Course Objective

At the end of this course students:
• Understand the basics of the Internet;
• Understand the challenges posed by the Internet to (national)
regulation;
• Understand and be able to apply the modalities of Lessig;
• Understand and be able to apply the models of Solum;
• Understand what Internet governance is, both in the broad and the
narrow sense and explain how they relate;
• Have a basic knowledge of the different schools in Internet Governance
(paternalism, libertarianism and communitarianism);
• Know European law and case law regarding privacy, freedom of
expression and copyright, and be able to apply to this Lessig’s
modalities and Solum’s models.

Course Content

The first half of this interdisciplinary course the focus is on the
(legal) challenges and problems introduced by the internet. The course
shall first identify the special characteristics of the internet in an
effort to demonstrate and discuss the associated challenges. Besides
identifying and subsequently discussing (legal) challenges, this course
will also treat different models of internet governance, both legal
and non-­‐legal, which can be used in developing a critical mind towards
possible solutions. Additionally, the course shall cover modalities of
regulation as introduced by Lawrence Lessig.

The second half of this course deals with specific legal subjects:
freedom of expression, privacy and copyright. In this half we delve
deeper in these various subjects, the specific challenges that arise in
the context of the internet and the developments in case law. The models
of internet governance and modalities of regulation will be used in this
stage to apply on these subjects and reflect on them.

Teaching Methods

Lectures and tutorials.

Method of Assessment

The course is assessed by the following components:
Exam: 100%

Literature

Amongst others:
L. Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (Basic Books, New York
2006)
L.B. Solum, Models of Internet Governance

Material will be made available on Canvas before the start of the
course.

Target Audience

Apart from regular students, the course is also available for:
Students from other universities/faculties
Exchange students
Contractor (students who pay for one course)