Code is Murphy's law

Abstract

Cyberspace as a metaphor for a community has inspired many academics and others to produce further interesting ideas. However, with a metaphor as a starting point a lot of luck is needed in order to end up with a proper analysis. With Lessig's code the problem seems to be that cyberspace as a community is not the only metaphor presented. So is ‘code is law’. Code, that is the Internet's architecture, software and protocols, is not law. Code is technology, while legal rules are generally only ‘low tech’ at best. However, this does not mean that technology would be more effective in controlling people's behaviour than the legal system is. Instead of mixing the two up, it seems better to make a clear distinction between code and law. In this paper the authors' position with respect to the conflicting ideas of ‘the Internet as a place for anarchy’ versus ‘the Internet as a means of total control’ will first be explained. Then a common way of dealing with the questions raised by Lessig and others, namely the metaphor, will be examined. Implicit or explicit models of man play an important role in these discussions and attention will be paid to some of those and the rational model of man in particular. On the basis of this, a new model for analysing questions of law, society and technology is put forward. Based on the model, the authors will then address some of the issues at hand. The conclusion is that Lessig's and others' concerns will probably disappear when information technology is further assimilated in society.