Featured Article: The Internet and the Constitution: A Selective Retrospective

The Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has a rather interesting article appearing in volume 9 of the Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts.

In her article, The Internet and the Constitution: A Selective Retrospective, Judge McKeown examines the complexities of the Internet and its associated innovations from a legal perspective, from the many jurisdictional and due process challenges, to the implications on the First Amendment and free speech. Judge McKeown's story of "institutional stability in the face of change," however, is one she believes has been lost in the all-to-common narrative: "the Internet is changing all the rules and the system can’t keep up."

I found the entire article fascinating, but for those looking for a cybercrime hook, the article's discussion on “The Fourth Amendment and Privacy,” beginning on page 161, may be of particular interest.

The abstract appears below

Over the last two decades, the Internet and its associated innovations have rapidly altered the way people around the world communicate, distribute and access information, and live their daily lives. Courts have grappled with the legal implications of these changes, often struggling with the contours and characterization of the technology as well as the application of constitutional provisions and principles. Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has had a close-up view of many of these Internet-era innovations and the ways the courts have addressed them. In this Article, adapted from her October 2013 Roger L. Shidler Lecture at the University of Washington School of Law, Judge McKeown offers her retrospective thoughts on the ways courts have handled constitutional issues in Internet cases. She also discusses some of the challenges currently facing courts and legislators alike as the U.S. legal system incorporates and accommodates Internet- based technologies and the societal, commercial, governmental, and relational changes they spawn.