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This study, from a sociosemiotic perspective, sets out to examine the meaning making process of the International Telecommunication Regulations by investigating the contributions submitted by the Member States and Sector Members of the International Telecommunication Union, and two versions of the International Telecommunication Regulations (1988 version and 2012 version). The findings show that the International Telecommunication Regulations, as a sign, may be ideologically and institutionally constrained as well as historically situated. As regards its review, Member States and Sector Members have divergent views carrying distinct institutional positions, which are induced by various national interests and different technological levels. Concerning its revision, a comparative analysis of the overall articles and the modal system of the 1988 version and the 2012 version reflects that the meaning making of the International Telecommunication Regulations is inherently embedded in specific historical backgrounds, and the frequent use of soft language in the 2012 version may be conceived of as a mediational means to compromise the distinct views of member states on the controversial issues and facilitate institutional interactions. It is therefore argued that the discourse construction of the International Telecommunication Regulations is an institutional process of "interest weighing", jurisdictional compromise and institutional dialogue among Member States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emojis, used evidentially as any language is used in communication, have posed new challenges for courts to adopt emojis as evidence beyond the traditional mode of speech and communication and to interpret them appropriately, especially their aggressive side of meaning. To meet these challenges, the present study, based on a comprehensive literature review, starts with case studies with aims to unravel the nature of emojis and develop a sociosemiotic approach to interpret emojis in the context of social media with a focus on the aggressiveness of emojis in social platforms and their consequences (social and legal ones). It is argued that the meaning of emojis could not simply depend on their grammar or general rules but lies in communication within discourse communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues concerning cyber asset in cyberspace have intrigued the legislators, the judicial practitioners, the netizens, and even the onlookers in real world; simultaneously, academia is discussing the disputes aroused by this intangible object. However, various studies in the past refined the discussions in domains of law but the refinement fails to clarify the cyber-asset issues and to resolve the disputes. Therefore, a better understanding of what "cyber asset" is can be achieved by exploring cyber asset in the judicial discourses from a socio-semiotic perspective. In this study, judicial discourses are tantamount to the semiotic resource. Then, incorporating in a generic model of judicial discourses, we examine (1) how cyber asset as a sign has been framed by agents of the judicial institution of the People's Republic of China; (2) how the judicial institution justified their framing; and (3) whether any temporal change in the semiotic system of cyber asset took place. Furthermore, by applying the five questions introduced by Van Leeuwen, we examine why the quandaries of cyber asset are aroused. In conclusion, we propose that the cyber-asset disputes can hardly be resolved unless joint efforts are made by the legislature and the judiciary of the People's Republic of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on one specially created corpus of U.S. cybersecurity-related laws, this study employs the corpus approach to examine the referent objects and securitizing actors in U.S. cybersecurity legislative discourse, which are two critical issues in constructing security, including cybersecurity. Through corpus data analysis, it is found that unlike traditional security, cybersecurity has become more people-oriented in terms of referent objects with critical infrastructure as a key referent object. Additionally, the role of private sectors and cooperative security are highlighted in U.S. cybersecurity legislative discourse. From a sociosemiotic perspective, it is noted that the meaning-making process of U.S. cybersecurity not only is conveyed by the texts but also interacts with other sign systems, such as historical background, cyberspace as a virtual realm and social contexts, which suggests that the specific meanings of signs constructing cybersecurity and cybersecurity itself should be interpreted in specific temporal or spatial contexts. Furthermore, a sociosemiotic approach to U.S. cybersecurity legislative discourse also offers valuable insights to how signs and concepts in cybersecurity contribute to sketching a holistic landscape of cybersecurity and further security on a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue including legal discourse on non-traditional security in cyberage, corpus of U.S. cybersecurity-related laws, and dynamics of violence, gender discrimination and power abuse in Cyber Bullying.

As a new kind of contactless crime, the telecom and internet fraud has become a public hazard, with criminals targeting massive numbers of innocent victims. It is a prominent criminal problem that currently affects social stability and the sense of security of the public. Since the six Ministries and Commissions jointly cracked down the crime in 2016, the number of cases and the number of people deceived have decreased, but the occurrence and frequency has still been at a high rate, and the situation is deteriorating. Regardless of the scientific and technological means used by fraudsters, the main medium is language. From a sociosemiotic perspective, this study identifies that the criminal suspects use the discourse resources to fabricate false information and construct false identities through discursive practice, with the aim of achieving the communicative purpose of obtaining victims' trust, tricking, deceiving and manipulating their victims into giving out confidential information and funds. This study, taking telecom fraud discourse as one type of genre, examines the dynamic process of selecting and constructing identities by manipulating related discourse resources and strategies in the social-cultural context. This study further provides a sociosemiotic solution to telecom fraud prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]