session 6. cyber-regulation.

This session is going to diverge from the classic ex cathedra lecture and offer a platform for some debate. The core question that will be discussed is that of whether cyberspace should and can be regulated? Is cyberspace something profoundly different that does not allow conventional modes of state regulation, or is it just another medium where state sovereignty is asserted? Answers to these and more questions will be given during the interactive session, which is structured as a 'moot court' and invites verbal fight.

The interactive session will be organized in the following way:

We will have two parties arguing against each other.

Each group will have 15 minutes to present its arguments. Each group will then have 5 minutes to criticize the arguments of the other party. 5 subsequent minutes will be given for a rebuttal. You can decide among yourselves who will be the speaker(s) of the group. One idea will be that each person presents one or two arguments so that the burden is equally distributed.

In order to provide the opportunity for the other party to prepare its counter-arguments, it would be necessary that you send me a short list of your main points (no more than than a single page; key word mode) at the latest on Tuesday. I will forward this to the other team.

The persons not participating in the session will form a jury and will in the end of the debate judge who the 'winning' party is. I would intervene in matters of procedure and when necessary to spur the discussion.

As announced at the outset of the course, this participation will be assessed and constitutes 30% of your final grade. Criteria for the assessment will be the use and structure of the arguments, their relevance to the particular question asked and to the defending position. Reference to topics we already discussed or original ideas will be additionally rewarded.

Here is the initial package to prepare. It combines pro and counter arguments, which will also help you anticipate the argumentation of the opposing party. We have already discussed some additional arguments during the final two sessions.
cyberlaw 1
cyberlaw 2
cyberlaw 3

These materials are abridged versions of the articles. The full versions of David G. Post can be found here and some of those of Jack L. Goldsmith here (these are however by no means compulsory reading).

You may use some of the reasoning and examples given in chapters of Who Controls the Internet?, which formed part of your reading materials last week.

Good luck for the preparations !

session 5. internet governance and jurisdiction in cyberspace.

Session 5 looks at the internet, its origin, salient technological features and its legal implications. We shall talk about whether and how the internet should and could be regulated. An essential focus of our analysis will be on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Reading materials
On the Nature and Origins of the Internet, excerpts from the US Supreme Court judgment, ACLU v. Reno, 929 F.Supp. 824 (1996)
Goldsmith and Wu, Who Controls the Internet?, chapter 1
Goldsmith and Wu, Who Controls the Internet?, chapter 3
Goldsmith and Wu, Who Controls the Internet?, chapter 4
Goldsmith and Wu, Who Controls the Internet?, chapter 5

Note: While the readings for this session may appear at first sight more than the usual amount, the chapters of Who Controls the Internet? are in fact popular reading, relative concise and easily digestible. They are also a good preparation for the interactive session on cyber-regulation that follows.

Here are some useful links related to ICANN and Internet governance:
http://www.icann.org/
http://www.intgovforum.org/
http://www.internetgovernance.org/

session 4. international telecommunications law.

Session 4 looks at the telecommunications rules at the international level. This entails an analysis of the law and policies of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which happens to be the oldest intergovernmental organization. The session includes also an enquiry into the rules related to satellite communications. We will also explore how the communications rules have changed over time and how new regulatory models, which move away from the traditional international co-operation, have emerged. 
We illustrate the new tensions on the governance plane by looking at the case of standard setting and standard wars. The session will conclude with an analysis of current net neutrality rules and initiatives in the US, EU and Switzerland.
  
Reading materials on OLAT: Ian Walden, ch. 16 International Telecommunications Law (without WTO)

Optional  
Palfrey and Gasser, Interop, chapter 1   
Benkler, The Wealth of Networks, chapter 11  
MacKinnon, United Nations and the Internet: It's Complicated, Foreign Policy, August 2012 
US Federal Communication Commission, Open Internet Press Release, 2015 and Restoring Internet Freedom Order, 2018

session 3. freedom of expression online.

In this session, we will take a look at the opportunities and challenges that the medium of the Internet poses on freedom of speech. We will discuss in particular different kinds of digital access barriers and then analyze newer phenomenon, such as profiling, echo chambers and fake news. Finally, more recent cases of clashes of rights will be looked at by analyzing the CJEU decision in the Google Spain case and the practice behind the right to be forgotten.

Readings are made available on OLAT.

Here is a link to a quiz by the NY Times on Facebook's influence on political campaigns: 
Here is a recent video by the Economist on freedom of speech online.