling the Assault of Non-solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act to control the onslaught of unsolicited commercial messages. "The CAN-SPAM Act defines commercial messages as those for which the primary purpose is to advertise or promote a commercial product or service" (Federal Communications Commission, unk). Implementation of the CAN-SPAM enabled the fair use of commercial messages while limiting the annoyance of unsolicited marketing messages.

Internet use for email, advertising, and trade continues to compel the need for government regulation