Digital Technology and Law

This is an introduction into how digital technology and law interact. The book considers the interaction between digital technology and law in three ways:

• How digital technology is affected by law;
• How digital technology affects the practice of law; and,
• How law is affected by digital technology.

This book considers electronic digital technology including artificial intelligence, digital property, blockchains, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), smart contracts, decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), and the metaverse. It provides explanations of how they work, and sometimes how they do not work. It also considers how this technology is used in the practice of law. This includes consideration of LegalTech, including artificial intelligence in the practice of law, cybercrime and cybersecurity. This book then considers how technology is affecting law. This includes issues arising from artificial intelligence and intellectual property, disputes involving digital property including theft, fraud, loss, divorce, death, tax, securities regulation, money laundering and insider dealing. The liability of many parties involved in electronic digital technologies are considered including blockchains, their nodes, platforms, exchanges, decentralised autonomous organisations, and those living, working and playing in the metaverse.

The text is written as a whole rather than as a collection of individually authored chapters and has been kept concise to assist readers, providing reference to more specific works if readers wish to delve deeper. The book’s main proposition is that it is impossible to work effectively in business, finance or the professions without some understanding of digital technology and how this may be affected by the law, and how it may affect the law. The book provides an introduction to digital technology and law for those who know something of technology but no law, those who know something of law but no technology, and those who may know little of technology or law.

If you are a technologist, the introduction to technology may seem basic, if you are a lawyer, the explanation of the law may seem basic, but the consideration of both may be helpful in some small way. Hopefully, there is something of use to those who know something of technology but no law, those who know something of law but no technology, and those who know little of technology or law.