Digitalization is the megatrend of the early 21st century. Historically, much of digital innovation has originated in clusters around major US universities, most notably in Silicon Valley. Consequently, US internet law and policy had outsized influence and global impact. Yet, in current changing times, the emerging ‘digital law‘ will likely look more amorphous. This second...
China‘s Approach to Internet Sovereignty: Maintaining cybersovereignty?
China has long promoted “cybersovereingty“ as an alternative cornerstone to internet law and regulation and is currently engaged in a sweeping new regulatory agenda, ostensibly focused on cybersecurity, but affecting every bit of the digital economy. The presentation analyses China‘s approach to internet sovereignty in light of recent trends and possible tensions between regulatory approaches...
Governance of Data and Data Flows in Trade Agreements
The US has developed an evolutionary regulatory design for digital trade via its free trade agreements, with the (later abandoned) Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement as the most advanced model. This approach contrasts with the digital trade strategies of the EU and China which remain outside the remit of the TPP. What are the prospects for...
Internet Courts: Mapping a new development of Online Dispute Resolution mechanisms in China
This paper examines the online dispute resolution (ODR) mechanisms in China, with a particular focus on a new development: Internet courts. The paper questions the trend towards greater state intervention on ODR mechanisms, especially in the matter of regulation. China has applied a co-regulation approach toward the governance of solving online disputes, instead of allowing...
Re-constituting Global Cyber-Law
At least since the early 1990s there has been a spirited ‘cyberlaw‘ debate, which led to important insights about governance, regulation, and law in the digital era. But existing cyberlaw scholarship neglects, somewhat curiously, the Internet‘s inherently global aspiration and the corresponding need to develop legal mechanisms to keep key institutions of global internet governance...