Course Information
Over the past two and a half decades, online platforms have come to dominate the digital economy. However, the unstoppable rise of Google, Facebook, Amazon, and others has been accompanied by increasing criticism: The big social media platforms have been held responsible for the massive proliferation of mis- and disinformation that is suspected to lead to growing societal discontent, democratic decay, and even to threaten lives during public health crises. The platforms’ insatiable hunger for their users’ personal data for the signifying instruments of the platform economy such as targeted advertising or social scoring, undermining user autonomy and imperiling fundamental societal values. The dominance of the biggest platforms has become so overwhelming as to stifle the free digital market, to the detriment to both competitors and the public.
In response to these perceived harms caused by online platforms, legislators in Europe have increasingly resorted to incisive and comprehensive legal instruments that complement, guide, frame, and control simultaneous approaches to self-regulation. After contextualizing the rise of online platforms from a critical-historical perspective that takes special account of the various ways to conceptualize the position of the intermediary in the digital economy and its liability and accountability, the course surveys the most pressing socio-political issues of the contemporary platform ecosystem: mis- and disinformation including computational propaganda by both public authorities and non-state actors; hate speech, extremism, and the facilitation of mass atrocities; and user manipulation through instruments such as micro-targeting, dark patterns, and various forms of corporate surveillance; market power, gatekeepers, and unfair competition. The remainder of the course is devoted to regulatory responses. First, we will take a close look at attempts by the companies themselves to handle the societal risks and harms emerging from the use of their platforms by means of content moderation, external oversight mechanisms, and other measures, with a critical focus on the increasing utilization of the language of international human rights law by these private actors. This is followed by interrogating the growing array of legal instruments on the level of the EU. A particular emphasis will be on the new Digital Services Act and its risk-mitigation mechanism for Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs). Finally, we will examine the EU’s approach to tackle the power of online platforms through law with its Digital Markets Act.
The following topics are likely to be covered (but subject to change):
The global and European evolution of intermediary liability
Instruments and architectures of user manipulation
Mis- and disinformation online
Hate speech, incitement to mass atrocities
Platforms as repositories of digital evidence
Content moderation and self-regulation models of platforms
Market power and gatekeeper functions in the platform economy
Regulatory responses in the EU, with a focus on the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act
Course objectives
This course requires students to develop skills in understanding policy and policy objectives as well as further advancing their own skills relating to critical analysis of case law, Directives, Regulations, as well as the importance of regulatory pluralistic approaches to solving some of the more complex problems facing digital platforms. The assignments and interactive class discussions aim at practicing in-depth engagement with current, cutting-edge scholarship and academic literature from different relevant and interconnected disciplines. The class is built around active student participation and characterized and taught using interdisciplinary, multi-regulatory, extra-legal, and doctrinal approaches.
Achievement levels
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
thoroughly comprehend and analyse the European approach to platform regulation while applying a comparative lens to the global legal landscape of platform governance. Students will have in-depth knowledge of the structures, aims, and doctrinal particularities of the relevant legal frameworks, with a particular focus on the DSA and the DMA.
critically engage with cutting-edge contemporary scholarship on platform governance and the regulation of speech online. They will be trained to respond to challenging academic work by developing their own arguments and analytical insights that contextualise the themes discussed in class.
prepare and moderate student-led class discussions that engage deeply with the legal, societal, and policy challenges posed by the contemporary platform economy in the EU and globally
Mode of instruction
Number of (2 hour) lectures:10
Names of lecturers: Dr. H.C. Lahmann and guest lecturers
Required preparation by students: Reading the obligatory study materials as provided on Brightspace and in the course syllabus
Interactive lectures with mandatory attendance, accompanied by student-led class discussions.
Course Requirement
Master Degree
Timetable
The timetable of this course will be available for students in MyTimetable
Brightspace
More information on this course is offered in Brightspace
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory as specified in Article 5.1 of the Course and Examination Regulations of the Master of Laws Advanced Studies Programmes
Examination Method
Written paper that responds to and engages with a piece of current cutting-edge scholarship that was part of the course materials (50%)
Written exam (50%)
Required reading list
See Brightspace
Contact information
Programme Coordinator
Ms Patricia Garcia Fernandez
Telephone number: 0031- 71 527 4228
E-mail: lawanddigitaltechnologies@law.leidenuniv.nl
Course Coordinator
Dr. H.C. Lahmann
h.c.lahmann@law.leidenuniv.nl
“Disclaimer:
Should there be any future extenuating circumstances which may impinge our teaching and assessment, these could necessitate modification of the course descriptions after 1 September. This will only happen in the event of strict necessity and the interests of the students will be taken into account. Should there be a need for any change during the course, this will be informed to all students on a timely basis. Modifications after 1 September 2024 may only be done with the approval and consent of the Faculty Board and Programme Director.