ICT Law [IBAGM333]

Learning outcomes

Subject-specific skills

- theoretical knowledge of the fundamentals of IT law (in particular rules on the protection of privacy, intellectual property rights, IT contracts, e-commerce, etc.);

- application of this theoretical knowledge to practical situations;

- awareness of the legal issues involved in the development of communication technologies and digital services;

- analyzing technological developments with a critical and constructive eye.

Soft skills

- creating links between legal and non-legal reasoning;

- giving a personal opinion and arguing in order to defend one's point of view;

- working and thinking in groups; 

- developing a sense of reflection through analysis of the legal and societal issues raised by the development of technologies.

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 the law and the Belgian legal system, the course is structured around two major components: (i) the practical aspects of digital law, i.e. the principles of contract law, intellectual property law, privacy and data protection law, e-commerce law and their application in the digital domain; (ii) a reflection on the legal issues of digital technology and innovation. This part of the course will focus on a range of topical issues. For example, discussions may focus on the following subjects: fake news on social networks; e-Health and the Covid-19 pandemic; the right to digital oblivion; green IT, the uberisation of society.