The Electronic Silk Road: How the Web Binds the World
Anupam Chander, Director of the California International Law Center and professor of law at the University of California, Davis
October 8, 2013 at 12:30pm ET
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, 2nd Floor
On the ancient Silk Road, treasure-laden caravans made their arduous way through deserts and mountain passes, establishing trade between Asia and the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Today’s electronic Silk Roads ferry information across continents, enabling individuals and corporations anywhere to provide or receive services without obtaining a visa. But the legal infrastructure for such trade is yet rudimentary and uncertain. If an event in cyberspace occurs at once everywhere and nowhere, what law applies? How can consumers be protected when engaging with companies across the world? From Facebookistan, to online gambling and PRISM, the new trade routes raise urgent questions of law and policy.
About Anupam
Anupam Chander is Director of the California International Law Center and professor of law at the University of California, Davis. A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, he has been a visiting professor at Yale, Chicago, Stanford and Cornell law schools.