Alan S. Reid

The Rise of Third Generation Phones: The Implications for Child Protection

This article discusses the legal implications of the development of Third Generation (3G) mobile phones with respect to the protection of children from illegal and harmful content. 3G phones will herald the arrival of the truly mobile Internet. People will be able to e-mail, play games, communicate, download and transfer data, and purchase entertainment packages on the move. Everything that is possible via the Internet will be possible via a mobile phone. This phenomenal expansion in the capabilities of the mobile phone offers tremendous opportunities for business, commerce, education, entertainment, government services and law enforcement. However, vulnerable sectors of society—in particular, children—may face a range of dangers from this new technology: bullying, pressurising advertisements, illegal images, harmful or inappropriate images, and predatory paedophiles. The risk to children must not be underestimated, but it must also not be exaggerated. Technical and legal responses to such risks must be appropriate, proportionate, effective and inclusive. There is no ‘magic bullet’ solution; rather an holistic approach must be voluntarily adopted and applied by the mobile phone industry, the Internet industry, law enforcement, government at all levels and the individuals affected such as the children themselves, their parents and their teachers.

Hackers beware: the cautionary story of Gary McKinnon

The law of extradition was changed following the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Subsequent practice has seen the range of extraditable offences expand to include acts not traditionally regarded as terrorist crimes. The case of Gary McKinnon provides one such example. This article describes and analyses the facts and law surrounding the extradition of McKinnon, and concludes that those involved in cyberspace in the United Kingdom should be very conscious of the long arm of United States criminal law.

For Whose Eyes Only? A Critique of the United Kingdom's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

This article discusses the implications of the UK governments legislation designed to regulate powers of investigation with regard to the internet and new technology. The authors contend that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 has major ramifications for the conduct of commercial business through the internet. The authors assess the Act holistically and have placed the Act in a wider context, viewing the Act as just one facet of the UKs attempts to encourage use of the internet. The Act undoubtedly has the potential to gravely infringe upon the civil liberties of UK citizens and is a classic example of hastily drafted and ill-conceived legislation that is merely reactive and not proactive. In this regard, the Act may potentially violate the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998. Additionally, the adoption of the discredited provisions of the UKs Electronic Communications Act 2000 into the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act is of great concern. The intention of the legislature has been to allay fears concerning the security and trustworthiness of the internet. The problem of encryption and the burden of proof is the stumbling block. The authors theorise that the opposite effect has been achieved - insecurity and doubt will increase exponentially, coupled with the attendant risk that internet companies will relocate to another jurisdiction.

Online protection of the child within Europe

This article discusses the online protection available to children and young people within Europe. Children and young people are significant users of information technology and they must be able and comfortable to safely use this technology. The European Union and the Council of Europe have been at the vanguard of attempts to regulate the information society in order to protect young netizens.

RFID Tags and the European Union: Really free internal distribution?

This article discusses the development of Radio Frequency Identification technology and its legal implications. The technology promises to transform the supply chain, through increased efficiency, stocktaking accuracy and ultimately lower costs for consumers. RFID technology creates a variety of potential legal concerns. In particular, RFID tags have the potential to seriously undermine the human right to privacy. RFID tags are privacy neutral, in that they neither destroy privacy nor promote privacy. However, RFID tags may greatly facilitate the surreptitious collection of personal data. The privacy of consumers of RFID enabled products may be violated which will seriously undermine consumer confidence in the trustworthiness of commercial organisations. Within the European Union, RFID technology may facilitate actions designed to undermine the Internal Market. RFID technology is in its infancy, however, the speed of technological development in this area will require a range of legislative and non‐legislative responses in the near future. Solutions to the privacy problem must be holistic, and encompass responses from a range of stakeholders. Firstly, at the design stage, RFlD technology must be privacy promoting. Thereafter, utilisation of RFID technology must be accompanied by the adoption of privacy protecting legislation, voluntary self and coregulation, codes of conduct and technological tools.

The Case of Richard Tomlinson: The Spy Who E-mailed Me

This article considers the issues raised by the Richard Tomlinson affair. The authors discuss the following implications: First, the effective regulation and control of the Intelligence Services, concentrating upon the terms of Official Secrets legislation. Second, adequate legal safeguards for the internet. The authors discuss, inter alia, the problems of jurisdictional control, international regulation and technical possibilities for control. Finally, the authors assess the impact of the United Kingdom Governments proposals for a Freedom of Information Act and their impact upon the internet and the Intelligence Services. The authors contend that the Official Secrets Act 1989 is still in need of reform, regulation of the internet requires a paradigm shift in attitude, from all concerned and that the proposed Freedom of Information Bill requires overhauling.

Financial Crime in the Twenty-First Century: The Rise of the Virtual Collar Criminal

This chapter introduces the phenomenon of virtual collar crime, that is, quintessentially white collar crimes that are perpetrated entirely in cyberspace. Trust, trust dependency, high skill base criminals and opportunity zones were, and are, the hallmarks of white collar crime. The emerging paradigm of virtual collar crimes negates the requirement that perpetrators be highly skilled. Computer sagacity is no longer the sine quanon for cybercriminals—the phenomenon of ‘Crime as a Service’ has outsourced the skill requirement to third party providers of the required technological knowhow. Alongside the cascading down of such technical knowledge, twenty-first-century society has driven headlong down the information superhighway, with hardly any area of human activity left unexposed to the effects of the ether. This perfect storm of increased virtuality and democratisation of online crime poses immense challenges to the entire twenty-first-century society substratum, risking the future ability and desire of humans to interact with each other, have mutual trust and respect for one another and to have faith in established governmental institutions, commercial corporations and law enforcement. Legal systems must ensure that lives lived virtually are only exposed to an acceptable level of risk.

EU Competition Law and Trade Associations

This chapter assesses the provisions of European Union competition law as they apply to trade associations. Trade associations, both national and European, are in a unique position vis-a-vis the European Union legal system. They act as representatives of their constituent members, lobbying the European legislature. They may act as enforcers of competition law, bringing infractions to the attention of the European Commission. They will be empowered to collate information about the sector of the market in which their members operate. This constitutional power, to gather and disseminate information concerning the industrial or commercial sector they are involved in, can be utilised for positive or negative purposes. The association may act as a repository for market information, which is indicative of collusive behaviour by a number of competing organisations. Conversely, the information repository may be used by the members of the association to facilitate anti-competitive abuses. The trade association may simply be a front for collusive activity. Trade associations must tread a fine line between adopting legitimate business practices and collaborating in collusive or abusive activity that is anti-competitive. The delimitation of the legality of trade association activity is one of degree. The factual situation appertaining to the market is vital in assessing the legality or otherwise of the activities of a trade association.