Geo-identification – a ‘threat to the net’?

Dan Svantesson, Bond University

Wednesday 9 March 2005

1:00 to 2:00 pm, including time for questions

Room 1201, Faculty of Law, Level 12, Library Tower
UNSW Kensington campus, Sydney
Map: http://www.unsw.edu.au/maps/kensington.pdf

Watch this space - we are preparing links to the following materials from this event:

• video
• presentation
• links to sites: http://www.svantesson.org/svantesson4geoid.htm

Abstract:

Location matters in relation to Internet activities. For example, location may determine whether a person falls within the jurisdiction of a particular state, it may determine which law is applicable to a person’s conduct, and it may determine whether or not a judgment can be successfully enforced. Indeed, it could be said that, as far as conflict of laws is concerned, location almost always matters.

Until recently, however, it was often said to be impossible to link those active on the Internet to a geographical location (“geo-identification”). This is all changing. A recent survey revealed that a large number of companies, particularly in the US, seek to identify the geographical location of those who visit their websites. Further, the courts’ perception of the possibility (in some cases) or impossibility (in other cases) of geo-identification has been determinative in several court cases.

This seminar aims at giving legal practitioners a better understanding of how technological solutions can help to limit their clients’ legal exposure, but it also aims at providing academics, law makers and other interested parties with an understanding of how the technologies discussed affect Internet regulation.

Furthermore, the use of so-called geo-location technologies and other means of geo-identification will change the Internet in a highly dramatic manner, as the nearly global Internet of today may be replaced by a Internet taking account of geographical borders. Yet the questions that this gives rise to have gained surprisingly little attention in literature so far.

Dr Dan Svantesson is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, Bond University. Dan worked on his doctorial thesis on jurisdictional issues in cyberspace at UNSW Law Faculty, and also assisted Prof. Greenleaf's privacy research. He won the 2003 Anastasios Dontas Fellowship for Law and Medicine while at UNSW, presenting a paper in Greece to as part of the award.

Dan is a Research Associate of the Centre, a contributing editor for the World Legal Information Institute (www.worldlii.org), and national convenor of the International Law Interest Group of the Australasian Law Teachers Association (ALTA).

Entry is free, no need to book.