Abstract

This thesis will explain the legal aspects of the Internet so that users who wish to protect their rights and avoid liability can log on with a better understanding of the rules of the game. This work will be divided into two chapters. The first chapter will focus on existing legal regulation of the Internet to advise users on which law is relevant, and how to solve problems of conflicts of laws in the cyberworld. It will answer the question of whether cyberspace is, or not, a "no laws land", and what kind of regulation would better fit the cyberworld. This first chapter will also warn users on their potential liability on the Internet, the liability of the final user, and of the provider. The second chapter will describe what is the legal utilization of the Internet by users and authors, to warn them, first of all, on where is the limit between normal use of a work and infringement of copyright, and second of all, on what kind of speech they are allowed to load. The Internet raises, indeed, many problems of copyright infringement, but also many questions relative to the principle of Freedom of Speech. After having answered all these questions, this work will conclude, that Governments should respect the initial goal of the Internet -a free flow of information-, and not try to muzzle it within adapted regulation. The users of the Internet are the best placed to organize a regulation that will best fit this new medium and great, medium of expression.

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