Law, Freedom and Social Networks

Earlier in the week I listened to an interesting, though disturbing, presentation broadcast on C-SPAN. Lori Andrews, law professor and director of the Institute for Science, Law and Technology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, argued that personal privacy rights are being eroded by social networks. She considered the way that personal information is collected - and used.

It makes uncomfortable listening, especially if you are a user of Facebook; Google (and its many services - includer Blogger, upon which this Blog is written) LinkedIn and Twitter. However the issues need to be addressed - and it is a particular challenge for lawyers - how to stop abuses; how to protect the rights of individuals; and how to ensure that a fair balance is restored between individuals; corporations and the Government. There are also important implications for the administration of justice. (my W201 students might want to reflect on this video when preparing for eTMA 02)

The video can be viewed here.