Module LAW3173 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3173: Technology and Human Rights Law
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
Living in a digital era offers many advantages for individuals and businesses alike. However, as new technologies evolve, a number of specific legal issues may arise. For example, are employers allowed to monitor employees’ text messages and activities on social media? Are states allowed to establish digital surveillance programmes based on bulk collection of personal data of all individuals in the name of national security? Is it possible to design privacy-compliant artificial intelligence? What are the legal avenues to rectify possible mistakes in the digital identification of individuals? Could big data, including social media data, be used for the protection of vulnerable individuals including migrants and victims of human trafficking? All of these questions and many more relate to the field of human rights law.
This module aims to give you the opportunity to assess how human rights law can tackle the issues posed by new technologies. The module aims to give you the necessary legal, theoretical and contextual background to understand topics such as privacy, data protection, freedom of expression, and due process in the digital age. Building on the case law of human rights courts, and in particular the European Court of Human Rights, the module aims to give you the opportunity to apply this legal knowledge to contemporary challenges. These include, for example, human rights obligations of technological companies, responsible innovation when it comes to artificial intelligence and automation, cybersecurity and the risks for human rights protection, digital identity and the protection of human rights.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the protection of human rights law in the digital space, in particular of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights case law on the topics covered on the module. 2. Demonstrate critical awareness of a range of social and contextual implications of technology for the area of human rights law. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Integrate and assess relevant information from primary and secondary legal sources using appropriate interpretative techniques. 4. Select, synthesise and critically assess human rights normative provisions and their application by courts. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Present, coherently and reflectively, relevant legal and theoretical arguments. 6. Work independently, and manage time efficiently in preparing for scheduled learning activities, exercises and assessments. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
I. Foundations
- Introduction to technology and human rights law
- Privacy in the digital age 1 and 2
- Freedom of expression in the digital age 1 and 2
- Comparative approaches to data protection
II. Practical application & current challenges
- Technological companies and the protection of human rights
- Digital identity, blockchain and human rights protection
- Cybersecurity and human rights
- Big data and contemporary challenges
- Artificial intelligence and automation
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 26.5 | 123.5 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 22 | 11 x 2 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 4.5 | 3 x 1.5 hour workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | 73.5 | Lectures and workshops preparation, to include advance reading and preparation of questions and activities |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Revision and assessment preparation |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Ana Beduschi et al., ‘Building Digital Identities: the Challenges, Risks and Opportunities of Collecting Behavioural Attributes for New Digital Identity Systems’ (2017) available at http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/collegeofsocialsciencesandinternationalstudies/lawimages/research/Buiding_Digital_Identities_with_Behavioural_Attributes.pdf
