LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- With the rapid growth and accessibility to the Internet, new legal questions are being raised almost daily.

Dr. Pamela A. Brown of Lawrenceville, professor of communication at Rider University, is on paid research leave for the 1999 spring semester to study the emerging law of cyberspace.

"The law of cyberspace is in its infancy," Dr. Brown said. "Already the courts have issued numerous decisions in what has come to be called cyberlaw, and these opinions reflect the lack of a discrete theory to guide the courts and lawmakers."

She sees an historical pattern being repeated and draws parallels to radio and television regulations. "Just as the theory used to regulate radio was imposed on broadcast television without a careful assessment of the significant differences between the two media and their potential uses, so too are the courts and lawmakers looking to existing theory in their approach to cyberspace."

Applying existing theory to create law can lead to failure, which occurred when the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the Communications Decency Act. This act sought to apply the indecency standards developed for radio and television to the Internet.

"Cyberspace is not like other media forms and presents regulatory problems that are unlike other communications technology forms," Dr. Brown said.

In this study, she will examine the emerging case and statutory law and analyze the theoretical foundation upon which it is being constructed. Through this leave she hopes to update and enhance Rider's law courses and to produce a monogram-length article on the regulation of expression in cyberspace.

As a communications law specialist, Dr. Brown has followed the development of cyberlaw as it relates to her students. "In a professionally-oriented department such as this one, it is essential that students be well-educated as to their legal responsibilities and liabilities," she said.

She added that all six areas of emphasis in the department of communication (news-editorial journalism, public relations, radio and television, multimedia communication, business and professional speech, and interpersonal communication) call upon students to collect and use the words and works of others, to gather information and draw conclusions about people and issues, and to disseminate this information to a variety of audiences.

"The Internet and its applications have served to magnify these challenges while creating new ones," she said. "The one significant goal of this project is to give students a meaningful understanding of the legal foundations of this communications medium."

A member of the communication faculty since 1980, she received her Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of Iowa, a M.A. degree in journalism from Ohio State University, and a B.A. degree in journalism from Rider University.

Highly published and a frequent participant in professional meetings, Dr. Brown has taught communications law, communications ethics, media history, news reporting and writing, feature writing, public relations, and the role of mass media in society.

Students in the communication department can major in communication or journalism and concentrate studies in one of six tracks. With 325 students, the department is the largest in the School of Liberal Arts and Science. Students can complement classroom work with internships as well as work with the student newspaper, yearbook, radio station, and the recently renovated digital television studio. Students also graduate prepared to use the field's most current technology through their work in the department's digital media lab.