How did internet law come about, and which rulings continue to shape the digital world to this day? In the latest episode of the HÄRTING|fm anniversary series, the firm’s founder, Prof. Niko Härting, talks to Dr Martin Schirmbacher and Carl Nowak about 30 years of internet regulation, platform liability and the development of the law in the digital age.
How do you regulate a medium that was still uncharted legal territory in the mid-1990s? And which decisions from that period continue to shape the internet to this day?
In the latest episode of our HÄRTING.fm anniversary series marking the firm’s 30th anniversary, Dr Martin Schirmbacher and Carl Nowak speak to the firm’s founder, Prof. Niko Härting about the development of internet law – from the early days of internet regulation, through platform liability and liability for facilitating illegal content, to data protection.
Building on Niko’s lecture ‘Law in the Digital Age’ at the HWR Berlin, the discussion covers, amongst other things, the American origins of internet regulation and the significance of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The three discuss how the liability of internet platforms has evolved, the role played by case law in this regard, and the limits of judicial law-making. The development of data protection law and the impact of the GDPR on large digital corporations are also discussed.
A look back at the firm’s history also leads to the handbook *Internet Law*, to the first edition of which Martin Schirmbacher contributed as a student assistant as early as 1999, and to the current edition of which Carl Nowak has contributed.
Listen to the latest episode:
Further episodes of the anniversary series are available on HÄRTING.fm and the usual podcast platforms.