MVV389K Foundations of the Digital Services Act

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Taught partially online.
Teacher(s)
doc. Martin Husovec (seminar tutor), doc. JUDr. Matěj Myška, Ph.D. (deputy)
doc. JUDr. Matěj Myška, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Ondřej Woznica (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Matěj Myška, Ph.D.
Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Mgr. Věra Redrupová, B.A.
Supplier department: Faculty of Law
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MVV389K/01: Wed 22. 11. 14:00–15:40 041, Thu 23. 11. 14:00–15:40 S125, 16:00–17:40 S125, 18:00–19:40 S125, Fri 24. 11. 8:00–9:40 041, M. Husovec
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 23/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 80 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course equips students with an in-depth understanding of the context, provisions, and available legal strategies for compliance with the new regulatory system for digital platforms under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). It offers a systematic overview of the foundations and components of the DSA, practical strategies for compliance, and in-depth case studies of the most relevant issues.

Seminar 1: Introduction: The seminar will discuss the foundations of the regulation of digital services in the EU, and other jurisdictions. It will also cover the basic structure of the DSA and questions of scope, that is which services are regulated, and which are outside of the scope of the Regulation.

Seminar 2: Scope, Liability and Accountability: The seminar will cover the question of safe harbours for hosting, mere conduit, caching and search engine services.

Seminar 3: Content Moderation: The seminar will explore due process and content-related rules of the regulation, and discuss how it regulates content moderation on online platforms.

Seminar 4: Risk Management: The seminar will cover the situation of regular online platforms, and Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Search Engines (VLOSEs). For the former, the discussion will mostly centre around transparency and information-sharing requirements. For the latter, the course will explore the foundational tenants of the risk management system.

Seminar 5: Enforcement: The final seminar will cover enforcement arrangements. We will explore who can enforce what obligations against whom on what basis. The attention will be given to both private and public enforcement routes, and special compliance strategies, such as collective redress.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
- understand the basic mechanisms of the EU Digital Services Act and apply them.
- contrast the European regulatory approach with those of other countries (e.g., the US, UK).
- critically evaluate the gaps in the existing regulation in the European Union.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to the Regulation of Digital Services
  • 2. DSA: Scope, Liability, and Accountability
  • 3. DSA: Content Moderation
  • 4. DSA: Risk Management
  • 5. DSA: Enforcement
Literature
  • Draft chapters from the upcoming book, Martin Husovec, Principles of the Digital Services Act (OUP 2024). The chapters will be provided to students after enrollment.
Teaching methods
Seminars with in-class discussion based on pre-assigned readings.
Assessment methods
Colloquium.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/autumn2023/MVV389K