The omnipresent force is not god but Google, a member of the Madras Bar Association declared. That is where Technology Laws Decoded steps in. Written by advocate NS Nappinai, the book was launched in Chennai by Chief Justice Indira Banerjee at the Madras High Court.
The book deals with the various aspects of cyber law, and according to Nappinai, is written in an easy-to-read manner, while remaining scholarly. “When I started, the concept note was meant for lawyers. But my publishers suggested I write it to suit everyone,” she says.
She believes that in today’s world, there is no legal aspect that can escape cyber. “We’ve all had to migrate to a digital world, and are heavily dependent on the Digital Natives {millennials who were born into a digital world}. It is a role reversal of sorts, from a time when we depended on our elders for information, to a time when we depend on the younger lot to be technologically savvy.”
But what a lot of us don’t realise are the pitfalls. Nappinai cites the use of free WiFi. “Free is our favourite four-letter F word, after all. But how many of us have actually read the Terms and Conditions before clicking on ‘I Agree’? We don’t have the time to go through these nitty gritties. We use technology without thinking twice about what it brings with it, or the fact that all the data is being monitored by a third party. Then, there’s malware, piracy and similar issues that plague the cyber world. This book breaks down the laws surrounding these aspects,” she explains.
The idea, for the book, stemmed from Nappinai’s own lectures on the subject and her over 17 years of experience in the field. “People would ask me to write a book on cyber law because they thought I made it easy to understand. The book, therefore, is an attempt to explain cyber law in simple terms. It took me a year to complete the book,” says the advocate-author, who began writing it towards the end of 2015. “In fact, I continued to update the cases I refer to in the book right up to January 2017, when it went to print.”
She loved the process of writing and managed to make time for it despite her busy schedule fighting court cases and teaching classes. “Even holidays meant more writing. But honestly, I believe in Parkinson’s Law, which states ‘work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion’. And I like to get things done, so there was always time for me to write.”
According to Justice Banerjee, the book is anything but a “drab law book”. “She has quoted everything from John Lennon to Tagore and related them to cases and laws,” she says.
“I love movies, animation, food and gaming, and I’ve drawn from these interests while writing the book. There’s also Shakespeare’s Hamlet . It’s a reflection of me and my varied interests,” says Nappinai.
