Information Technology Law notes (4th edition)

The extent to which state surveillance of electronic communications is permissible has been the subject of much debate since Edward Snowden's revelations in the Summer of 2013. State surveillance raises critical questions about how the balance should be struck between the individual's right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence and the State's duty to investigate and thwart serious criminal threats. Here, we will examine the legal framework applicable t...

The internet is the greatest tool and forum for human creativity ever developed. It allows us to be creative in a way unlike any other tool and it allows for the sharing of the fruits of our creativity and fore collaborative creativity in a way we never imagined possible. Terms such as user-generates content, remix, fanfiction and many others have entered our conscience. However, every creative act may be seen by copyright holders to be a destructive act or an act of parasitical creation. How do...

The main theme of these notes will be the increasing ‘datafication’ of children online and special attention is given to children’s rights to privacy and data protection. We will then move on to the specific protection for children’s personal data as provided by data protection law. Containing lecture notes, academic discussion and class notes, these notes reflect on how to interpret the GDPR in a children’s rights-inspired manner and what this means in practice.

The digital environment gives consumers a wider choice of products and services, and lower prices, but it also creates a lot of concerns for them. Platforms are only becoming more powerful, which materially changes the balance of contracting power and influence in online transactions, to the detriment of the consumer. Furthermore, consumers are confronted with different forms of integrated advertising when they go online and nudged into certain decisions by certain design choices (so-called dark...

This week's lecture looks at a variety of issues surrounding crime and law enforcement in the Information Society including online harassment and bullying, terrorist activity promulgated by computer and internet, phishing and computer fraud and identity theft. We will ask how law enforcement bodies can police these types of activity. These notes examine and evaluate how the law responds to harmful content including harassment, bullying and extremist content as well as the risk of fraud and iden...

Some of the fastest-growing companies are now so-called “gig economy” employers. The world’s largest holiday letting company owns no hotels or properties while the world’s largest taxi firm owns few vehicles. Some believe the massive success of these companies is achieved at the cost of lack of protection for "employees" (so-called) and for customers. The call for companies such as AirBnB and Uber to be more closely regulated is now being answered by governments and other regulators. Wh...

Broadly, these notes will examine such challenges and identify how the law has sought to regulate automated decision-making. We examine the privacy and public policy implications of employing algorithmic processes to profile individuals and to make decisions of legal impact.

Notes and summary on Andrew Murray's book for the course Technology Law