The Problems of Jurisdiction on the Internet

摘要

The relationship between jurisdiction and the internet has been the subject of wide ranging discussion ever since the boom in domestic internet usage. Without clear legislation, laws have been created on an ad hoc basis, often in response to specific cases. It is difficult to predict whether any one law will ever be sufficient to cope with the great variety of alleged crimes which take place on the internet. This paper discusses the problems associated with jurisdiction on the internet, presenting sample cases which have influenced the current laws and have fuelled a long term debate that continues to get more heated especially in recent times with UK celebrities being exposed on sites such as Twitter.