The Internet seems, at first glance, a place without rules and government, a beautiful, anarchic free-for-all beyond the bounds of government interference. In fact, of course, the Internet is as hidebound and rulebound as most anything else, different (very different !) only in its fundamental nature. From technological constraints and rules -- basic protocols governing the functioning of data transfer -- to how domain names are assigned and what activity has been criminalized ("hacking", child pornography, etc.) the Internet is regulated from without and within.
Lessig's too-clever title addresses the two forms of code that dominate the Internet: legal code (law) and machine code (the technology supporting the Internet). As Lessig points out, the influence of both must be understood, as both will determine the shape of the future. The difference between the two types of code is obvious enough throughout the text; nevertheless, the use of the same word for these very different areas occasionally gets irritating. Lessig adds an additional layer of differentiation by talking about East Coast and West Coast Code (East Coast Code referring to Washington, D.C.-imposed statutes, West Coast Code referring to Silicon Valley created software (and, occasionally, hardware)). This may have sounded like a fun idea to Lessig (and it probably goes over well in the classroom), but it is really just pointless obfuscation.
Lessig correctly points out that the law, as currently written, is ill-equipped to deal with the new frontiers of cyberspace. He warns that deciding legal and regulatory issues in cyberspace according to the system on which our other laws are based is fraught with danger. Property is not the same in cyberspace. Privacy is not the same. Sovereignty is not the same. Indeed, very little is the same. [resenha do Code and other Laws of Cyberspace by Lawrence Lessig]