Introduction to Technology Law
Technology law is perhaps one of the most in-demand branches of the legal profession today.
When you look around, we find ourselves surrounded with technology. Right now, you are reading this on an electronic device via the internet, unless you have been living under a rock.
Almost two-thirds of the world has access to (electronic) technology, with a staggering 4.66 Billion people having active internet connection, surmounting to 59% of the world’s population.
Even the courts across the globe have adopted as much technology into their routine as they can.
Owing to COVID-19 pandemic, many courts around the world held virtual hearings via virtual meeting clients.
In this Simple Guide, I will cover the following topics:
- Introduction:
- Technology Law: A Simple Definition.
- How Technology and Law are related? Why Should You Care?
- Who Really Uses Technology Laws?
- Underlying Nexus between Technology and Law in the legal field.
- The 12 Benefits of Technology Law.
- Technology Law: Not as Difficult as You Think.
- How to Explain Technology Law to Your Seniors.
- Acing these 12 areas in Technology Laws Can Make You the most sought after lawyer.
- What Everyone Is Saying About Technology Laws
- Conclusion:
In earlier times, laws used to focus only on a two broad specific areas: civil wrongs and criminal wrongs. However, as time went on, things started to get difficult even for ancient and medieval lawmakers. They faced increasing grey areas as technology as well as “acts” of persons began to vary accordingly, like counterfeiting of goods and currency, finding of loopholes in existing laws by inventing ways and means to evade the law of the land. Then came the industrial revolution, and along with it came the need to expand trade across the globe. As a result, a few greedy and tyrants began colonizing the world, but for that they had to increasingly use more and more of technology to control vast areas and communicate across large distances. Thus, we can say that it is from this point on the history; lawmakers began formulating laws on technology to outdo the mischief done by people.
Today, two decades into 21st century, there’s an ever increasing necessity to formulate sensible, but at the same time stringent laws be made, as we are soon about to enter the fifth phase of (technological) industrial revolution, with new techs, new epidemics/ diseases, threats arising out of nowhere, stunning even the experts in their respective fields.
Even if appropriate laws on new techs are made the question regarding its enforcement, still remains – with tech companies around the world finding new ways and means to go around the rules and regulations. For example, Amazon in 2018 paid a total of zero US Dollars in form of tax; Apple has Billions of Dollars up in reserves, and denies any help to law enforcement agencies to go around their piece of techs, while managing to go around existing laws themselves. Google and Facebook (in 2021) have managed to piss the Australian lawmakers by creating their own ties-ups with news agencies and revoking access to newsfeed for Australian citizens, respectively.
Who Really Uses Technology Laws?
LAWGTECH 