ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of nanotechnology, postulates how nanotechnology can be misused, and outlines the potential contours of a law of nanocrime. It reviews what nanotechnology is and why many believe it will usher "in the second industrial revolution". The chapter resolves the issue of nanotechnology regulation. It analyzes the issues using civil regulatory measures and addresses that the issues are the product of inadvertence, not intention. The chapter illustrates the operational tension between technology-specific and technology-neutral control measures. It also illustrates the types of risks associated with various uses of nanotechnology. The chapter examines technology-facilitated crime as an empirical phenomenon. It also examines how nanotechnology could be used to facilitate the commission of various crimes. The chapter also analyzes the extent to which the experience with cybercrime should structure our response to nanocrime, if and when such a response becomes necessary. It further illustrates how democratizing computer technology opened it up to be exploited for criminal purposes.
