What is computer law?
Computer Law is a legal discipline that regulates technological means through the study of computer science and its impact on society. It is necessary to study this branch of the Law, since at present we live in a world immersed in the technology.
What is Computer Law?
Computer Law is the branch of law that regulates the legal effects of computing and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). It also specializes in the study of changes in the law as a result of the widespread use of technological activities.
Computer science is characterized by being a very changing environment, for this reason, this legal science analyzes the modifications of computer science and/or ICTs with respect to society, with the aim of creating principles and regulations that manage to regulate it adequately.
Legal regulation of information technology
The computer legislation in Mexico comes to regulate different types of crimes. Get to know them!
Computer crimes
Computer crimes are those conducts considered criminal due to the relationship of causality of a conduct -by action or omission- that harms or damages property, interests or rights of natural or legal persons using computers or other computer means as a tool or end.
The main computer crimes are:
- fraud through computer use;
- unauthorized access;
- destruction of programs or data;
- Unauthorized reproduction of computer programs;
- unauthorized use of programs and data.
Computer crimes, like technology in general, vary all the time. Cracking has become very common and the law must protect the legal welfare of the taxpayers at all times.
Digital signature and electronic contracts
The consent to enter into any type of contract may be through electronic means, therefore, it must be sanctioned if this right is violated.
Data Base Protection
The Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data lays the foundation for the regulation of the right to self-determination in information, which is a right inherent in the principle of privacy that every citizen has.
It preserves the right of every person to handle, by their own means or through third parties, the data contained in public or private organizations that are stored digitally.
Protection of intellectual property
Industrial Property Law establishes the guidelines, exclusions and exceptions with respect to typified conducts that violate the rights of the patent holder.
Guiding Principles of Computer Law
The Computer Law, like any branch of law, has different guiding principles that serve as a fundamental pillar for its effective operation and permanence in the face of constant digital transformation:
- Principle of criminality: all criminal conduct must be previously written in a current regulation, no one can be judged for an action or omission that at the time do not constitute a crime;
- Principle of legality: all exercise and action of a jurisdictional body must be based on a law in force and never at the will of the parties;
- Principle of functional equivalence: a document issued, signed and agreed to by the parties in writing, shall have the same effect as its counterpart in computerized form;
- Principle of technological neutrality: laws must not favour any particular technology if there are others with the same functionalities and legally validated for electronic signatures and certificates;
- Principle of unalterability of pre-existing law of obligations and contracts: the title of the principle speaks for itself. When the contract is concluded electronically, the essential elements of the legal transaction concluded must not be changed in any way if it has complied with all legal requirements;
- Principle of good faith: when faced with a doubt of ignorance and mistrust, the good faith of the parties must be deprived;
- Principle of freedom of contract: it refers to the willingness of the parties to express their intention to accept or not to conclude contracts by electronic means. If the express will of any of the parties is violated, then the legal transaction will be considered illegal.
In all branches of law, the principles must be taken into account unfailingly with respect to the rules, law or right that one intends to invoke, after all, if any of these is violated, the act will be considered illegal or void.
Computer Law is waiting for you
The Computer Law is a branch of the Law that remains in constant evolution, since it is linked to the digital evolution that is revolutionizing the world and, the State, by means of the jurisdictional organs, must procure the legal welfare of the population.
That is why we need professionals who are willing to learn everything this branch has to offer and who have the ability to help us decipher the problems that may arise in the future.