Internet law

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Internet Law (also: Online right ) addresses the legal problems associated with the use of the internet go hand in hand. It does not represent a separate area of law , but is the interface between all areas of law in the area of ​​the Internet.

Sometimes it is seen as a branch of media law if this term is interpreted further. According to other definitions, the content-related side is regulated in media law, the technical side in telecommunications law , and both sides then together result in internet law.

Contact with different areas of law

In contrast to other and more established areas of law, internet law is characterized by several special features.

On the one hand, as already mentioned, it is not a homogeneous area of ​​law, but is made up of a large number of different areas of law. Examples should be mentioned here:

Field of law Effects on, for example German laws Austrian laws
General and special civil law Conclusion of contract , trade and e-commerce , warranty , general liability principles, information requirements for business-like telemedia BGB , TMG ABGB , KSchG , UGB , signature law
copyright Protection of the author , exploitation rights, transfer of rights, file sharing, private copying UrhG , KUG UrhG , Design Protection Act
Competition law competition law warnings, advertising UWG UWG, Trademark Protection Act 1970
Criminal law "Cracker" , pornography , hate speech , computer fraud , data modification , spying on data , computer sabotage , etc. a. StGB StGB , Access Control Act, VerbotsG
Name and trademark law Domain registration , domain usage, domain trading and domain grabbing ( see also: domain name right ) MarkenG , BGB E-Commerce Act , Trademark Protection Act 1970, UWG, StGB , ABGB
Data protection law E-commerce , data protection officer , information and instruction obligations, data retention TMG , BDSG DSG , Telecommunications Act 2003, E-Commerce Act
International private law (IPR) cross-border contracts or legal violations EGBGB , CISG (UN sales law) , various agreements CISG (UN sales law) , various agreements
International Civil Procedure Law (IZVR) Jurisdiction of the courts EuGVVO, various agreements EuGVVO , various agreements
Media law Duty of care for telemedia with journalistic and editorial offers, protection of children and young people ( youth media protection ) RStV , TMG , JMStV E-Commerce Act , Telecommunications Act 2003
Telecommunications law Billing for telecommunications services TKG Telecommunications Act 2003, E-Commerce Act
Broadcasting law Charges for statutory radio receivers (computers, cell phones, PDAs) RGebStV , RFinStV ORF law , telecommunications fee regulations

history

With the increasing use and commercialization of the Internet towards the end of the 1990s, it became clear that legal regulations also had to be found for acting on the Internet. This was initially viewed with suspicion by many users; the Internet should remain largely free from government regulation. Quite a few thought, due to the apparent anonymity and cross-border functionality, that the Internet does not come into contact with national regulations and forms a kind of legal vacuum . At least the view that you don't have to be so strict with laws on the Internet has survived in many circles to this day.

Since the internet has also been used to make money, calls for a clear legal framework on the internet have become louder. Without a legal basis, no company would have invested in business models related to the Internet. Some forms of crime that existed before, but whose commission was facilitated by the Internet, also became visible.

Technical development vs. Law

Internet law, which emerged in the 1990s, causes case law and legislators greater difficulties than most other areas, particularly due to the speed and dynamism of media convergence . Although numerous questions in connection with the State Treaty on Screen Texts had already been discussed in the literature and case law in the 1980s, many new questions arose on the Internet.

On the one hand, this was due to the fact that, in contrast to the earlier screen text offers, there was no longer a clear separation between service provider and user on the Internet , but also that many private individuals acted as service providers and were able to create their own websites . The decentralization and internationality of the Internet also made it more difficult to name a specific person responsible - since there was no central authority, there was no place from which the application of certain rules could be required.

In particular, the lack of reference judgments or a dominant opinion in the legal literature meant that in the early years of Internet law, numerous questions first had to be clarified by the Federal Court of Justice . However, this cost time, during which the Internet had developed significantly again. In some cases, the underlying business models or technical principles no longer exist at the time of a final judgment (cf. for example the Ricardo judgment ).

Numerous laws and norms were also drawn up in legislation by the federal and state governments, which were overtaken a short time later either by the development of the Internet or by EC legislation .

Internet legislation in Germany from 1997 to 2007

From 1997 to 2007 a distinction was made in Germany for the legal classification of Internet offers between teleservices according to the Teleservices Act (TDG), a federal law , and media services according to the State Treaty on Media Services (MDStV). This legal division of Internet offers was based on the different legislative competences of the federal government and the federal states: In matters of Internet law, the federal government can primarily rely on its powers for telecommunications law and business law (cf. Article 73 Paragraph 1 No. 7 and Art. 74 Paragraph 1 No. 11 Basic Law ). The federal states, on the other hand, have the legislative competence for press law and broadcasting law (cf. Art. 70 Basic Law). With the ever increasing media convergence , the division of Internet offers into teleservices and media services led to application difficulties in legal practice. The legal terms teleservice and media service were therefore combined in the systematic reorganization of media law and internet law by the federal and state governments in 2007 to form the concept of telemedia .

Domain law

Main article: Domain name law

Domain law deals with the allocation of domain names. Basically, the principle of priority applies here: whoever is the first to secure a domain name can also use and keep it. Exceptions are cases in which the name is “well known”, such as “www.shell.de”. Another exception is the naming rights protected by § 12 BGB . This basically gives the respective name bearer the right to prohibit the unauthorized user of a name from using it.

Domain names may also be inadmissible for reasons of competition law, for example because of misleading users or channeling customer flows (Section 3 UWG) or due to improper domain grabbing (Section 1 UWG).

E-commerce

Not only internationally, but also domestically, the internet has become an important trading platform for so-called e-commerce . This development has therefore raised the question of the formation of contracts on the Internet. In principle, the provisions of the BGB also apply to the conclusion of a contract on the Internet (§§ 145ff BGB). In addition, for example, the regulations for distance sales contracts of §§ 312bff BGB, the regulations on electronic business transactions (§ 312e BGB), competition law regulations in the UWG as well as copyright and trademark law provisions in the UrhG and trademark law must be observed. Service providers have to observe general information obligations according to § 5 TMG for business-like telemedia , which are usually offered for a fee . There are special information requirements for commercial communications, § 6 TMG.

internationality

Responsible for content distributed over the Internet are those responsible for the device from which the content is sent, unless they can prove that they are forwarding the content of another person with their permission. Under certain circumstances, the laws of the country to which the data is being transmitted must be observed. National law can in some cases be applied when entering the country where the law was broken. Usually the law of the sender applies, whereby the state of the recipient then tolerates the sending of data according to foreign law. Some states block Internet users who do not comply with national laws or filter data traffic according to certain content.

Use cases are the demand by a French court to block Nazi content for French internet users by Yahoo and the landmark judgment of the German Federal Court of Justice in 2000 , according to which, for example, an Australian citizen was also held liable in Germany for a holocaust-denying website hosted in Australia can be.

Special difficulties also arise in commercial transactions, as Internet users often act across borders by using the services of foreign providers or by offering services abroad themselves. In this way, a user, e.g. Sometimes completely unnoticed, come into contact with the legal systems of other countries. There is no norm stating that all actions of a resident are subject to his national law. Since the scope of a national law is determined autonomously by each state, there can and will be overlaps. For the European Union, the EU E-Commerce Directive has brought about a certain standardization of law on the Internet.

The question of international jurisdiction and the applicable private law is determined by a court seised in such a case in accordance with its International Civil Procedure Law (IZVR) and its International Private Law (IPR) . This often leads to difficulties in legal practice. On the one hand, these areas of law are considered exotic and complicated, and many lawyers are not very familiar with them. On the other hand, facts that are difficult to survey under national law are almost never made easier by the fact that they are to be assessed under foreign law.

Telemedia

Legal issues relating to telemedia , which include a large number of Internet services , are regulated in the Federal Telemedia Act (TMG), the State Treaty on Broadcasting and Telemedia (RStV) and the State Treaty on Youth Media Protection (JMStV).

See also

literature

Textbooks / scripts, manuals and comments:

Magazines:

Web links

 Wikinews: Category: Internet Law  - In The News

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Florian Rötzer : The French Yahoo judgment applies to all Nazi content. Telepolis, December 7, 2000, accessed October 11, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Florian Rötzer: Update: Denial of the Holocaust on the Internet is punishable under German law. Telepolis, December 13, 2000, accessed October 11, 2012 .
  3. ↑ BGH extends jurisdiction of German courts. intern.de, December 13, 2000, accessed October 11, 2012 .
This article or paragraph presents the situation in Germany . Help us to describe the situation in other countries.