99180 - INTERNET LAW AND GOVERNANCE

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the studenti is able to: - know how to critically deal with the complex and multifaceted regulatory frameworks that define the governance of the internet at a global level and the regulatory issues that derive from it; - identify and critically evaluate the main legal issues relating to the use of the internet and their impact on industries, citizens and civil society, with particular reference to IT security, the protection of personal data and other fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and of information.

Course contents

The course aims to provide students with a reference framework for the regulatory mechanisms and key actors of governance in relation to internet infrastructure and instruments, operative standards and contents.

In particular, the following topics will be examined:

• the independence of the cyberspace and Lawrence Lessig’s theory of regulation;
• the layers of internet governance: technical infrastructure, code and content;
• the actors and instruments of internet governance;

• the Internet Protocol (IP) standard and the domain name system: the role of ICANN;
• the principles of net neutrality and the challenges of Internet 3.0;
• the interoperability and open source standards;
• the cybersecurity and the malicious cyber activity;

• the principles of contract law applicable to “distance selling”;
• the rights and remedies available to consumers;
• the regulation of online advertisement;
• the liability of internet intermediaries in the European Union and the United States;

• the online freedom of speech and defamation: legal and judicial approaches in Europe and the United States;
• the law and policy of regulation of hate speech online and the conflict with freedom to receive and impart information;
• the scope and effectiveness of self-regulatory policies and automated filtering technology: the case of social media;

• the data protection and privacy: the principle of informed consent and its limits in the Internet 3.0;
• the online safety for minors: cyberbullying, harassing, sexting;
• the gaming, gambling and addictive technologies applied to the internet.

Readings/Bibliography

A. Savin, EU Internet Law, Edward Elgar, 2022.

The manual is to be studied in its entirety, with the exclusion of Chapters III, VI, IX.

 

Recommended readings for possible additional insights:

• J.P. Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, in Duke Law & Technology Review, 2019, pp. 5-7;
• L. Lessig, The Law of the Horse: What Cyberlaw Might Teach, in Harvard Law Review, 1999, pp. 501-549;
• F. Almeida, J. Oliveira, J. Cruz, Open standards and open source: enabling Interoperability, in International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications, 2011, pp. 1-11;
• J.Lee, K.M. Darcy, Sexting: what’s law got to do with it?, in Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2020, pp. 563-573;
• K. Matchett, M.W. Abbott, Gaming-gambling convergence: trends, emerging risks, and legislative responses, in International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2021, pp. 2024-2056.

Teaching methods

The course takes place through oral lectures.

In order to solicit the involvement of students, during the course there will be targeted in-depth studies on multiple sources of law and Courts’ decisions and assessing their impact on internet business and individual rights, also focusing on some case studies.

The lessons are divided into didactic-conceptual units, organized according to a path that allows the gradual learning of the examined topics and case studies, so that students can progressively achieve the goal of navigating through the matter.

Assessment methods

The exam may be taken in the following two modalities:

A) entirely oral exam: it will focus on the topics indicated in the course programme and the grade will be expressed in thirtieths (from 0 to 30, plus possible honours). In particular, the student’s ability to understand and identify the technicalities, peculiarities and specificities of the discipline being examined will be tested;

B) exam divided into two tests: a practical test and an oral test.

1) Practical test: this will consist of carrying out a Moot Competition in the classroom, during the final phase of the course, on a case study illustrated by the Professor, concerning one of the topics examined during the course.

Students will be divided into working groups made up of a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 participants. Whatever the number of members in a group, each student will have a time slot of 5 minutes to present her/his arguments (which will be coordinated with those of the other members of her/his group) and will be assessed individually for her/his oral presentation. The assessment will be expressed in tenths (from 0 to 10) and a minimum grade of 6 out of 10 will be required to pass the test. In particular, the mastery of the topics, the ability of critical analysis and the use of appropriate technical vocabulary will be tested.

2) Oral test: this will focus on the topics indicated in the course programme, with the exclusion of chapters II and VIII of the manual, and the grade will be expressed in twentieths (from 0 to 20, plus possible honours) and in order to pass the test it will be necessary to have obtained at least a minimum grade of 12 out of 20. In particular, the student's ability to understand and identify the technicalities, peculiarities and specificities of the discipline being examined will be tested.

The final grade will be awarded on the basis of the algebraic sum of the grades obtained in the practical test and the oral test.

PLEASE NOTE:

• the choice to take the exam in the B) modality, i.e. divided into two tests, must be communicated by the student via her/his Unibo institutional email address to the Professor no later than 30 November. In the absence of such communication, the student must take the exam in the A) modality, i.e. entirely oral;
• since the presence of groups is structurally necessary, the practical test in the B) modality may only be taken during the final phase of the course and not in the subsequent sessions;
• to access the oral test, it will be necessary to have taken and passed the practical test;
• if, having passed the practical test, the student fails the oral test or withdraws from the latter, the grade for the practical test will remain valid until the September session of the following calendar year, after which it will be annulled.

Teaching tools

Additional study materials, such as PowerPoint presentations, useful for the preparation of the exam may be made available in due time within the course teaching materials on https://virtuale.unibo.it/.

Office hours

See the website of Massimiliano Musi