Legal Literacy and Users' Awareness of Privacy, Data Protection and Copyright Legislation in the Web 2.0 Era
Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Web 2.0 offers an easy way for individuals to share any kind of content. The users’ new role of being a content producer is associated with the responsibility to observe the relevant law. In this article, relevant regulations of the German and Austrian law are presented. In an attempt to understand the factors that influence users’ lawful behavior, the presented research examines the effects of legal literacy, awareness and lawful attitude on lawful and unlawful actions. The empirical study shows results from a survey of 1,134 students from three different faculties. Regression and mediation analyses were used to analyze the effects. The results indicate that legal literacy has a negative direct influence on lawful behavior, while lawful attitude shows a positive effect among Austrian students. Furthermore, legal awareness has a stronger effect on lawful attitude than legal literacy.
Authors: Katharina Steininger, David Rückel
Institution: Johannes Kepler University of Linz
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W641006845