| CODE | MCT5018 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Advanced Privacy and Data Protection Law | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Media, Communications & Technology Law | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit is concerned with legal rules on data protection 鈥� i.e. a set of norms which specifically govern the processing of data relating to persons (personal data) in order to protect, at least partly, the privacy and related interests of those persons. Outside Europe, such norms are often described in terms of protecting 鈥減rivacy鈥�, 鈥渋nformational privacy鈥�, or increasingly, 鈥渄ata privacy鈥�. The main focus of the study-unit is on European and international rules, primarily the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) Article 8, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (ECFR) Article 7 and 8, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), the EU Law Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680), and the EU ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC), along with case law pursuant to these instruments. Special attention is also given to the interplay between data protection law and intellectual property rights, particularly in the context of efforts to curb digital 鈥減iracy鈥�, regulate digital platforms and increase the transparency of automated decision-making. The themes taken up in the study-unit may be summed up with the following key-words: privacy, data protection, surveillance, cyberspace, intellectual property, algorithmic regulation, freedom of expression. Study-Unit Aims: The primary aim of the study-unit is to facilitate a good understanding of laws and policies on privacy and data protection, particularly in the context of distributed computer networks such as the Internet. More specifically, the course seeks to shed light on the rationale and regulatory logic of such laws and policies, along with the various challenges that they face as a result of technological developments. The study-unit seeks to also shed light on legal-regulatory issues related to freedom of expression, the increasing use of automated decision-making processes, the increasingly cross-border character of organisational transactions, and the interaction of legal norms with the regulatory effects of IT and other non-legal instruments, such as sectoral codes of practice. The aim is for study-unit participants to gain a deep understanding of the basic rules and principles for protecting privacy and personal data, particularly as laid down in EU and other international instruments. Participants will also gain insight into the myriad regulatory challenges in the field. Further, they will learn about the potential for technological development to both threaten and enhance privacy and data protection. A further aim of the study-unit is not just to impart knowledge of the relevant legal rules as they currently stand, but also to encourage critical appraisal of them. This involves analysing and challenging the assumptions upon which the rules are based, and discussing alternative regulatory possibilities. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Examine the historical and contemporary context, rationale, and regulatory logic for legal protection of data privacy. - Critically analyse the legal framework for data privacy in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). - Explore the interaction of data protection law with other fields of law, such as human rights, intellectual property, consumer protection and competition law. - Critically analyse the legal regime for cross-border data transfers, and the consequences thereof, with a focus on EU 鈥榓dequacy鈥� decisions and the case-law of the CJEU particularly Schrems I and Schrems II. - Examine the ways in which distributed computer networks such as the Internet, along with other forms of 福利在线免费 and Communication Technology (ICT) such as machine learning and blockchain, challenge the interpretation, application and enforcement of data protection law. - Discuss the challenges in arriving at global consensus on legal policies for data protection, in view of alternative legal cultures and regulatory strategies. - Apply the relevant EU rules for determining applicable law and extraterritorial jurisdiction in the field. - Identify relevant soft law (guidelines and codes of practice). 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Interpret and apply legal rules on protection of personal data, including in contested contexts (for example processing of genetic data, or processing on a blockchain). - Critically assess the relevance and efficacy of law on protection of personal data in present and emerging digital environments. - Critically assess the rationale, regulatory strategy, and limits of law on the protection of personal data. - Critically analyse the assumptions upon which the law is based, and consider and propose alternative regulatory possibilities. - Critically assess the place of data protection law in the broader legal landscape, nationally and internationally, where different values and interests may be reflected. - Interpret and critically assess the (controversial) EU rules on applicable law and extra-territorial jurisdiction related to the protection of personal data. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Bygrave, Lee A. Data Privacy Law: An International Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Print. ISBN-13: 9780199675555 - Koops, 鈥淭he trouble with European data protection law鈥�, International Data Privacy Law, 2014, vol. 4, pp. 250-261 Supplementary Readings: - Kuner C, Lee A. Bygrave, Christopher Docksey, and Laura Drechsler (Des) The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): A Commentary (OUP 2020) - Lynskey, Orla. The Foundations of EU Data Protection Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Print. - Bygrave, Lee A 鈥淢inding the Machine v2.0: The EU General Data Protection Regulation and Automated Decision Making鈥� in Yeung & Lodge (eds.), Algorithmic Regulation (2019), pp. 246鈥�260 - Svantesson, Dan Jerker B 鈥楨xtraterritoriality and targeting in EU data privacy law: the weak spot undermining the regulation鈥�, International Data Privacy Law, 2015, vol. 5(4), pp. 226-234 - Bygrave, Lee A 鈥淢achine Learning, Cognitive Sovereignty and Data Protection Rights with Respect to Automated Decisions鈥� in M. Ienca and others (eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Life Science, 福利在线免费 Technology and Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2021), forthcoming(available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3721118) - Bygrave, Lee A The 鈥楽trasbourg Effect鈥� on data protection in light of the 鈥楤russels Effect鈥�: Logic, mechanics and prospects, Computer Law & Security ReviewVolume 40, April 2021, 105460 (available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026736492030065) - Bennett, Colin J, and Charles D. Raab. The Governance of Privacy: Policy Instruments in Global Perspective. Ashgate, 2003. - Colin J. Bennett, Charles D. Raab 鈥淩evisiting the governance of privacy: Contemporary policy instruments in global perspective鈥�, Regulation & Governance, 2020, Volume14, Issue3, Pages 447-464. - Graham, Greenleaf. Asian Data Privacy Laws: Trade & Human Rights Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. - Makulilo (ed.), African Data Privacy Laws. Springer, 2016; - Zuboff, Shoshana. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Profile Books, 2019. - Giulia Schneider, 鈥淓uropean Intellectual Property and Data Protection in the Digital-Algorithmic Economy: A Role Reversal?鈥�, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2018, vol. 13(3), pp. 229-237 (available at https://academic.oup.com/jiplp/article/13/3/229/4774999) Further reading materials The area of 福利在线免费 Technology and Data Privacy Law is a fast moving one. As such, it can be difficult to find textbooks which are up-to-date with current developments, as textbooks can often be 12 months behind current developments even at the time of their publication. Journal articles are often the best source of more recent information, and have the added advantage of often being available electronically via the WWW. Thus, further reading materials will necessarily need to be suggested as the study-unit proceeds. I tend to suggest that students use textbooks as a source of basic 鈥榖lackletter鈥� information and then flesh that basic knowledge out with analysis drawn from journals. Primary materials, such as legislation and caselaw, as well as other useful secondary material are also often published on-line and, as a result, learning how to search Internet resources effectively is an increasingly important skill. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Ioannis Revolidis Mireille-Martine Sant (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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