Law and Technology

The aim of this option is to examine a selection of contemporary issues at the law and technology interface, focusing on the nature of the issues and the law’s construction of and response to them, and on the relationship between law and technology more generally. The readings are chosen with a view to situating contemporary legal developments concerning digital and bio technologies in their wider legal, theoretical and policy context, and to equipping students with a range of perspectives from which to critique them.

By the end of this course, students should be able to critically unpack and assess contemporary debates concerning law and technology, and contribute to conversations around a diverse range of issues of relevance, including the role of law in supporting technological advance and access to its benefits, resolving tensions between individual and public interests, identifying and addressing new types of harm, reconciling the needs of sovereign and global communities, accommodating changing conceptions of health, identity, and family, and managing radical uncertainty. The option should appeal to students who are interested in the philosophy of law and technology, fundamental rights, property/intellectual property, privacy/data protection, liability for online harms, and reproductive rights.