The NETSO project aims to generate basic knowledge of the theoretical foundations and context of the network

society development and to discover the subsequent changes in the legal, communicational and societal aspects of

the process. While it does this from the point of view of legal and sociological thinking, it seeks to approach the

issue in a general philosophical perspective by deconstructing the conventional ways of talking about "information

society" - both in scholarly discourse and in political and administrative talk as manifested in respective

programmes of the European Union (EU) as well as of individual countries such as Finland. In this respect, the

project is also about the history of ideas and the history of scientific traditions. It is interdisciplinary not only in the

composition of its research team but it examines the very formation of disciplines used to study various aspects of

information society.

From the legal point of view, the information society is a too open a concept. When speaking about the legal

framework of the information society, we should keep in mind that there are at least three different legal information

societies. First, we began using computers and data processing and it became important to analyse them in legal

terms, too. The network society has been a big step forwards from what in fact was a very static information society.

What has emerged is a new public, general information infrastructure. Citizens' right to know and to communicate

plays a key role when using networks. And at the same times convergence has modified the status of the media

considerably.

And now we are heading towards the ubiquitous society, where citizens' daily life is life with different forms of new

electronic communication, wireless as well as wired. The long path of information is longer and more vulnerable

than ever. Technological imperative, the belief in the inevitability of ever increasing and more extensive use of

information technology, may create new and often surprising risks. Such risks increase even further given the very

modest standard of information security on open networks.

All these questions are naturally closely connected to the principles of the constitutional state and the basic rights of

citizens. The nature of the state, not only of the society, has also changed. The significance of the combination

state/society/technology/citizen is more critical than ever; one gap in this chain and we run afoul of democracy.

Excessively specialized professions have difficulties observing this or observing it early enough. The necessary

interdisciplinary cooperation in the new ubiquitous information society forms the very basis of this project.

Responsible project leader professor Ahti Saarenpää

Team members

In Rovaniemi:

-          Professor Ahti Saarenpää, University of Lapland, Institute of Law and Informatics

-          Professor Mauri Ylä-Kotola, University of Lapland, Department of Media Studies

-          Post-doc researcher Jari Råman, University of Lapland, Institute of Law and Informatics (1 year)

-          Doctoral student Johanna Tornberg, University of Lapland, Institute of Law and Informatics

-          Doctoral student Anneli Kourilehto, University of Lapland, Institute of Law and Informatics

In Helsinki:

-          Professor Hannu Nieminen, University of Helsinki, Department of Communication Professor Mika Pantzar, National Consumer Research Centre LLD h.c. Reijo Aarnio, Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman

-          Post-doc researcher Marko Ampuja, University of Helsinki, Department of Communication

In Tampere:

-          Professor Kaarle Nordenstreng, University of Tampere, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

-          Post-doc researcher Juha Koivisto, University of Tampere, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

-          Professor Harri Melin, University of Tampere, Department of Social Research

-          Doctoral student Ari Hautaniemi, University of Tampere, Department of Social Research  

In Oulu:

-          Post-doc researcher Juhani Warsta, University of Oulu, Department of Information Processing Science

Outside Finland:

-          Professor Lorena Donoso (Chile, University of Chile, Faculty of Law) is the Director of the Institute for Law and Informatics at University of Chile and possesses extensive experience in the relationships between law and information technology.

-          Professor Dr Wolfgang Mincke (Germany) is a legal theorist with experience in the evaluation of Finnish legal scholarship and legal education. He has also acted as a part time professor of legal informatics.

-          Adjunct Professor Mercedes Ortuño (Spain) is Legal Advisor in the Ministry of the Presidency. Formerly she was Head of the International Area of the Spanish Data Protection Agency. She also teaches European Data Protection in Georgetown University Law Centre (US).

-          LLD Irini Vassilaki (Greece/Germany) is an expert in computer crime and associated procedural questions. She has been a member of the Legal Advisory Board of the EU and teaches in several German universities.

-          Professor Gerald Quirchmayr (Austria, University of Vienna, Faculty of Computer Science, Department of Distributed and Multimedia Systems) holds doctoral degrees both in computer science and in law. He has held a chair in computer and information systems at the University of South Australia

-          Professor Peter Wahlgren (Sweden, Stockholm University, Faculty of Law, Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute) is an expert of legal theory and legal information. He focuses on legal risk analysis and legislative techniques

-          Professor Frank Webster (UK, London City University, Department of Sociology) is a leading scholar on theories of IS. He is an adjunct professor of the University of Tampere too.