The development of the Internet and, more recently, Internet-based applications such as Facebook, Kaixin Wang, Weibo, Twitter, Whatsapp, Wechat, Spotify, Uber, Didi Taxi, Airbnb have generated new types of communications between individuals across the globe. The rise of the internet has disrupted many aspects of our society, including law. Courts, policymakers, and law enforcement officials around the globe are struggling to resolve the clashes, both by adapting existing legal remedies and by developing new ones. This course will examine the effect of the internet on varied areas of legal doctrine, including intellectual property, technology related ethics, privacy, jurisdiction, contract, and collective enforcement of consumer protection in the context of digital economy. It also considers specialized internet regulation such as intermediary liability regimes, platform regulation, new challenges for the policymaking regarding the sharing economy. This course will explore how China (and for a comparative law analysis also the United States, European Union, and other countries) are currently responding to the new challenges and are likely to respond in the coming years. The course will be of interest to students who are interested or specialized in IP and related areas, those who anticipate working in digital industries, or anyone who finds online technology fascinating.
Relevant SDGs: Goal 9
