The ability of the Internet and PCs to distribute at almost zero marginal cost perfect digital copies of creative works has presented a significant challenge to global copyright law. This lecture will cover the policy responses of governments, intergovernmental organisations and large right holders, and the Digital Rights Management and filesharing technologies that are key to the policy debate.
This multi-disciplinary course exposes students to basic communications and computer science materials on the core technological principles of the Internet, as well as more traditional social science materials such as public policy documents and reports as well as academic texts. In order to reinforce students’ appreciation of the importance of adopting a technologically informed approach to studying the Internet, the course covers several key policy debates such as content regulation, privacy and security and Internet governance, in each case identifying the extent to which the range of policy options is narrowed or expanded by fast-moving technological innovation, and shifts in public policy and regulation. This will, in addition, enable students to appreciate the broader implications and relevance of academic study in this field.
