The Information Technology Laws mainly deal with the laws and regulations enforced for agreements and negotiations in the areas of software licensing and maintenance, e-commerce, IT-consulting, website hosting and development, data privacy, telecommunications, digitally transmitted information and elimination of paperwork.
The information technology laws cover almost all the criminal aspects of the misuse of Information Technology. Here is the overview of some information technology laws in United States.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, abbreviated as ECPA, was enacted by United States Congress in 1986 to extend the government restrictions on wire taps from telephone calls for including transmissions of electronic data or information by computer. This act sets out different provisions for use, access, interception, disclosure and privacy protections of electronic communications. According to the United States Code, electronic communications refer to any transfer of signals, signs, images, writing, sound, images, data transmitted in whole or in part by radio, wire, photo electronic system or electromagnetic system.
Federal Information Security Management Act
Federal Information Security Management Act, often called as FISMA, is a United States federal law which was enacted in 2002. The FISMA defines a comprehensive framework to protect the government information, assets and operations against the natural as well as man-made threats. This act recognized the importance of information security to the national and economical security interests of the United States. In order to strengthen information system security, this act assigns some responsibilities to federal agencies, office management and budget and national institute of standards and technology.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
The section 508 of Rehabilitation Act applies to all Federal agencies when they procure, develop, use or maintain any type of electronic and information technology. The standards of this section cover access to electronic and information technology obtained by Federal agencies. These standards are the parts of Federal government’s procurement regulations.
