JJUA55274U Regulating Internet Giants - Google, Amazon and Facebook
How is the Internet different (or not) from prior telecommunication technologies?
What are similarities and differences in the business models of major Internet corporations?
Which ‘law’ applies to them?
What is the role of governments and major internet corporations in Internet infrastructure governance? To what extent are their interests aligned? Who holds power?
Global digital corporations (e.g. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter) have played leading roles in shaping the transnational digital order, enabled by light regulation and robust liability protection in the US. Their platforms make rules, and their lobbying has influenced both national regulators and international treaty negotiators especially in the ‘electronic commerce’ and ‘digital trade’ chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the new NAFTA between the US, Mexico, and Canada (USMCA). But these US companies are encountering increasing regulatory pushback, especially in the EU with its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and a different approach prevails in China, the home of several world-leading internet companies (e.g. Alibaba, Huawei, Tencent).
This course offers an overview of the Internet’s technological foundations, infrastructure, and governance, focusing on global Internet corporations’ role in each of these. We then canvas core legal concepts and ideas about cyber-law, cyber-conflicts, and the regulation of Internet corporations and their platforms in global contexts. As part of the course, we tackle the most recent scholarship and developments in the area, including current controversies, novel technologies, and regulatory challenges.
The course deals with a rapidly changing and very complex technological and economic environment. The objective for the course is to equip students with the basic knowledge, core concepts, and versatile tools necessary to think critically and creatively about the legal and extra-legal regulation of global internet corporations going forward.
- Become familiar with a set of questions that the internet giants raise (such as interference with elections, privacy interference, etc). The course will also address how Eu and national states can approach the issue.
- Be aware of the latest developments in Denmark and in other countries
- Identify the central issues and challenges facing governments and international institutions, such as problems of self-regulation, content regulation, security issues.
- Critically read and analyze both theoretical and empirical literature on the issue.
- Apply the knowledge built during the course to real life examples.
The materials will be provided online: they include research articles, books and judicial decisions, as well as relevant case notes or comments analysing these decisions. In addition, a film will be played to help students think about how internet came about.
- Case law analysis with oral presentations and written reaction papers or essays, where students reflect on readings
- Film reflecting on how internet was born
In addition, to encourage the reflection on the ideas presented in class, students will be asked to investigate the topic as it relates to their own jurisdiction refer to relevant academic and legal (Case-law) literature.
- Category
- Hours
- Preparation
- 178,25
- Seminar
- 28
- Total
- 206,25
- Students enrolled at Faculty of Law: Self Service at KUnet
- Students enrolled at other UCPH faculties or Danish universities, who holds a pre-approval from their Study Board: Credit student application form
- All other students or professionals: Single subject application form (tuition fee apply)
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentIndividual written assignment
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
- Exam period
submission date: October 21, 2020
- Re-exam
submission date: January 27, 2021
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- JJUA55274U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn
- Schedule
- Please see timetable for teaching hours
- Course is also available as continuing and professional education
- Study board
- Law
Contracting department
- Law
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Law
Course Coordinators
- Veronika Fikfak (15-59687572716c6e6431496c6e69646e436d7875316e7831676e)