Legal issues in information technology

Pivot. Teleconference. Vax. Lockdown. Super-spreader. Border closures. Ransomware…. The list of buzz words for recent years ever grows. Indeed, 2020 and 2021 have challenged our understanding of how our society operates. We scan QR codes to get into a shop to buy a piece of cheese. We may need to prove our vax status. Kids and students have been locked out of school and often they have been sitting in front of a tablet screen attempting to replicate the in-person experience. For anyone, accomplishing normal activities without a networked device in hand has become very difficult.

Legal systems are normally, and quite rightly, measured in their response to challenges, and slow to change. It is difficult for citizens to cope with a legal system that changes regulation and control of civil society overnight – as evidenced by the rapid succession of public health orders that often have left enforcement scratching their heads. On the other hand, rapidly changing deployment of technologies and their intrusion into daily living has come at such a pace that timely policy and legal responses are required.