30405 - FUNDAMENTALS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW

The course aims at providing a general overview on IT Law and how it has evolved in order to respond to the rapid technological and social change. The first module basically introduces the key concepts of the relevant legal systems. The second module explores the relationship between law and technology with a view to highlighting the most critical legal issues raised by technological developments. After a general framework on the challenges raised by the Internet, the course explores the protection of fundamental rights (freedom of speech and data protection) and the emergence of new rights and actors on the digital sphere

• Introduction to the relevant legal systems
• Constitutions in cyberspace
• Freedom of expression in the digital age: a comparative overview
• The legal regime of Internet service providers
• Privacy and data protection
• The legal impact of disruptive technologies: AI and Blockchain

• Deal with the main issues regarding Internet regulation and the protection of fundamental rights in the digital era.

• Assessing the increasing or decreasing of protection of the fundamental rights at stake depending on the judicial balancing between contrasting values.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Group assignments

• Guest speakers’ talks include lectures given by experts and professionals working in the IT industry.
• Case studies are discussed in order to introduce the subject of the relevant lectures or comment on the relevant legal and policy developments.
• Group assignments consist of presentations given by students on selected cases

I)              Attending Students:

-      Students’ Seminar (up to 5/31)

Each group member will receive a grade that equally takes into account the following criteria:

o   Individual classroom presentation – 2 points;

o   Contribution to the group (self-assessment completed by you): you are asked to assess your contribution and that of your fellow group members. A form to be filled out will be circulated on the last day of class – 2 points;

o   Overall presentation (materials used, coherence and clarity of presentation, logicality, completeness) – 1 point.

·       Mid-term Exam (up to 10/31)

The mid-term exam (50 mins) will cover only the topics analyzed in Module 1 and Module 2:

·       6 true/false questions (0.5 pt/each)

·       4 multiple-choice questions (0.5 pt/each)

·       1 essay question (5 pt)

·      Final exam (UP TO 16/31)

The final exam (60 minutes) will cover only the topics analyzed in Module 3 and Module 4.

·       6 true/false questions (0.5 pt/each)

·       6 multiple-choice questions (0.5 pt/each)

·       2 essay question (5 pt)

II)              Non-Attending Students:

·      Written exam (31/31)

The final written exam for non-attending students (60 minutes) will consist of:

·       6 true/false questions (0,5 pt/each)

·       6 multiple-choice questions (0.5 pt/each)

·       3 short questions (5 pt)

·       1 essay question (10 pt)

Attending Students:

Students will be examined on the following materials:

·      O. Pollicino, M. Bassini, G. De Gregorio, Internet Law and Protection of Fundamental Rights, Bocconi University Press, 2022 (selected chapters).

·      Slides and class notes.

Non-Attending Students:

Students will be examined on the following materials:

·      O. Pollicino, M. Bassini, G. De Gregorio, Internet Law and Protection of Fundamental Rights, Bocconi University Press, 2022.

·      G.F. Ferrari (ed.), Introduction to Italian Public Law, 3rd ed., Giuffrè, 2022: only Chapter 1 (“Characteristics of the State”); Chapter 3 (“Forms of State and Forms of Government”); Chapter 13 (“European Sources of Law and Their Relationship with Domestic Sources of Law”); and Chapter 14 (“Fundamental rights and freedoms”).

·      Slides

·      Selected readings (book chapters, blog entries) and cases made available on Blackboard