Internet Law Terms and Definitions

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Bit A "binary digit," the smallest unit of measurement having values of 0 or 1. Bits are used to record the size of a data file on a computer, the capacity per second of a network, and so on. Antitrust U.S. laws designed to prevent any one company from acquiring such a degree of control over a given market that it substantially prevents competition among alternative suppliers and limits consumer choice. Fiber optic cable A type of wire-line transmission media that converts information into light pulses that travel down hollow glass tubes the diameter of a human hair. Fiber optic cables are used in broadband networks, and are capable of carrying an enormous amount of information in all its forms --sound, graphics, data, and video, or a multimedia combination thereof -- with much greater speed, accuracy, and security than conventional copper wires and coaxial cables. Cyber-cash On the Internet, customers often purchase products or services by giving their credit card information to a supplier, who then submits a debit to the customer's account with a credit card agency. Cyber-cash provides a new alternative, for which no one standard approach is dominant. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) An independent regulatory agency established by the 1934 Communications Act, the United States' principal legislative framework for the communications industries. Wiretap Act Rule on the degree to which the federal Wiretap Act protects the privacy of e-mail, by deciding whether the act applies to e-mail held in temporary storage. Bandwidth The capacity of a telecommunications network measured in terms of the amount of information it can carry in analog "hertz" or digital "bits" per second. Telecommunications Act of 1996 A law passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Clinton that extensively revises and updates the 1934 Communications Act, heretofore the principal law governing U.S. communications industries. On-line A "live" connection to a computer network over telecommunications lines, in which a user interacts with other computers on a network to send electronic mail, read information stored on another system, or download information to his or her own terminal. E-mail address law SB1506 California file sharers who trade songs or films without providing an e- mail address will be guilty of a misdemeanor, under the first-in-the-nation measure that could make it easier for law enforcement to track down people who illegally download copyrighted material.

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	Did You Know?
	Computer invasion of privacy laws exist Any person who uses a computer or computer network with the intention of examining any employment, medical,salary, credit, or any other financial or personal data relating to any other person with knowledge that such examination is without authority shall be guilty of the crime of computer invasion of privacy.