Module Identifier
LAM7410
Module Title
REGULATORY ISSUES AND COMPUTER NETWORKS
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Professor Diane Rowland
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment One assignment of 5,000 words  Learning outcomes 1,2,3,4,5  100%
Supplementary Assessment One assignment of 5,000 words 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Explain the problems encountered in applying existing regulatory regimes to the internet and world wide web.
2. Assess the utility of a number of theoretical approaches to regulation as applied to the internet and world wide web.
3. Provide a critique of the `code is law¿ approach of Lessig and other scholars to regulation of the internet.
4. Critically evaluate the advantages of top-down and bottom-up regulatory methods by reference to the regimes currently in place for regulating privacy on the internet in the US and the EU.
5. Formulate alternative theoretical and practical approaches to internet governance.

Brief description

Rationale:
This module will enable students to study the legal problems and theoretical aspects of internet governance and the practical difficulties of rule-making in cyberspace at a postgraduate level through the distance learning format. The impact of the use of the Internet within the business environment extends far beyond its use as a vehicle for commercial transactions. In order to gain both full benefit from the many advantages that global computer networks such as the Internet can offer and also avoid the potential pitfalls, it is vital that business lawyers become aware of legal problems and proposed solutions.

Brief Description:
The module will focus on the conflict between two opposing views. The first view is that the regulation of 'Cyberspace', an apparently 'borderless world' calls for a complete re-evaluation of the mechanisms of rule-making and that its decentralised nature renders existing institutional structures for such rule-making redundant. The second view is that existing legal rules are still capable of providing a suitable regulatory framework for Cyberspace. In particular, the module will focus on a number of theories of Internet regulation, the use of conventional legal and regulatory methods and a practical examination of the apparent conflict between the current regulatory regimes in the US and EU for the protection of privacy on the Internet.

Content

1. The relevance of existing regulatory regimes to conduct in cyberspace
2. The nature of the medium and its impact on behaviour and appropriate regulatory frameworks
3. Rule-making in a borderless world; the theories of Johnson and Post, Lessig and other scholars.
4. 'Code is law' and other aspects of self-regulation
5. A practical case study on top down and bottom up regulation - a comparison of the existing regimes for privacy protection on the internet and world wide web in the US and the EU.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number N/A
Communication Written communication is developed by the presentation of information and argument in written answers and in a more informal way by the use of Blackboard to encourage communication among students and between students and staff. Oral communication skills are developed at the residential study schools.
Improving own Learning and Performance Distance learning, by its very nature, requires strong individual learning and performance structures and this module further develops key skills in this area.
Information Technology The module is delivered almost entirely by distance learning which relies heavily on the use of electronic information resources and on-line learning and teaching.
Personal Development and Career planning Independent learning enhances time management skills. Studying the module will also develop an enhanced capacity for critical thought and the ability to work independently.
Problem solving By the examination and discussion of actual and hypothetical case studies.
Research skills Students will be encouraged to read and study beyond the set module texts and to locate further materials and research findings on the subject.
Subject Specific Skills This module provides students with the opportunity to identify, analyse, evaluate and practise a series of skills with respect to regulatory issues within the specific context of computer networks and the internet.
Team work Team working skills will be encouraged and developed in group activities and discussions at the residential study schools.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7