Law of the Digital Economy

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Guido Comparato
• Assessment: a 4000-word summative essay (95%) and online participation in group work and discussion (5%)

What are the legal implications and challenges raised by the development of post-industrialism and of the digital economy?

This module addresses the law and the regulation of economic transactions taking place in the digital world, analysing and critically assessing the laws which allow for the functioning of digital markets as well as the rules meant to protect the real-life individuals engaging in market transactions. The module will therefore consider both the impact of the law on the digital economy, and the impact of digital economy on the law.

Indicative module syllabus

• The law of the post-industrial society
• Regulation, 'code' and the market
• Electronic contracts, smart contracts and e-commerce
• Consumer protection in the digital market
• Competition in the digital market
• Digital finance, digital money
• International trade and the digital economy
• Marketing, individualisation and digital identities

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate advanced critical knowledge of the relation between law, technology and the economy
• precisely situate the emergence of a digital economy in a wider social and economic context in which legal regulation is a key element
• identify the main rules and legal doctrines applicable to various aspects of the digital economy
• systematically understand the transnational dimension of the law of digital economy
• autonomously apply practical legal knowledge to concrete scenarios in emergent situations
• demonstrate research skills for further investigations and studies of the digital economy and regulation.