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IS41190

Academic Year 2024/2025

Regulation and Emerging Technology (IS41190)

Subject:
Information Studies
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Information & Comms Studies
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Tijana Milosevic
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
Online
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module aims to provide students with a solid understanding of relevant regulation and policy developments with respect to digital media and emerging technology. The primary goal of the module is to introduce students to recent pieces of legislation that concern digital and emerging technology and online platforms specifically; but also to provide historical and social context for these regulatory developments. Furthermore, the module aims to enable students to have a solid grasp of the policy ecosystems in various countries (i.e. relevant regulatory bodies/agencies in Ireland, at the EU-level and internationally; the non-governmental sector).

The module will cover some of the landmark pieces of legislation that shaped Internet law, such as the Communications Decency Act, Section 230 in the United States; Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), US; Digital Millennium Copyright Act, US; as well as the more recent regulation such as The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, EU), Digital Services Act (EU), Audio Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill (OSMR, Ireland), UK Online Safety Bill and the Australian Online Safety Bill, Digital Markets Act, and Artificial Intelligence Act.

The module will cover concepts such as online intermediation and the role of self-regulation in digital platform development; as well as the transition towards co-regulation and traditional regulatory instruments and the social and historical contexts that enabled this trajectory in regulatory developments; as well as how platforms' business models evolved and were shaped by relevant regulation and privacy concerns.

This module will pay special attention to the topic of online safety and the role that concerns around child protection online played in the development of various pieces of legislation. The module will also discuss how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) applies in a digital environment and the implications this has for emerging technology and regulation. The role of Child Rights Impact Assessments in technology development; the concept of safety by design; and various technologies designed for parental controls and age-verification methods and their implications for freedom of expression and privacy.

There is no expectation of any knowledge of law or the operation of legal systems. The readings, course approach and materials take this into account.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

LO1: Identify values, ideas, social and historical contexts that shaped relevant laws and policies
LO2: Identify stakeholder environments and different actors that shape laws and policies
LO3: Understand regulatory processes relevant to digital and emerging media law and policy in Ireland, EU, and internationally
LO4: Show knowledge of and critically examine digital and emerging technology regulation (from the standpoint of implications for rights such as privacy and freedom of expression, social and economic implications, diversity, equality, children's rights)
LO5: Critically examine arguments and debates around digital and emerging technology regulation (e.g. "laws cannot keep up with technological development" or "regulation stifles technological innovation")
LO6: Critically examine the concepts of moral and media panics and their role in shaping public understanding of debates around technology (e.g. the argument that "social media is destroying young people's mental health")
LO7: Show knowledge of the online safety topics and legislation concerning protecting minors online


Indicative Module Content:

This module relies on readings from disciplines such as law, communication and media studies, sociology, internet studies, science technology and society (STS) and internet governance, among others. Lectures will cover the historical, social and economic contexts in which relevant pieces of regulation emerged and they will provide a critical examination of the above mentioned pieces of legislation.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

176
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Approaches to Teaching and Learning
● Lecture
● In-class discussion
● Critical reading and writing
● Desk research

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: To be described at the beginning of term Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded Yes

30

 Yes
Individual Project: To be described at the beginnning of term Week 14 Graded Yes

70

 Yes

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

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