Socio-legal study of technology: A norms and values approach to hacking and encryption law and policy

In light of the dissolution of the traditional boundaries separating the fields of law, technology and society, this article puts forward an interdisciplinary norms and values approach to the study of technology law. It explains the core concepts of norms and values and their significance to legal research and other disciplines. The article further sets out the qualitative, inductive and interpretivist methodology and methods necessitated by this socio-legal approach. It then applies the norms and values approach to the cases of hacking and encryption to illustrate its substantial benefits and contributions to the development of technology law and policy.