Tech Law Charts

• Technology law


  Currently not one body of law but a smart mix of instruments – new rules, extensive interpretation of old rules, general principles, court cases, code, etc.
• Traditional law


  Public law, Criminal law, Private law, International law, etc.
• How does the environment (i.e. technology developments) over which the law seeks to be effective affect the rule of law?

  Turning technology law into 'The law of the Horse' - Easterbrook (1996)
• Easterbrook (1996) quote: "[...] the best way to learn the law applicable to specialized endeavours is to study general rules. Lots of cases deal with sales of horses; others deal with people kicked by horses; still more deal with the licensing and racing of horses, or with the care veterinarians give to horses, or with prices at horse shows. Any effort to collect these strands into a course on 'The law of the Horse' is doomed to be shallow and to miss unifying principles."
• Industrial Economy


  The traditional measure of an economic superpower was their output. Economies were measured by their ability to support communities.
• Informational Economy


  The power is on the bits. The value is not just in the data. It is on what you can enable people do on basis of the data that you have.
• Informational Economy


  • It represents a shift from ownership or control of (atomic) things to ownership of or control over (bits) information
  • It represents a new and revolutionary model to market and deliver products or services
  • It represents a move from rivalrousness to non rivalrousness
• Rivalrous goods


  Goods whose consumption by one consumer prevents simultaneous consumption by other consumers. Can be durable (umbrella) or non-durable (the ticket to a concert).
• Non rivalrous goods


  By taking them from the original owner you do not deprive them of their possession and enjoyment of the good, nor do you deny to anyone else the opportunity to consume simultaneously the same good. Eg. ideas, radio and TV broadcasts, visual lights, digital media, sound, etc. - all 'informational goods'
• Legal disruptions - Eg. In UK law: 'A person is guilty of theft if they dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it.' What about copying a MP3 file without the permission of the owner? It does not fall under the traditional legal provision.
• Net neutrality


  Data packets on the internet should be moved impartially, without regard to content, destination or source. Internet service providers (ISPs) treat all online traffic equally and openly, without discrimination, blocking, throttling or prioritisation
• EU Regulation 2015/2120 on net neutrality


  • Art 3 - No blocking (of lawful content, applications, services or non-harmful devices)
  • Art 3 - No throttling (limits on the speed)
  • Art 3 - No discrimination of online content, applications and services
  • Rec 2 - The measures provided for in this regulation respect the principle of technological neutrality, that is to say they neither impose nor discriminate in favour of the use of a particular type of technology
• EU Regulation 2015/2120 on net neutrality

  • Art 3&4 Transparency (and proportionality) of measures– providers must disclose information regarding their network management practices, performance and the commercial terms of service
  • Art 6 Penalties - Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of Articles 3, 4 and 5. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
• Joined Cases C-807/18 and C-39/19 Telenor Magyarország - Telenor, established in Hungary, offered its customers two "preferential access" packages under which "data traffic generated by certain specific applications and services" did not count toward the data consumption allowances purchased by customers. Moreover, the customers were able to continue to use those specific applications and services even after the allowance maximums had been reached.
• Joined Cases C-807/18 and C-39/19 Telenor Magyarország - Article 3 of the Net Neutrality Regulation must be interpreted as meaning that packages made available by a provider of internet access services through agreements concluded with end users, and under which end users may purchase a tariff entitling them to use a specific volume of data without restriction, and services covered by 'a zero tariff' and once that data volume has been used up, those end users may continue to use those specific applications and services without restriction, while measures blocking or slowing down traffic are applied to the other applications and services available, are incompatible with Article 3(2), read in conjunction with Article 3(1) of the Net Neutrality Regulation, where those packages, agreements, and measures blocking or slowing down traffic limit the exercise of end users' rights, and are incompatible with Article 3(3) of Net Neutrality Regulation where those measures blocking or slowing down traffic are based on commercial considerations.
• Case C-854/19 Vodafone - Vodafone's, "zero tariff" packages (known as "Vodafone Pass") were only valid in the territory of Germany. The data volume consumed when abroad and using roaming services, was offset against the data volume included in the basic package.
• Case C-854/19 Vodafone - Article 3 of the Net Neutrality Regulation and Regulation 531/2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union must be interpreted as meaning that a limitation on use when roaming, on account of the activation of a 'zero tariff' option, is incompatible with the obligations arising from Article 3(3) Net Neutrality Regulation.
• Theories that describe the regulation of cyberspace

  • Cyberlibertarianism
  • Cyberpaternalism
  • Network Communitarianism
  • Intermediary & Platform regulation
  • Behavioural regulation
  • Algorithmic regulation
• Cyberlibertarianism


  Cyberspace is a separate sovereign space where real-world laws and real-world governments are of little or no effect
• When a citizen enters cyberspace

  He crosses a virtual border to a new sovereign state in which the laws of the old state do not apply
• Cyberspace lacks the necessary homogeneity to achieve the necessary levels of internal democratic discourse needed for the creation of cyberspace law and as a result cannot be effectively regulated from within
• Cyberspace is regulated from within
• If certain content is prohibited in one country but not in the other


  Individuals would access online the content from the country it is allowed without any sanctions
• Cyberpaternalism


  What do we need to regulate for controlling the cyberspace? The contractual agreements between various internet service providers, The internet architecture which is man-made and within our control, Technical standards could function like geographical borders as they establish default boundary rules that impose order in network environments
• Lex Informatica


  The attributes of public oversight associated with regulatory regimes could be maintained by shifting the focus of government away from direct regulation of cyberspace towards influencing changes in its architecture
• Modalities that control the activities of individuals on cyberspace

  • Law
  • Norms
  • Market
  • Architecture
• Lessig - Code is Law, There are four modalities that control the activities of individuals on cyberspace and each of these modalities functions by acting as a constraint on the choices of actions that individuals have
• Network Communitarianism


  The relationship between the digital environment and the real world as a fluid affair, The 4 Lessig modalities are the starting point, The individual is not isolated but part of a wider community, Three of the modalities are a proxy for community based control
• Laws are passed by lawmakers elected by the community, Markets are a reflection of value, demand, supply and scarcity reflected by the community in monetary terms, Norms are a codification of community values
• The power to regulate cyberspace does not rest with the regulator alone, Regulation is a process of discourse and dialogue between the individual and society
• The role of Internet Service Providers and Intermediaries is not taken into account
• Regulating Intermediaries and Platforms


  1. Commerce Directive 2000/31 creates a safe haven for Intermediaries and Platform regulators, Digital Services Act 2022/2065 recognizes safe harbor principles but introduces additional responsibilities, Extra responsibilities for Very Large Online Platforms (VOLPs)
• Behavioural regulation


  Individuals face information asymmetry and have limited time to make decisions, Individuals are not always rational in their decisions, People do not always make the best choices for themselves, There is need for regulatory intervention, Libertarian Paternalism - Individuals are nudged towards the right decision by laws or other regulatory techniques, Dark patterns are a form of nudging that is introduced by service providers and are prohibited
• Algorithmic regulation


  Fixed algorithms - fixed points of architecture that present a code-based control, Learning algorithms - continuous leaning via feedback loops, Draft AI Act - Unacceptable risk AI, High risk AI
• Nullum crimen sine lege

  A person should not face criminal punishment except for an act that was criminalized by law before it was performed
• Nulla poena sine lege

  A person can only be punished for doing something if a penalty for this behavior is already fixed in criminal law
• A new crime cannot be created by analogy
• A new crime cannot be created by extensive interpretation
• Criminal law does not apply retroactively
• Art 7 ECHR: '1.No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed. 2.This article shall not prejudice the trial and punishment of any person for any act or omission which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal according to the general principles of law recognised by civilised nations.'