ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the most common ways in which surfing the net alters the legal position of those engaged in the transaction. It concentrates on the civil law position. The chapter considers the general question of computer interaction. This involves the question whether sending inappropriate messages or instructions to the other's computer can be regarded as a 'cybertrespass'. The chapter also focuses on interactions using the web, and on the ordinary case where the client machine asks to see a particular page or run a particular program. Search engines play a key role in surfing the net; indeed, without them the Internet would be a very different place – much less interesting, much harder to navigate, and significantly less transparent. Yet the law surrounding search engines is obscure. The chapter also considers some of the issues that surround them, as well as the law on the related topic of advertising.
