General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3236 |
| Course name: | Competition Law in the Digital Economy |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
With the rise of data-driven markets, competition around privacy has become a main concern for individuals and regulatory organizations. Of similar concern is the ability of dominant actors to favour their own content and to steer and redirect parts of the customer’s journey on the internet. Meanwhile, decisions taken by consumers are increasingly made passively through implicit or explicit product matching and personalized recommendations rather than through active choice. New technologies recommend and purchase products based on spoken, written or inferred requests obtained from users of digital platforms or devices such as mobile phones, speakers and smart assistants.
This course focuses on distinct principles and case law (e.g., Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon) pertaining to competition in data-driven markets. This includes: the elusive problem of how quality, rather than price, competition works; how consumers can navigate data-driven markets when conventional market mechanisms are no longer the main disciplining forces on the behaviour of dominant actors; and the conditions under which different regulatory instruments such as ex ante and/or ex post legal interventions – including market studies and market investigations – can effectively address the predicaments of data-driven markets.
Students will acquire an in-depth understanding of EU competition law relating to digital markets (social media, search, app stores, online marketplaces) and will be able to compare and assess these developments in light of emerging litigation in the US.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Adrian Kuenzler | kuenzler@hku.hk | CCT 408 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the distinctive features of data-driven markets.
CLO 2 Understand the various legal issues in relation to competition in data-driven markets.
CLO 3 Apply the knowledge and understanding of pertinent case law to analyse new issues arising from digital technologies.
CLO 4 Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of emerging litigation within the broader economic and socio-cultural context.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | N/A | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
| Case commentary | 30 Nov 2024 | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
| Take home exam | TBC | 50% | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/