CyberlawCyberlaw by John Bandler front cover

by John Bandler

Cyberlaw is the merging of two words, "cyber" and "law". Cyberlaw basically means the areas where technology and law intersect.

Cyber essentially means using cyberspace, using the Internet and a computer.

Law is our system of laws, which is a continually evolving process that started hundreds of years ago (perhaps even thousands) and this evolution continues.

Cyberlaw is built on a foundation of traditional law. That is my mantra for students learning about cyberlaw, which emphasizes the need to first understand basic law.

Learning about cyberlaw

I offer five ways to learn about cyberlaw:

  1. Read this short article
  2. Watch my short videos on cyberlaw (embedded at bottom or find them on YouTube here (7 minutes) and here (2 minute short)
  3. Read my book, Cyberlaw: Law for Digital Spaces and Information Systems
  4. Enroll in one of my courses at Udemy (paid and free)
  5. See my resources and references webpages.

For more, see my article on Learning About Cyberlaw.

Cyberlaw in the context of law

If cyberlaw is where technology and law intersect, let's explain law a little more.

Law is a system of rules put forth by the government. It includes the federal and state constitutions, statutes that are created through the legislative process, regulations but forth through the regulatory process, and decisions by judges (precedent) that interpret the laws.

The misconception

There is a misconception among some that if there is a new technology, we need an immediate new law to address the new technology and until a new law is created, existing law could not apply or evolve, and the law is thus "behind".

Imagine a driver in 2010 in his new electric Tesla going 120 MPH on the highway, and the state trooper pulls him over. The driver claims the speeding law does not apply to him because it was enacted in the 1960's and thus could only apply to gas internal combustion cars (the legislators could never have imagined an electric car on the highways). The defense fails. The technology may be new, but the existing law applies.

Similarly, we should first look to existing laws to see how they could be applied to new technology and new events. We do what lawyers and judges in a future litigation will eventually do--analogize and distinguish.

  • Analogize: How is the new technology and events similar to past events and thus might existing law apply?
  • Distinguish: How is it different now, and why might existing laws not apply?

Cyberlaw is built on a foundation of traditional law

Cyberlaw on a foundation of traditional law Bandler 2024-12-8

Cyberlaw is built upon a foundation of traditional law which includes three important categories, such as:

  • Criminal law
  • Negligence law
  • Contract law.

Then we can dive in a little deeper into the cyberlaw aspects of traditional laws including:

  • Constitutional law
  • Criminal law (substantive and procedural)
  • Civil law (substantive and procedural). Civil law is enormous, and includes many subcategories, including:
    • Intentional torts ("wrongs")
    • Negligence torts
    • Contract (including insurance)
    • Intellectual property law
    • Law of international conflict (warfare)
    • Employment.

In a moment we will talk about newer areas of law relating to cyber, including data law, cybersecurity, and privacy.

Cyberlaw includes data law

Cybersecurity and privacy law 2023-7 (1)

Cybersecurity and privacy law comes from different places, and I depict that here.

Then there are laws specific to "cyber", enacted to deal with the new challenges of the internet and all that happens online. This includes specific laws and regulations about:

I think of "data law" as the four areas of:Data law evolution and complexity 2025-02-11 by Bandler

  • Secure data disposal
  • Data breach notification
  • Cybersecurity
  • Privacy.

Why cyberlaw?

Cyberlaw presents some tremendous challenges for society.

Cybercrime, identity theft, and the market for personal data

Cybercrime is rampant, it is an enormous illicit economy which threatens individuals, organizations, and legitimate economies.

Data collection and use for business purposes

Companies collect and use vast troves of data about consumers. Data has value for legitimate purposes too, and consumers need privacy protections.

Nation state threats

Nation states use the cyber realm in a number of ways, including for planning and conducting infrastructure attacks, espionage, and sowing propaganda and misinformation.

Information, speech, and influence ("the battle for our brains")

The Internet is an excellent way to spread information, and also misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and false conspiracy theories. It also can be used to plan and conduct criminal activity.

There is a tension and compromise between freedom of speech and a desire and need to moderate what is spoken for the good of society and individuals. Even self-proclaimed "free speech absolutists" recognize there need to be some limits on speech. So the question is what those limits should be why, all in the context of the law and other rules.

There is more to know about cyberlaw!

You could write a book on cyberlaw, and I did. See about my book on cyberlaw here.Cyberlaw by John Bandler front cover

I also have many resources on my site here, starting at my Cyberlaw book resources page.Resources and Links for the book Cyberlaw: Law for Digital Spaces and Information Systems, by John Bandler

I built two online courses, one paid and one free:

Conclusion

Cyberlaw is a fascinating area built on traditional law. We can build our understanding of traditional law and then see how it applies to cyber, and examine new rules relating to cyber.

This article is not tailored to your circumstances, nor is it legal or consulting advice.

Additional reading on this site

This article is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/cyberlaw, copyright John Bandler, all rights reserved.

Originally posted 1/5/2023, updated 4/13/2025.