LL210     
Information Technology and the Law

This information is for the 2014/15 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr. Orla Lynskey NAB 6.23 

Availability

This course is available on the BA in Anthropology and Law, BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics, BSc in Statistics with Finance and LLB in Laws. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is available to General Course students.

Pre-requisites

This course does not require an in-depth understanding of contemporary computer technology – we are primarily interested in the implications of the use of information technology, and the intended and unintended consequences of regulating that use. 

Course content

This survey course, which is divided into six modules, introduces students to a selection of fundamental legal issues in the field of Information Technology (IT) Law. It begins by examining ongoing debates regarding the correct theoretical framework applicable to internet regulation and governance. It then examines substantive legal topics, such as data protection, cybercrime, intellectual property and digital rights management and online freedom of expression, against this theorectical backdrop. In particular, students are encouraged to consider both how the law has responded to the challenges of information technologies, and the extent to which legal issues have shaped the development of information society policy.

 

The focus will be initially on English law, although the increasingly global nature of IT law means that there are already strong EU and US legal influences upon the English system, so comparative aspects will be introduced in places, and readings will include materials drawn from, amongst others, US law journals.

 

At the end of the course, students should be able to critically assess on-going developments in law relating to information technologies and to evaluate the internal coherence of these developments and their doctrinal and political implications.

 

Indicative Content:

Michaelmas 2014

• Introduction to Internet Regulation and Governance  

• Intellectual Property Rights in the Online Environment 

• Freedom of Expression Online

 

Lent 2015

• Cybercrime

• E-Commerce

• Data Protection and Online Surveillance

For a more detailed outline, please visit the course Moodle page.

Teaching

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the MT. 20 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT. 4 hours of lectures and 1 hour of classes in the ST.

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 2 essays in the MT and LT.

Indicative reading

**Murray: Information Technology Law: Law and Society 2nd ed, 2013, OUP.

Reed (ed): Computer Law 7th ed., 2011, OUP.

Klang & Murray (eds) Human Rights in the Digital Age, 2006, Cavendish.

Lessig: Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace ver.2.0, 2006, Basic Books. Edwards & Waelde (eds): Law and the Internet 3rd ed, 2009, Hart. 

** Recommended for purchase.

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.

Key facts

Department: Law

Total students 2013/14: 60

Average class size 2013/14: 15

Capped 2013/14: Yes (60)

Lecture capture used 2013/14: Yes (MT & LT)

Value: One Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

PDAM skills

  • Communication
  • Specialist skills