Event

This class aims to provide an overview on the legal instruments forming the EU digital regulatory framework. Following its Digital Single Market Strategy, the EU has set up a new strategic programme for a "Digital Decade". Existing regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or the E-Commerce Directive, are being complemented by a variety of new instruments that aim to set binding rules on online markets, to regulate data flows in various ways, but also to pioneer a legal framework on AI. Prominent instruments include the new AI Act (proposal), the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Data Act, Data Governance Act, or Open Data Directive.

The class will provide an overview on the existing framework: Which regulations and directives are relevant? How do they apply and interact which each other in a broader context?

Another objective is to provide students with the ability to read these legal instruments: How to access regulatory instruments that often have more than 100 pages (without having to read every single sentence)? How to gain a comprehensive, high-level understanding of the instrument? How to identify parts relevant to a particular legal problem?

The class will start with an introduction into EU law and regulatory instruments in general. Concrete guidance on reading, analysing and working with legal instruments in English will be given. Based on these instructions, students will be assigned legal instruments to present in the final unit along with a two-pages report.

Grades will be assigned based on the quality of these presentations and the report, as well as participation in the discussion (presentation: 40 %, two-pages report: 40 %, discussion: 20 %).