| Unit name | Digital Markets, Competition and Regulation |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0163 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Albert Sanchez Graells |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Our social and economic interactions are increasingly taking place via digital platforms typically controlled by Big Tech companies. Digital markets—those for goods or services where providers and users interact through a digital platform—display intense network effects, economies of scale, and data monopolies, which generate significant market power concentrated in a small number of global actors. Those actors can mobilise a significant volume of resources to lobby for or against certain regulatory efforts, or to circumvent them through subversive technological innovations or legal loopholes. They can also have a major impact on the working of consumer economies and, in the case of social media, liberal democracies. Policy- and lawmakers are thus struggling to design effective governance of digital markets. It is difficult to strike an adequate balance between risk-based regulation and enforcement activity, while avoiding stifling innovation. This unit will help you to understand the complex regulatory challenges and trends in this area.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit will provide you with advanced knowledge of regulatory trends in digital markets, with emphasis on competition law, data governance, and consumer protection. It will pay specific attention to the role of data in ‘free digital services’ markets, and to the creation of data markets. If you study the LLM in Law, Innovation and Technology, this will complement the learning in units concerning the protection of intellectual property (IP), other aspects of IT law, and the law of e-commerce. If you are on a different LLM pathway, the unit will allow you to understand a self-contained regulatory system.
An overview of content
This unit provides an overview and critical assessment of trends in the regulation of Big Tech and digital markets, including by means of, e.g., competition law, data governance, and consumer protection, focusing on the UK, EU, and US. The unit covers relevant topics concerning:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will develop a nuanced understanding of the regulatory challenges and trends in digital markets. The foundational knowledge gained through this unit will allow you to effectively build further specialism in the law and regulation of technology, and further your employability through an understanding of increasingly important markets that are driving recruitment. You will also enhance your awareness and skills as a digital citizen.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, you should be able to:
The unit will be taught across the academic year, and you can expect to have learning activities scheduled or planned for a minimum of 20 weeks. Teaching will include learning activities including lectures, small group work, discussions, individual tasks, and in-seminar presentations. These learning sessions can be on campus or online, and both synchronous or asynchronous.
The unit will also require directed and self-directed learning, which will include activities such as reading materials included in the unit’s reading list, accessing web-based supplementary materials, critical analysis, completion of tasks for in-seminar presentation, and completion of assessments.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessments will come in many forms such as informal questioning, quizzes and group exercises in lectures, seminars, and asynchronous activities in the virtual learning platform. These form an assessment for learning and will not contribute to the final unit mark.
There will also be a single piece of coursework (1,500 words) that will not contribute to the final unit mark. The coursework question will require a critical assessment of a specific regulatory intervention by reference to a specific challenge posed by digital markets. In preparation for the coursework, you will be expected to carry out research beyond the unit reading list. This coursework will be similar in structure to the summative assessments (below). In addition to individual feedback, model answers will be provided, and general feedback will also be provided in a lecture, allowing you to gain additional understanding prior to the final assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The unit will be assessed through two pieces of coursework (3,000 words each), carrying equal weight towards the final mark (50% each) and submitted respectively at the ends of Teaching Blocks 1 and 2 (ILOs 1 - 3).
The coursework questions will require a critical assessment of a specific regulatory intervention by reference to a specific challenge posed by digital markets, and questions may include optionality to allow you to focus on a specific challenge or regulatory intervention of your choice. In preparation for the coursework, you will be expected to carry out research beyond the unit reading list.
To pass the unit, an average mark of 50% is required.
When assessment does not go to plan
If you fail to achieve an average mark of 50% on first attempt, you will be required to submit a fresh piece of coursework (1 x 3,000 words essay).
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit in the usual way.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0163).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
