Message from the Director of Cyberlaw Programs


Professor Susan Freiwald

Studying cyberspace law has never been more interesting or important. We continue to face crucial questions of how to adapt law to the new communications technologies. For example, cyberspace law raises questions of institutional competence, by asking whether Congress, the market or the courts is the better situated to adapt society to a technological change. It raises questions about the analogic method used by judges in their reasoning. At what point does cyberspace make something so unlike any pre-cyberspace analogs that it requires a whole new approach? Finally, because they upset prior balances, cyberspace technologies force us to strike new balances between competing actors and interests.

Cyberspace law focuses on such evolving areas as online crime, speech, privacy, torts, and, of course, intellectual property. While new laws and cases frequently arise, the field has achieved some relative stability. Cyberspace law courses present unparalleled opportunities to reflect upon the relationship between law and technology, and between law and society generally. Practically, I foresee a persistent demand for those with cyberlaw training for use in corporate work and litigation, law enforcement, and the public policy arena.

I am excited about our Cyberlaw programs here at USF. In addition to the survey course in Cyberspace law that we have offered for several years, we now offer a Cyberspace Law seminar that immerses students in cyberspace legal scholarship. We offer an array of cyberspace-related courses such as Electronic Commerce and Information Technology Law. In addition, we are expanding our cyberspace clinical offerings, and we look forward to getting students involved in real-world cyberspace legal problems.