Undergraduate Course: Law, Information and Technology (LAWS10152)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course covers contemporary legal and societal issues associated with data, software, hardware, artificial intelligence, online platforms, the digital economy, and the Internet. The course examines topics of current interest and legal change around the shifting relationships between regulation, law, policy, institutions, society, and new technologies.
The course will draw on a variety of present-day debates and issues from the field for in depth analysis through in class discussion and activities.
These broadly revolve around regulation of information, data, content, platforms, and specific technologies. Exemplary topics include the relationship between technologies and: data protection, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cybercrime, intermediary liability, online safety, intellectual property, surveillance and human rights, digital labour, and new business models e.g. gig economy.
Different forms of regulation are explored, such as the role played by the design of systems, alongside discussion of national, regional, international and transnational legal frameworks. The role of disciplinary perspectives beyond law that enrich the understanding of the societal and legal implications of new technologies are also considered.
|
| Course description |
Introduction to IT Law
Regulation
IP protection for software
Copyright in cyberspace 1
Copyright in cyberspace 2: P2P, downloading and enforcement
Content liability
Trademarks, the internet and domain names
Online privacy
Privacy and social networks
Cloud computing
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Spaces on this course are allocated as part of the Law Honours Course Allocation process. Places are generally only available to students who must take Law courses. To request a space on this course, please email Law.courseselection@ed.ac.uk |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This course is only open to visiting students coming through a direct exchange with the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific Exchange). Exchange students outside of Law and independent study abroad students are not eligible to enrol in this course, with no exceptions.
**Please note that Honours Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.**
Priority will be given to students studying on exchange within the Law department, and it is highly unlikely that there will be additional spaces for general exchange students & independent study abroad students to enrol; we will look into this on a case-by-case basis in September/January. Visiting students are advised to bear in mind that enrolment in specific courses can never be guaranteed, and you may need to be flexible in finding alternatives in case your preferred courses have no available space.
These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% 4,000-word summative essay in addition to a formative assessment. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- 1.Knowledge and Sources of Law: a) A deeper knowledge of different approaches to control and regulation, with specific reference to different theories and practical legal frameworks aiming to regulation of new technologies b) An advanced understanding of domain specific areas of UK, EU and international legislation in aspects of: - Regulation of Information and Data e.g. Online Privacy and Cybersecurity - Regulation of Online Content e.g. Intellectual Property - Regulation of Large Technology Platforms e.g. Online Liability and Online Safety - Regulation of Specific Technologies e.g. Artificial Intelligence c) engagement with complementary areas that enrich technology governance, such as AI ethics, computing, or design. d) An advanced understanding of technology law as an area of law, and how it adapts to technological change, and the challenges of effective regulation.
- 2. Subject-specific Skills: a) Understanding of law in a transnational context, including the interaction between different legal orders and associated questions of enforcement. b) Analysis of cases and statutes, including in areas where the law is in a state of change, where existing principles and the impact (or non-impact) of technological innovation on those principles needs critical assessment. c) Evaluating the appropriateness and shortcomings of different approaches to regulating new technologies. d) Obtaining a stronger understanding of the multiple ways new technologies pose difficult issues in society (culturally, ethically, politically, interpersonally, economically etc). e) Developing new skills examining relevant technical aspects of new technologies to consider what regulatory issues they might pose.
- 3. General Transferable Intellectual Skills: a) Developing original and creative thinking skills in response to difficult regulatory challenges in a fast-paced area where the law and technologies both change often. b) Critical thinking regarding current debates and the different claims made by various stakeholders e.g. industry, governments and civil society organisations. c) Obtain greater understanding of the limits of law and the complexity of strategies necessary for regulating new technologies. d) Developing independent research skills necessary to critically assess strategies for regulation and develop creative responses to the issues. e) Evaluation of digital resources, including those from peer reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources, and engaging with both legal and technology focused sources from different disciplines. f) Developing communications skills to engage with critical debates around law, policy, and technology which can support later career development in this area.
- 4. Key Personal Skills: a. Clear written and oral communication b. Problem-solving c. Engaged, respectful discussion in a group environment d. Open to different disciplinary perspectives that can enrich and complement our understanding of how to tackle difficult regulatory challenges (e.g. design, computing, science and technology studies etc).
|
Reading List
| Lilian Edwards, Catalina Goanta and Lachlan Urquhart, Law, Policy and the Internet (Hart Bloomsbury: 2026) https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/law-policy-and-the-internet-9781509989898/ |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Law Info Tech |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lachlan Urquhart
Tel:
Email: lachlan.urquhart@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Robyn Blyth
Tel: (01316) 514550
Email: rblyth@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage