ICT Law [IBAGM333]

Learning outcomes

This course aims to familiarise students with the legal and ethical context of new information and communication technologies. At the end of this course, students will be able to

• Analyse technological resources with a critical and constructive eye;
• Apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations in the digital context;
• Develop a sense of empirical analysis by studying the different models proposed by the digital economy and the legal issues they raise;
• Work and reflect in groups;
• Become familiar with the language and reasoning of experts (lawyers, computer scientists, etc.);
• Make connections between legal and non-legal thinking;
• Developing personal reflections and arguing to defend one's point of view.

Objectives

The objective of the course is to make students aware of some fundamental issues of ICT, so that they acquire the necessary reflexes to implement the law in a technological environment. In this context, the course focuses on the following two main themes:

• Knowledge of mechanisms and rules of law specific to the digital environment;
• Reflection on the application of legal rules to innovative contexts.

Content

After a brief general introduction to Law and to the Belgian legal system, the core legal issues pertaining to ICT Law will be presented, namely:

• Personal data protection and the undertaking (personal data protection, cyber surveillance of employees);
• Intellectual property in a digital age (panorama of the various rights, copyright, specific protection regimes for software and databases, trademarks, protection of domain names);
• E-commerce (online advertising, online contracts, contracts with Cloud services providers, proof in an online context, liability in the digital world);
• Data and the Law (public data and private data sharing,use of algorithmes by judges).