Law 897: Assignment for December 6, 2010

The Big Picture

 

• By Thursday evening (December 2), email me the URL for a single item or site on the web that you think your classmates should see, hear, or read. I will post them HERE, without attribution. Check back over the weekend for the list of URLs, and visit each URL. (You do not need to read, absorb, or enjoy any of the material before Monday's class. Just see where the URLs lead.) Bookmark any site you want to come back to later, after the semester is over.

 

• John Zittrain’s THE INTERNET AND HOW TO STOP IT, which we read back in September, looked at Internet regulation through the prism of "generativity" and the viewpoints of developers and innovators. Some of you were skeptical of his analysis. Take a brief moment to remember your reactions to Zittrain’s arguments and reflect on whether your views have changed.

 

• Greg Lastowka’s new book, VIRTUAL JUSTICE: The New Law of Online Worlds (2010), looks at Internet regulation through the prism of online virtual worlds and the viewpoints of consumers. The book is available online under a Creative Commons license as a free pdf at www.chaihana.com/virtualjustice.pdf. (If you prefer, you can buy either a hardcover or kindle edition at Amazon.com, or find a used or remaindered copy via isbn.nu.) Lastowka’s analysis bears directly on several of your topics, indirectly on several others, and only by analogy upon the rest.
  
  
  • Read the Introduction, Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7,and 8, and the Conclusion of VIRTUAL JUSTICE.