Practical legal resources for understanding specific regulations, compliance requirements, and concrete legal issues affecting digital systems and artificial intelligence. Focuses on applied law rather than theoretical policy analysis.
Traditional Digital Law#
Eric Goldman: “Internet Law: Cases & Materials” (2025 edition) - Standard practitioner-adjacent casebook on U.S. digital law, updated annually. Covers CFAA, DMCA, platform liability, and privacy. Widely used in law school and practice.
Congressional Research Service: “Cybercrime and the Law: Primer on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Related Statutes” (report R47557) - Thorough, frequently updated legal analysis available free via Congress.gov. Not a commercial book but fills the CFAA coverage gap with comprehensive statutory analysis.
David Tollen: “The Tech Contracts Handbook” (3rd edition) - Practical guide to software licenses, cloud agreements, and IT contracts. Consistently ranked highly in computer and internet law category for practitioners negotiating technology agreements.
Stephen Robert Massey: “Ultimate GDPR Practitioner Guide” (2nd edition) - Applied compliance focus covering data subject requests, breach procedures, and DPO obligations rather than academic analysis. Practical resource for GDPR implementation.
Maria Tzanou: “Health Data Privacy under the GDPR: Big Data Challenges and Regulatory Responses” - Covers HIPAA-analogous issues in EU context. Useful for cross-jurisdictional HIPAA/GDPR overlap work in health data processing.
AI Regulation and Compliance#
Various authors: “The EU AI Act: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions” (Springer, 2024, ISBN 978-3-662-70200-0) - Practical Q&A format covering provider/deployer obligations, prohibited practices, GPAI models, and GDPR interaction. Most compliance-oriented book-length treatment of the Act available.
Various editors: “International Handbook of AI Law” (Kluwer, 2024, ISBN 9789403508283) - Country-by-country analysis (EU, US, UK, China, Japan) with dedicated chapters on AI-specific liability, data protection, IP, employment, cybersecurity, and legal tech applications. Broadest practitioner handbook currently available across AI regulation space.
Lothar Determann: “AI Law Compliance” (Edward Elgar) - Written by leading data and technology law practitioner. Covers jurisdiction-specific requirements with checklists, risk assessments, and sample protocols for corporate legal departments.
Various editors: “The Cambridge Handbook of Generative AI and the Law” (Cambridge, 2025, ISBN 9781009492584) - Edited volume covering regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions, IP, non-discrimination, data protection, corporate governance, criminal law, and public administration applications. More academic than Kluwer handbook but strong on legal doctrine.
Various editors: “The Cambridge Handbook of the Law, Ethics and Policy of Artificial Intelligence” (Cambridge) - Includes dedicated chapter on EU AI Act. Stronger on legal foundations than on compliance mechanics.
Gaps Worth Noting#
The following areas remain underserved by dedicated book-length treatments as of early 2026:
- FDA AI medical device approval: Covered in articles and agency guidance but not yet in standalone practitioner book
- Algorithmic bias audit frameworks: Primarily addressed in white papers (NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001) rather than legal texts
- AI in financial services credit/insurance decisions: Kluwer handbook has chapter; no standalone book exists
- CFAA standalone practitioner text: Field relies on CRS report and law review literature rather than dedicated book
The pace of regulatory change (EU AI Act phased enforcement through August 2026; proliferating US state AI laws) means AI regulation handbooks date faster than standard legal texts. Supplementing with primary sources and official Commission guidelines is advisable.