LLAW6139 & JDOC6139 – Course Profile

General Course Information

1.1 Course details

Course code:	LLAW6139 / JDOC6139
Course name:	China Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Law
Programme offered under:	LLM Programme / JD Programme
Semester:	Second
Prerequisites / Co-requisites:	No
Credit point value:	9 credits / 6 credits

1.2 Course description

This course examines the key laws and regulations concerning the internet, information technology and related electronic commerce businesses in Mainland China. It intends to provide a wide-angle view of the regulatory regime for the IT, internet and e-commerce industry in Mainland China, in particular as to how such regulatory regime may have any practical impact upon the development of the IT industry in Mainland China. Where appropriate, we will endeavour to compare the regulatory regime in Mainland China with that of other jurisdictions, and to examine the impact of the Chinese internet, e-commerce and IT regulations on cross-border transactions of IT products and services.

Topics to be covered in the classes would tentatively include:

Introduction to the Chinese IT Industry and the Chinese IT Regulatory Framework
The Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law and related Anti-Terrorism and National Security Issues relating to Online and Technology Businesses
Personal Information Protection Law and related issues in Privacy Protection and Real Name Registration in the Big Data and Cloud Computing Era
Electronic Commerce Law, Liabilities of Network Service Providers, and Consumer Protection Issues
Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Issues relating to Online Businesses
Electronic Contracts, The Electronic Signatures Law and Issues with Electronic Evidence and Online Dispute Resolution in the E-Commerce Context
Compliance Dilemma in Cross Border Data Transfer and Cross Border Electronic Commerce
Financial Technology Regulatory Issues
Internet Censorship and the Online Advertising, Publishing and the Media Regulatory Issues
National and Industrial Standards for the PRC Information Technology and E-Commerce Industry
Domain Name Disputes and Cybersquatting in China

1.3 Course teachers

	Name	E-mail address	Office	Consultation
Course convenor	Philip Kwok	kwokp@hku.hk	N/A	By email

Learning Outcomes

2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course

CLO 1 Understand the general regulatory framework for information technology, e-commerce and internet related businesses in China;

CLO 2 Understand the different types of online dispute resolution mechanisms in China and the related issues;

CLO 3 Identify and understand the regulatory regime relating to the flow of information in China, in particular the laws and regulations relating to cybersecurity and data security;

CLO 4 Understand the development of China’s legal regime for privacy protection;

CLO 5 Understand and evaluate the regulatory regime for financial technology in China.

2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

Please refer to the following link:

LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/

JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-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	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 5	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Assessment(s)

3.1 Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Due date	Weighting	Feedback method*	Course learning outcomes
Class participation and group presentation	TBC	30%	3, 4, 5	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Research paper	13 May 2024	70%	1, 2, 3	1, 2, 3, 4, 5

*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

Lecture:	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:

Since the laws and regulations governing the Mainland China internet, information technology and e-commerce industry are rapidly changing, there can be no comprehensive textbook for the course, and students are encouraged to achieve an in-depth understanding of the current developments of Mainland China information technology and e-commerce law through wide reading of updated news, legislations, policy documents, book chapters and journal articles. Necessary duplicated materials will be uploaded to Moodle during the course. Students are encouraged to carry out their own research and critical thinking to achieve in-depth understanding of relevant laws and latest developments of Internet and e-commerce related regulations in Mainland China.