Since  the  beginning  of the  civilization,  man  has  constantly  adapted  himself with    the  changing  circumstances  and  scenarios  to  usher  in  new eras of   development and progress. Every stage of human history has been important in   its own  way.  However, if today we look back in  retrospect  and try to  analyze the pace of various important advances, some periods stand out.                                          

The  last  decade has been one of the most significant in human history. It  is   in  this  very decade  that Internet and  the  worldwide  web  have blossomed into  their  own.  Today, Internet  has  become  an  all  pervading   revolution which is having an immense impact on all aspects of human life and existence. Truly, Internet is an irreversible phenomenon which has set new benchmarks for  the entire mankind.

To put it simply, Internet is a global network of computers, all speaking same language.  It  all  began  in 1969  when  America's Department of  Defense commissioned the construction of a Super network called   ARPANET.   The Advanced Research   Projects Agency Network  (ARPANET)  was  basically intended as a military network of 40   computers connected by a web of links and lines. This  network  slowly grew  and became known as the Internet. By 1981,  over  200 computers were connected from all around the world. Today the figure runs into millions.                                                          

Internet   has   grown   in   a  very  rapid,   arbitrary  and  unplanned  manner. Because  of this unplanned nature of Internet, it was felt initially that Internet is a  system of anarchy and no useful purpose would be solved in trying to do the same. In fact, some advocates advocated that  the very idea of regulating the Internet was  contradictory  to the nature of  Internet. However, as time flew, it  began  to  dawn  upon  netizens  that  Internet  and Cyberspace need to be regulated  and  a  regulated  cyberspace would  be  the catalyst for the future progress of mankind. Herein lay the seeds of origin of Cyberlaw. 

There  is  no  one  exhaustive  definition of  the term "Cyberlaw".  However,
simply put,  Cyberlaw  is  a  term  which refers to all the legal and regulatory
aspects of  Internet  and  the World Wide Web.  Anything  concerned with or
related  to, or emanating  from,   any  legal  aspects or issues concerning any
activity  of netizens and others,  in  Cyberspace comes  within  the ambit  of    
Cyberlaw.                                                                                                          

Cyberlaw is a constantly evolving process. As the Internet grows, numerous
legal issues  arise.  These issues  vary from Domain Names, to Intellectual    
Property Rights,  Electronic Commerce,  Privacy,  Encryption, Electronic        
Contracts, Cybercrime, Online Banking to Spamming and so on. The list is  
very long.                                                                                                             

Today, Cyberlaw is at an  early  stage of  its development.  Though Internet
access is growing  rapidly  throughout  the  world,  yet a  majority of countries are debating on whether or not to  legislate regarding regulating cyberspace
within  their national  territorial boundaries. USA, UK, Malaysia, Singapore 
are  some  of the  countries that  have legislated Cyberlaws. Even amongst the   different nations,  there  is a  diversion  of opinion on the issue of how much to legislate in  the  field  of Cyberlaws.  While some countries like Malaysia believe   in   the   philosophy   of   legislating  on  every   concievable   issue of   Cyberspace.  Others  are  in  favour  of  a  more  balanced  approach of "crossing the   bridge when it comes" and legislating Cyberlaws only where and when necessary.

Internet in India came in 1995 and after almost 5 years, India gets ready to
legislate   its   first   Cyberlaw   namely  the  Information  Technology   Bill 1999.   The  said  bill  is  presently  pending  in  Parliament.                                                

One  question  that  is  often  asked is why should we have Cyberlaw in India,
when  a  large chunk of the Indian population is below the poverty line and is
residing  in  rural  areas?  I  feel  that  more  than anything else, India, by its sheer numbers,  as also  by  virtue of  its extremely talented and growing  IT population, is likely to become a very important Internet Market  in the future and it is important that we legislate Cyberlaws in India to provide for a sound legal and technical frame work which, in turn, could be a   catalyst for growth and success of the Internet Revolution in India.             
  

For any Cyberlaw query, contact Pavan Duggal at his email
info@cyberlawconsultancy.com, pduggal@vsnl.com.