|
Aims and Objectives
This course examines and discusses
topical issues in relation to the law of the internet and other digital
information devices (iPhones etc.). It opens by examining the issues relating to
network regulation or control by addressing questions such as "can the internet
be regulated?" and "who is competent to police online content and activity?" We
will conclude our examination of structural controls by examining the highly
topical and politically charged issue of enshrined network neutrality: by asking
the question: should Internet Service Providers be allowed to vary service
conditions by types of content?
Students taking the course will be expected to develop
knowledge and understanding of the different values brought to bear in the
regulation of new media technologies and communities and the factors leading
towards choices of particular values, regulatory institutions and process. Such
knowledge and understanding will operate both at the theoretical level and the
level of particular examples of regulatory regimes. Students will be expected to
apply organisational and analytical skills to the investigation of evidence and
problems and show effective communication through written work and seminar
discussion. Students will be expected to research an assessed essay using both
paper-based and IT-based research tools and submit it in word-processed form.
Teaching Methodology
This class will be taught by one
two-hour seminar per week which meets on Thursday afternoons between 4pm and 6pm
in Room NAB.107.
Students are expected to carry out the reading
contained on the reading list and be in a position to discuss the issues raised
in the reading at the following meeting of the class.
The teaching programme uses the Socratic method to approach issues of
contemporary significance. The Socratic Method is used for two reasons (1) As a
subject of contemporary value and international significance the discourse this
opens among a truly international student body is more illuminating and
instructive than to use a method of direct instruction; and (2) the belief that
interrogating the facts will reveal the truth. There are no prerequisites for
this course.
NOTE: THERE ARE NO LECTURES FOR THIS CLASS.
Assessment
Assessment of the course is by means of a two hour
examination and an essay of not more than 2,500 words to be submitted no
later than 5pm Friday 29th January 2010. Student may choose their own topics
for the assessed essay but should have the title approved by the Course
Convenor by Monday 30th November 2009.
All Essays MUST be submitted with a signed
plagiarism statement and
cover
sheet.
These are designed to test students ability to develop reasoned analyses across
several subjects and to produce a cogent, coherent and structured argument in a
controlled environment. In the examination students will be expected to answer
two out of six questions.
Course Texts
NOTE: All texts recommended for this course may
be purchased online from Amazon by clicking on the relevant hyperlink.
Recommended
online texts
Lessig: Code V.2 |
Lessig: Free Culture |
Lessig: The Future of Ideas |
Benkler: The Wealth of Networks |
Zittrain: The Future of the Internet |
The Recommended
Texts for purchase
for this class is:
Highly Recommended
LL.421 - Class Timetable
|
Michaelmas Term 2009 |
Subject |
Date |
|
Why Study Cyberlaw? |
- What is the value of studying Cyberlaw?
- Does it exist as a distinct subject?
|
Thurs 8 Oct. |
|
Thinking About Regulation and Control |
- How does regulation control end-users
- Types of Regulation
- Consequences and Unintended Consequences
|
Thurs 15 Oct. |
|
Regulating Cyberspace (1) |
- Digitisation and Law.
- The worlds of Atoms and Bits
- The move from Atoms to Bits
- Digital Convergence
|
Thurs 22 Oct. |
|
Regulating Cyberspace (2) |
- The development of Cyber-regulatory theory.
- Cyber-regulatory schools of thought.
- Cyber-Paternalism
|
Thurs 29 Oct. |
|
Regulating Cyberspace (3) |
- An examination of Lawrence Lessig’s theories of
Cyber-regulation.
- The Cyberpaternalist School
- Network Communitarianism
|
Thurs 5 Nov. |
|
Lawmakers in Cyberspace |
- States-Based Regulators
- Non-State Regulators
- An examination of the Internet Society, IETF and IAB.
- ICANN and the Domain Name Space
|
Thurs 12 Nov |
|
Network Neutrality |
- Net Neutrality
- Device Neutrality, Generativity and Freedom
- Legislating for Net Neutrality
|
Thurs 19 Nov |
|
Communities in Cyberspace |
- Norms as Controls.
- How communities develop in Cyberspace and how they control.
- An examination of eBay and Facebook
|
Thurs 26 Nov |
|
Property and Ownership (1) |
- Digital Property
- Digital Property
- Digital Trespass
|
Thurs 3 Dec. |
|
Property and Ownership (2) |
- Virtual Property
- Virtual Environments
- Second Life and World or Warcraft
- The Game versus the Law
|
Thurs 10 Dec. |
The Course Handbook which contains full details of all of the above may be accessed
HERE
|
