LL440E Half Unit
Digital Rights, Privacy and Security
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Orla Lynskey
Availability
This course is available on the Executive Master of Laws (ELLM). This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes.
This course will be offered on the Executive LLM during the four year degree period. The Department of Law will not offer all Executive LLM courses every year, although some of the more popular courses may be offered in each year, or more than once each year. Please note that whilst it is the Department of Law's intention to offer all Executive LLM courses, its ability to do so will depend on the availability of the staff member in question. For more information please refer to the Department of Law website.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
Basic knowledge of EU law is desirable but not essential for this course.
Course content
Personal data is an important factor of production in data-driven economies and a critical input for the development of AI systems. The processing of personal data can generate significant economic and social benefits. However, personal data processing can also have a detrimental impact on established rights and values, such as autonomy, privacy and data protection. As a result, legal frameworks to regulate personal data processing have been enacted across the world, with the EU legal model used as a blueprint. Yet, despite the development of such legal frameworks across the globe, critical questions remain unanswered. For instance, the objectives of data protection frameworks differ with some prioritising a fundamental-rights approach to data protection regulation while other frameworks are based on an economic free-trade rationale. Disagreement also persists regarding how the balance should be struck between effective data protection and other rights (such as freedom of expression and freedom of information) and interests (such as innovation and national security).
This course will critically evaluate the legal framework applicable to personal data processing. It will be do this predominantly with reference to the EU framework. In order to bring key issues to life, a number of case studies will be considered, including the application of data protection and privacy rules to online behavioural advertising and to State surveillance.
Teaching
24-26 hours of contact time.
Formative assessment
All students are expected to produce one 2,000 word formative essay during the course.
Indicative reading
Bygrave, Data Privacy Law: An International Perspective (OUP, 2015)
Cohen, Between Truth and Power (OUP, 2019)
Lynskey, The Foundations of EU Data Protection Law (OUP, 2015)
Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism (Profile, 2019)
Assessment
Assessment Pathway 1
Essay (100%, 8000 words)
Assessment Pathway 2
Legal problems (100%)
Key facts
Department: LSE Law School
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: Unavailable
Average class size 2024/25: Unavailable
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Specialist skills