Explore the Problems Relating to Determining Which State's Courts have Jurisdiction in Relation to Dispute Arising from Use of the Internet

Introduction1

Overview of Cyber Crime1

Overview of the UK Cybercrime Laws2

Relevant Law Cases3

Football Dataco Ltd et al. v. Sportradar GmbH3

Shetland Times, Ltd. v. Jonathan Wills and Another4

John v MGN Ltd4

State Laws on Cyber Disputes and Related Issues5

Differences in State Jurisdiction related to Cyber Dispute Cases6

Jurisdiction Problems related to Cybercrime Disputes8

Conclusion10

Bibliography12

Explore the Problems Relating to Determining Which State's Courts have Jurisdiction in Relation to Dispute Arising from Use of the Internet

Introduction

The paper aims to examine differences in the UK state court's jurisdiction related to disputes on the use of internet, if any. Firstly, the paper develops an understanding of the UK cyber laws with the help of relevant law cases. Then, the paper elaborates various cyber laws enforced by various states of the UK. In an attempt to develop analytical view on the subject matter, the paper searches and highlights possible differences in state jurisdiction related to cyber disputes. Besides this, the paper determines possible problems related to court jurisdiction and discretion to resolve such disputes. Finally, the paper provides conclusive remarks and findings on the subject.

Overview of Cyber Crime

With the advent of the information age, humanity experienced a parallel evolution in the discipline of crime and legislation. However, the past few years seem to imbalance the situation by drilling holes into human shelter against cyber crimes. To state the fact, appearance of the first PC virus twenty years ago seemed unusual news; however, recent changes in the nature of threat have been remarkable to turn this unusual happening into a major regulatory and legislative issue. Today, modern economies such as the UK and the US stand at the verge of a dramatic increase in the cyber crime rate that raised serious concerns in the house of legislative bodies and law makers. As of 2011, the UK economy bears an accumulated annual cost of £ 27b solely in the name of growing cyber crimes. Nature of internet usage and related disputes has undergone a drastic change, as a result, a separate law discipline emerged in order to try and address problems such as malware functions to conduct illegal business, copyright, forgery and defamation that may give birth to a serious cybercrime threat to the national and public security of the country.

Overview of the UK Cybercrime Laws

In the UK, a separate legislative framework is designed to address disputes and problems related to the use of computer and communication technologies. Across all states, the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 is enforced to tackle with the growing rate of hackers and cyber crackers. The act was enforced after the forgery case of Robert Schifreen and Stephen Gold, whom the Court of Appeal charged under the 1981 Act of Forgery and Counterfeiting; later the House of Lords upheld the decision. Subsequent amendments to the Act resulted in successful prosecution against Christopher Pile, who was imprisoned for 18 months under the ...