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The last few decades have been marked by rapid digital transformations in the daily lives of individuals, as well as in the structures and activities of governments and businesses. As a result of these transformations, new regulations going beyond the nation state, i.e. new societal constitutional domains/ constitutional fragments are emerging. The Internet is one of the important social spheres generating constitutional orders (rights, duties and limits on power) outside the state. With this motivation, this course aims to reflect on various constitutional fragments generated by the global digital societal transformation. First, we will review what and how we can understand the idea of a constitution and constitutional norms in our current digital world. Second, we will focus on societal digital transformations' ethical/normative dimensions. Third, we will closely look into various practical domains where constitutional norms emerge, such as the regulation of speech, misinformation, fake news, cybersecurity, data protection, and intellectual property rights. The course will be jointly taught by the research team led by Dr. Tomas Dumbrovsky, at the Faculty of Law and guest lecturers when necessary.
Learning Outcomes: Upon completing this course, the students will be able to 1.Critically reflect on the ethical/normative dimensions of the digital societal transformations at the global level. 2.Reflect on the meaning and dimensions of constitutionalism in the age of digital societal transformation. 3.Critically analyse the legal frameworks governing digital technologies, including data protection laws, intellectual property rights in digital contexts, and cybersecurity regulations. 4.Evaluate legal issues arising from emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and digital surveillance. 5.Evaluate ethical and legal implications of digital actions in both personal and professional contexts. Last update: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (15.09.2025)
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The course requires students to write two assignments (essays) and make one in-class presentation. The total grade is divided as follows: Presentation 10%, First Essay 40%, Second Essay 40% and Class Participation 10%. Presentation: The course is divided as 1 hour lecture plus 30 minutes student presentations. Every week (starting with the third week) in the seminar classes, one group of students or one student alone will be expected to make a presentation. You will be required to choose one week from the outline of the syllabus and one reading from among the further readings of that week of your choice. Each group/student will be responsible for the presentation of the main arguments and discussion in the reading, discuss it and provide further questions for discussion for the class. Alternatively, students can find a case related to the topic of the class and discuss this case together with their classmates in a Socratic manner to understand and critically reflect on the decision. First Essay: You are expected to choose a topic/problem/question of your own choice within the scope of the course and write an essay about it. 2000-2500 words. Refer to the readings in the syllabus. (You may do an extra literature search if you think is needed). This is a take-home assignment. Second Essay: You are expected to choose a question from the list provided and answer it in 1500-2000 words. Refer to core and further readings in the syllabus when writing the essay. This is an in-class essay due to be written in the classroom. Last update: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (15.09.2025)
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The course covers the following topics: -Constitutionalism, Constitutional Fragments and the Digital World (How can we make sense of the idea of constitutions and constitutional fragments in the contemporary digital world?) -Ethical Aspects of Digital Transformation of Society (What are the ethical dimensions/aspects of the digital transformation of societies?) -Democracy, and Digital Transformation of Society (What are the impacts of the digital transformation of societies on democracy?) -Free speech, and regulation of speech in social media (How can we define free speech in the contemporary digital world? What could be the limits to free speech? What could be the possible justifications for free speech?) -Misinformation and fake news in the digital space (What qualifies as misinformation in the digital sphere? What are the existing and possible ways to tackle misinformation and fake news?) -Regulation of Digital Content- EU and the Digital Services Act (DSA) (What are the recent developments regarding the regulation of the large platforms in the EU? What is DSA, and why is it important?) -Regulation of Digital Content- Case Studies (What are the main approaches to the regulation of online content in the transatlantic world? What are the differences between the US and Canada in terms of regulating online content?) -AI and algorithmic fairness (How do algorithms impact our opinions and choices? What is algorithmic fairness? How can we achieve it?) -Data Protection in the Digital World (What are the challenges in the digital world regarding the protection of private and personal data? What are the current trends in tackling these challenges?) Last update: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (15.09.2025)
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Základní literatura: 1.Jack Balkin, The Constitution in the National Surveillance State, Minnesota Law Review, 2008 (Available online for free) 2.Paula Boddington, AI Ethics, Springer, 2023, Chapter 2- The rise of AI Ethics. (Available online at CU Library) 3.Lucy Bernholz, Helene Landemore, Rob Reich, Digital Technology and Democratic Theory, University of Chicago Press, 2021, (Chapter 1 “Democracy and the Digital Public Sphere”) (Available online in CU Library) 4.Robert Post, Participatory Democracy and Free Speech, Virgina Law Review, May 2011, No. 3, pp. 477-489 (Available online at CU Library) 5.Simon Chesterman, “Lawful but Awful: Evolving Legislative Responses to Address Online Misinformation, Disinformation, and Mal-Information in the Age of Generative AI”, preprint. (Available online at CU Library) (pp.1-37) 6.Martin Husovec, Principles of the Digital Services Act, 2024, Chapter 2, “Overview of the DSA”. (Available online at CU Library) 7.Robert Gorwa, The Politics of Platform Regulation, Oxford University Press, 2024, Chapter 5- “What is Illegal Offline Should be Illegal Online”- The Development of the German NetzDG” (pp.77-95) (Available online at CU Library)
8.Andrea Simoncini and Erik Longo,” Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law in the Algorithmic Society”, in in Hans-W. Micklitz et al, Constitutional Challenges in the Algorithmic Society, 2022, CUP, pp. 27-42. (Available Online at CU Library) 9.Alan Calder, EU GDPR - an International Guide to Compliance, 2020, Chapter 2 (pp.15-25) and Chapter 3 (pp.26-57) Ostatní literatura: Gunther Teunber, Constitutional Fragments: Societal Constitutionalism in the Globalization, Oxford University Press, 2012 (not in the CU Library) (Chapter 1) (will be provided by the instructor) Eduardo Celeste, Digital Constitutionalism, Routledge, 2023 (Chapter 2)(Available online at CU Library) Eduardo Celeste, “Digital Constitutionalism: Theoretical Foundations and Jurisprudential Perspectives”, in Digital Constitutionalism, ed. by Dohmann and Mendes, Nomos, 2025 (Available online at CU Library) Mark Coeckelbergh, The Political Philosophy of AI, Polity, 2022 (Introduction, chapters 1 and 2) (Not available in the library) (will be provided by the instructor) Douglas Kellner, Technology and democracy : toward a critical theory of digital technologies, technopolitics, and technocapitalism, Springer, 2021 (Introduction, chapter 4) (available online in CU Library) Alexander Brown, “What is so special about online (as compared to offline) hate speech?”, Ethnicities, 2018, Vol.18 (3), p.297-326 (Available online at CU Library) Devrim Kabasakal Badamchi, Dimensions of Free Speech- An Exploration of a New Theoretical Framework, Springer, 2021 (Chapter 4- Justifications of Free Speech, Chapter 7- Hate Speech and the Limits of Free Speech) (Available online at CU Library)
O'Connor, Cailin Weatherall, James Owen, The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread?”, 2019, Chapters 1 and 2. (Available as printed text at CU Library, Faculty of Social Sciences Library, Jinonice; will also be provided by the instructors) Gabi Schlag, European Union’s Regulating of Social Media: A Discourse Analysis of the Digital Services Act, Politics and Governance, 2023, Vol.11, Issue 3, 168-177. (Available online at CU Library) Robert Gorwa, The Politics of Platform Regulation, Oxford University Press, 2024, Chapter 7 (114-147) (Available online at CU Library) Amnon Reichman and Giovanni Sartor, Algorithms and Regulation, in Hans-W. Micklitz et al, Constitutional Challenges in the Algorithmic Society, 2022, CUP, 131-181. (Available Online at CU Library) Brent Mittelstadt, The ethics of algorithms: Mapping the debate, Big Data and Society 3(2), 2016. (Available Online at CU Library) Virginia Dignum, Responsible Artificial Intelligence: How to Develop and Use AI in a Responsible Way, 2019, Springer, 71-92. (Available Online at CU Library) Michele Fink and Frank Pallas, “They who must not be identified distinguishing personal from non-personal data under the GDPR”, International Data Privacy Law, 2020, Vol. 10, No.1 (pp.11-36) Základní právní předpisy: 1. EU Digital Services Act 2. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 3. EU Artificial Intelligence Act 3. EU Cybersecurity Act Ostatní právní předpisy: 1. Canadian Online Harms Act 2. Cyber Solidarity Act Last update: Šicnerová Barbora, Mgr. (15.09.2025)
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