The term "computer science" is known for the second century, but is still associated with the level of teaching in high school. Information theories and technologies are represented by tens of thousands of reputable experts. But there is still no fundamental scientific work recognized as a minimally noticeable part of public consciousness or, at least, its scientific and technical component.
The concept, subject and method of information law have become relevant recently. However, the rapid development of technology has not yet led to the "mass informatization" of society.
Contemporaries on Law and Information
"Information customs" in general and in the context of law, in particular, have not yet developed. The society is not yet ready, and the specific gravity of programmers, developers, system administrators and people closely connected with computers and programming in it is not large.
There are a lot of authoritative specialists in the field of subject and method of information law. They constantly write something, but they are read by students in preparation for exams, enthusiastic scientists for their research, and other readers perceive as a popular scientific background.
The concept of "information law" appeared relatively recently and is interpreted differently by various legal scholars.
This is the classic beginning of most articles, books, web content content. However, to determine the subject and method of information law from this position does not work. The reason is simple. Information existed before a person began to understand and use it. It was information and its generalization, namely knowledge and skills in a syntactically strict form that began to take the form of legal custom and written law.
Computers and programming simply accelerated the process, but they did not become the catalyst that led to the emergence of a full-fledged information science. There is still the concept of "computer science." But it is not objectively (and precisely) defined what the subject and method of information law are, since it is not defined what information is, what is data, knowledge, skills, experience, etc.
Quote 1.
The term "information" comes from the Latin word informatio, which means information, clarification, statement. Despite the widespread use of this term, the concept of information is one of the most controversial in science.
Quote 2.
Despite its widespread use, the concept of information remains one of the most controversial in science, and the term can have different meanings in different branches of human activity. Information is not matter and not energy, information is information. Due to the breadth of this concept, there is not and cannot be a strict and sufficiently universal definition of information.
There are many similar statements. The characteristic features of each: the author's undoubted authority, a mandatory reference to “debatability”, ambiguity and dubious analogy with the syntax of the description of legal norms.
Some authors distinguish:
- information in use;
- in technology;
- in cybernetics.
Others seek meaning in knowledge or the spiritual world. Still others use the mathematical apparatus, abstracting from the essence of things.
The relevance of the topic is obvious, methods of regulating information law are in demand. But the task has not yet been set for sure, unambiguously clear and objective.
Classical law and modern information
Back in the last century, many countries were faced with malicious actions in the field of information and its processing systems. As a result, administrative and criminal law expanded to the field of acts related to the search, storage, processing and application of information, the functioning of information systems. The law took into account:
- software;
- hardware room;
- social components.
However, information has always existed. Not always there were those who consciously:
Law is a “piece of information”. Whatever authoritative and competent sources say: law is always secondary. The reason is simple: to determine any relationship between people in everyday life, at work, on the street, in a store and anywhere - you need enough information. It is especially important: to exercise the right, not static information is needed, but real:
- in the dynamics of understanding of events;
- in the dynamics of the situation in which this right is realized.
The wording of classical law is determined not so much by the legislator as by custom. The imbalance between the prevailing law and the law established by the legislator is the reason for moving towards objectively determined law.
Among professional judges, prosecutors and investigators, there are always very few specialists in information technology, programming, data transfer protocols, the zero ring of Windows protection and the authentication system in Linux. Nevertheless, to solve crimes in the field of information and information systems is subject to even a novice lawyer.
Civil legal relations did not develop too hard in connection with the development of information technologies, but at any time, civil law could protect the interests of the copyright holder in any action or in any situation. This defense may not be guided by knowledge of information technology, but it is always effective.
Law and Programming
Lawyer thinks in models. Teaching at the law faculty preaches it as intensely as legal practice denies it.
The application of law always depends on the situation, and the model that worked in one trial will not be a solution in another.
The programmer "thinks with the processor" and the fact that the command cannot be executed otherwise than provided by the algorithm. Not every modern programmer knows about the processor and the formula of its work, but even this ignorance does not give him any reason to allow the algorithm to work outside the commands written in it, and their sequence.
Legal models are dynamics that are determined by the current state of legislation, existing real relationships and their interpretation in a specific situation. The models that the programmer creates are reinforced concrete statics. No processor will ever go out of its cycle and change its algorithm, command, or sequence.
Before the advent of computers and programming, information law was not perceived as such. The Internet has evolved over time and gigantic amounts of information have become available. Intellectual property has become a source of fabulous income. There was an opportunity to collect and analyze information automatically (that is, software) in large volumes.
The problem of understanding what is the subject and method of information law has become relevant. Therefore, it requires attention.
Internet and information systems
The World Wide Web is a self-developing system. The participation of a single specialist or a community of like-minded people can change something if the Internet considers it appropriate and in demand. This is the first and only (today) artificial system of fully informational status, which has nothing to do with artificial intelligence, but has the ability to "develop" independently.
A lot of professionals (specialists), communication lines, high-tech equipment, tons of unique program code, adequate public relations, political and international components - all this together creates the foundation for the "independent" development of both the system itself and the society that uses it.
A system is created, developed and reincarnated into a more developed system or a system of interconnected systems - not an axiom, but a reasonable conclusion from the theory of information systems.
The right of the leadership of any country to “turn off the Internet” is void, although physically something can be done. The public consciousness of each country will solve the problem, and such a violation, objectively determined by the information rights of man and society, will cause real damage to the country's leadership. Information controls something, not a person with administrative authority.
"Right" information system
A programmer (developer) implements knowledge, experience and logic in a static form in an information system. Until the completion of work on any information project, this statics is dynamically improved.
After completion of work, the right of an information system to perform specific functionality on specific data for the sake of a specific solution freezes in statics.
The copyright of the developer, the ownership rights of the owner, consumer rights and other legal relations both were regulated by the current legislation, and are regulated.
Legislator's “right” to manage information
When there is no exact concept of what information is, while there is no fundamental work on the theory of information, the legislative method of legal regulation of information law has dubious prospects.
The legislator may pass a law on information, informatization, technology and security. This will absolutely not change anything. For example, criminal or civil law has developed over the centuries. The dynamics of information processes, the logic of the development of legal relations between people has been honed over the years for many lives and clothed in the form of an unwritten, but intuitively and unambiguously recognized custom. Any legislator easily fit the custom of his people into the written law, and it acted accurately and objectively.
Information gave birth to legal norms. Rather, it is not so much information as understanding and experience of its application in practice. But if scientific knowledge in the field of information processes is not stable, not reliable, does not provide a guaranteed accurate and unambiguous solution - they cannot be laid down in the rule of law for this area. Apparently here, the time has not come yet. The modern law of any country:
- administrative
- civil;
- criminal.
They perfectly cope with the consideration of any case on the development and application of any information system.
On the contrary, modern methods and principles of information law are described in many articles, books, dissertations, ... - this is not the foundation for the adoption of legal norms.
The current state of affairs in the field of information is a dynamic search and analysis in the information sphere, which you can partly rely on for an acceptable solution to pressing problems. This is far from a legal aspect, not a statement of the problem and not the basic methods of information law.
Programming. Right
The rule of law is the refined syntax of semantics representation for centuries. The operator (command) in the program is the exact syntax and unconditional meaning. Combining incompatible to create any informational, and even more so intellectual system was not possible and is not possible in the foreseeable future.
The legal norm is violated and applied by a person.
The operator executes the processor. A legal norm is implemented in a situation that can be interpreted differently in time, in space, in a circle of persons. The operator has a clear choice:
- one processor;
- one syntax
- exact meaning.
Developers of programming languages are required to follow strict algorithms and only then their tools will receive the status of sought-after, practical and really working products.
Developers cannot foresee the meaning that a particular programmer puts into a sequence of statements. The specific meaning of a particular operator in a program is defined by the syntax. The language developer cannot influence the sequence of operators (meaning movement), therefore, the programmer can put into the program what is not provided by the syntax of the language.
Programming and System
Real information law: subject, method, principles - all this is understandable, aware. But it does not fit into the usual legal constructions.
Legal provisions are not operators of a programming language. At a minimum, in legal norms there is no sequence for their implementation. Each norm cements its part of the legal relationship, it is applied when necessary, and where necessary. Not targeted and incorrect application of legal norms is not so much as acceptable as impossible.
Many lawyers, especially teachers who have mastered the basics of "computer science" easily associate: a strict syntax of legal norms = a strict syntax of a programming language. Therefore, you can create an intellectual system "Lawyer". Such a system will have a law at the input and give a person decisions as to what to do in a given situation.
Not many lawyers understand that it is simply impossible to describe the real situation with the syntax of any programming language. The level of intelligence used in programming is negligible compared to the level of application of legal norms by a person.
The qualifications required to write an information system determine the functionality of this system. The minimum required qualification is a high level of knowledge, but in real practice this is not enough to make informed and correct decisions.
A person (lawyer) makes decisions based on life experience, the law and understanding of the real situation.
The program (such as a "lawyer") has no reason to make an informed and balanced decision. In the context of programming, any program implements a predefined functionality on predefined data.
The method of information law is the level of understanding of the problem. And also its decisions by human consciousness within and on the basis of existing classical legal norms.
Classical and Information Law
Classical law took into account:
- software;
- hardware room;
- social components.
When I ran into the problem of updating information law and defended the latter. Administrative, civil and criminal norms perfectly managed even with the situation when the profession of programmer and system administrator fell into dozens of significantly different specialties.
An example of information security.
Big business is a complex hardware and software system. The social factor is critical. The requirement of highly qualified employee turns into problems when leaving.
The specialty "Security of Information Systems" supplements the qualification of a programmer with the qualifications of a psychologist and sociologist, but not a lawyer. A laid-off employee can easily go around the security perimeter in order to achieve his goals and harm the former employer.
Information law is powerless here, but an ordinary lawyer will cope with the task of finding and punishing the perpetrator. Here, the expert’s opinion of the above specialty will be quite enough.
Principles of Information Law
According to authoritative scientists, information law is based on general legal and special principles.
In the first aspect, it means: legality, priority of individual rights, equality of rights and obligations, inevitability and responsibility.
In the second, they talk about the freedom of searching, analyzing and using information, setting limits and openness, equality of languages, etc.
The essence of information law
It is difficult to challenge the idea that information law can only be discussed in the context of a person, company, society, state. How legally correct this sounds is another question.
Information is continuous flows of signals, symbols, phenomena, events ... Information is naturally perceived, understood and used. Automation of information tasks is a completely different issue.
Excluding legal and technical components, it can be defined as the central direction of development - the systematic perception of information processes and the construction of information models as they are in real life.
Defining the subject for information law as a holistic system, you can formulate everything else.
The dynamics and rate of increasing interest in information law reflect this circumstance as well as possible. The best modern technologies strive to systematize accumulated knowledge and skills into a single, accurately and reliably understood state.