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Legal aspects of computing are related to the overlapping areas of law and computing.

The first one, historically, was information technology law (or IT law). ("IT law" should not be confused with the IT aspects of law itself, although there are overlapping issues.) IT law consists of the law (statutes, regulations, and caselaw) which governs the digital dissemination of both (digitalized) information and software itself (see history of free and open-source software), and legal aspects of information technology more broadly. IT law covers mainly the digital information (including information security and electronic commerce) aspects and it has been described as "paper laws" for a "paperless environment".

Cyberlaw or Internet law is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of the Internet. It is less a distinct field of law than intellectual property or contract law, as it is a domain covering many areas of law and regulation. Some leading topics include internet access and usage, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction.

In Great Britain

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 enacted by Great Britain on 29 June 1990, and which came into force on 29 August 1990, is an example of one of the earliest of such legal enactments. This Act was enacted with an express purpose of making "provision for securing computer material against unauthorized access or modification." Certain major provisions of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 relate to:

 The impact of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 has been limited and with the adoption of the Council of Europe adopts its Convention on Cyber-Crime, it has been indicated that amending legislation would be introduced in parliamentary session 2004–05 in order to rectify possible gaps in its coverage, which are many.

The CMA 1990 has many weaknesses; the most notable is its inability to cater for, or provide suitable protection against, a host of high tech attacks/crimes which have become more prevalent in the last decade. Certain attacks such as DDOS and BOTNET attacks can not be effectively brought to justice under the CMA. This act has been under review for a number of years. Computer crimes such as electronic theft are usually prosecuted in the UK under the legislation that caters for traditional theft (Theft Act 1968), because the CMA is so ineffective.