About this Blog
Although the Internet is sometimes accused of being lawless, in fact there is a great deal of law that applies to our activities on-line. In some senses the Internet is more regulated than the real world, because national boundaries are much less clear and many countries assert that their legislation applies to anything that users in their countries can see. For operators of networks and computers in the UK, the main sources of law are UK and European legislation. Of the devolved legislatures, Wales and Northern Ireland have not diverged significantly from Westminster legislation, though there are some significant differences in the area of content regulation in Scotland.
One of JANET’s activities is to monitor and, where possible, influence developments in legislation that affect us and our customer universities, colleges and schools as operators of large computer networks. This blog will provide updates on developing areas of law and regulation; once the law has become clear, the outcome of discussions reported here will normally be transferred to our website of Legal and Regulatory Information. Postings here are, to the best of our knowledge, accurate on the date they are made, but may well become out of date or unreliable at unpredictable times thereafter.
Since JANET and its customer networks are classified by Ofcom as private networks, postings here are likely to concentrate on the regulation of those networks, though developments in the regulation of public networks may also be covered where it appears relevant.
Information on this site does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon. Before taking action that may have legal consequences, you should talk to your own lawyers.
