THE LEGAL RESPONSE TO TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT.
Posted by santw001 on Apr 20, 2022 in Uncategorized | 0 comments
The Legal System Response to Technological Advancements
Technological advancement has significantly impacted different practice areas, including the legal system. The legal system has experienced challenges to keep pace with technological advancement, mainly because of the lack of comprehensive laws to deal with the challenges brought by advancements in technology. There are two main ways the legislative bodies can respond to these challenges. First, the legislative bodies should create comprehensive laws to address the current and emerging issues resulting from technological advancements. This may entail adding new laws that explicitly define and ban some of the problems caused by technological advancement. For example, Hazelwood & Koon-Magnin (2013) noted that some states added new laws that explicitly define and prohibit cyber harassment and stalking. These laws are distinct from the traditional statutes dealing with stalking and harassment. Therefore, our legislative bodies can create new laws besides the existing laws to deal with the legal issues resulting from technological advancement.
Second, the legislative bodies can respond to technological advancements by modifying or amending the existing laws to include the issues caused by technological progress. For example, Hazelwood & Koon-Magnin (2013) highlighted that the legislators in some states responded to cyber harassment and cyberstalking by amending the extant statutes banning stalking and harassment. In addition, these legislators added language that specified the contact started using digital devices and the Internet amounts to stalking or harassment. Accordingly, the local, state, and federal legislators can add language to the existing laws so that they can include the legal matters caused by technological advancements.
To close the gap between the legal system and advancements in technology, it is essential for the legislators to continuously create, review, and amend the laws to reflect the changes in technology and their effects. Engaging in continuous creation, review, and amendment of the extant laws will ensure our laws are up to date and reflect the current issues brought about by technological changes. Also, to close this gap, the courts can create legal precedents that reflect the advancements in technology. The precedents or court decisions can help settle similar legal cases or issues.
References
Hazelwood, S. D., & Koon-Magnin, S. (2013). Cyber stalking and cyber harassment legislation in the United States: A qualitative analysis. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 7(2), 155-168.