Full title in original language:
Code: Version 2.0
Education level:
University University (18+ years)Topic / subtopic:
Cybercrime Cybercrime preventionTarget audience:
Students,
Teachers / Lecturers
Type of resource:
Publication / Article
Languages:
English
Region of relevance:
Global
Access:
restricted access: requiring payment
Individual authors:
Lawrence Lessig
Publication year:
2006
Published by:
Basic Books
Copyright holder:
© Basic Books
Contact name and address:
Basic Books
Contact website:
Key themes:
cybercrime, cybercrime prevention, crime, cybersecurity, cyber security, cyberspace, cyber space
Links:
Short description:
There's a common belief that cyberspace cannot be regulated-that it is, in its very essence, immune from the government's (or anyone else's) control. Code, first published in 2000, argues that this belief is wrong. It is not in the nature of cyberspace to be unregulable; cyberspace has no “nature.” It only has code-the software and hardware that make cyberspace what it is. That code can create a place of freedom-as the original architecture of the Net did-or a place of oppressive control. Under the influence of commerce, cyberspace is becoming a highly regulable space, where behavior is much more tightly controlled than in real space. But that's not inevitable either. We can-we must-choose what kind of cyberspace we want and what freedoms we will guarantee. These choices are all about architecture: about what kind of code will govern cyberspace, and who will control it. In this realm, code is the most significant form of law, and it is up to lawyers, policymakers, and especially citizens to decide what values that code embodies.