International Law

Best legal posts from 2008

Continuing my end-of-year wrap ...

Here are what I consider to be some of the "best" law-themed posts from 2008.  Again, some of these posts are academic, some are trivial, some just link to what other people say, and some are a little random, but they do represent what interests me and what I have posted on this blog in 2008.

Free speech:

• More on Australian online censorship - one of my earliest posts on the Australian Government's policy to filter the internet.
• Even more on Australian online censorship - a another post on the Australian Government's policy to filter the internet.
• Plans to filter the internet - a summary of some of the early commentary.
• More on ISP filtering  - a summary of some of the technical problems of filtering the internet.
• Kids' safety online - how we can make the internet safe for children without government censorship.
• The Great E-Barrier Reef - the slippery slope argument.
• Forum: Internet filtering and censorship proposals - a group of us live-blogged the UNSW Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre forum to explore aspects of the Australian Government's current internet filtering and censorship proposals.

Defamation and Privacy:

• JuicyCampus.com ... only in America - a website that basically invites defamatory content.
• The end? - are we seeing the end of privacy?
• Linking is not defamation - a note on a decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court.

Copyright:

• Transferring your CD to your computer is not a problem in Australia - inspired by a report that in the US the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was going after personal use, I look at the legal position in Australia.
• "DRM (on music) is dead. Long live DRM (on video)!" - the complex reality of DRM. 
• Nine Network Australia Pty Limited v IceTV Pty Limited - a quick post when the Full Federal Court handed down their decision in this interesting copyright case.
• High Court begins hearing Ice TV - a quick recap of the first day of hearings.
• If the MPAA did handbags - a very funny spoof.
• UNSW thinking about stopping free wi-fi ... what is this really about? - some musings on the attitude many young people have towards copyright law.
• It doesn't matter what you call it - copyright infringement is against the law.
• Tech Wired Australia podcast - I was interviewed by Ben Grubb from Tech Wired Australia on the iiNet copyright lawsuit.

Other:

• MySpace crimes - two interesting pieces of news to note relating to people using MySpace for criminal purposes.
• The ethics of "stealing" WiFi - Ars Technica had a thoughtful post on the ethics of "stealing" WiFi.
• "Law professors dress scruffily, and we need to do something about that" - what should a law lecturer in Australia wear to work?
• Service via Facebook? - although service via Facebook was refused in this case, this issue became topical again towards the end of the year.
• What (if anything) do the exams I've set say about me? - I think the answer to the question is: not much.
• Blawg Review #178 - my third time hosting Blawg Review.

Full post as published by Freedom to Differ on January 01, 2009 (boomark / email).