Articles

Threats posed to human rights by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) are considered, along with some potential legal mitigations. The active efforts of the EU in the field of AI regulation seem particularly relevant for research considering its approach centred on citizens’ rights. Thus, the present study aims to describe the key features of the EU approach to regulating AI in the context of human rights protection, as well as identifying both its achievements and deficiencies, and proposing improvements to existing provisions. The presented analysis of the proposed AI Act pays special attention to provisions that set out …

In a digitalised environment under conditions of reduced limits and boundaries between physical and virtual worlds, people’s daily activities increasingly migrate to cyberspace. For this reason, legal issues relating to encryption, deciphering and codebreaking become increasingly topical. Due to the increased vulnerability of a wide range of people to exploitation, digitalisation implies an urgent need to develop measures for preserving privacy in digital life. Increasing vulnerabilities experienced in the social environment due to the Internet and network interactions can be attributed to the erasure of boundaries between people, which is facilitated by access to their data. In terms of providing …

The development of new technologies and the subsequent digitalization of the economy significantly affect legal relations, forcing us to rethink the usual institutions and establishing new problems that have not arisen before. The legal system can change, adapt and meet new challenges in two basic and interrelated ways: regulatory (that is, the adoption of new regulatory legal acts) and in the course of judicial resolution of legal conflicts that have developed within a particular dispute. The article provides an overview of the most significant cases considered by Russian courts in the field of digital law in 2021. A selection of …

Marina A. Rozhkova,

Olga V. Isaeva

As well as streamlining academic research activities, contemporary technologies provide opportunities to infringe on the intellectual property of others through plagiarism. However, plagiarism has yet to be adequately dealt with in national legislations, which either do not contain any provision in this connection or fail to adequately define the relevant terms. Moreover, there continues to be much discussion as to what plagiarism is, as well as how and in what cases it should be punishable. The situation is further complicated by the various approaches to plagiarism and the lack of consensus on whether so-called “self-plagiarism” should be treated separately from …

Review of a book: Lee, J-.A., Hilty, R., & Liu, K-.C. (Eds.). (2021). Artiﬁcial intelligence and intellectual property. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198870944.001.0001

This essay reviews three books on business and society development in the context of industrialization and digitalization. The books are: Digital Strategies in a Global Market — Navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Natalia Konina ed., 2021), Technology and Business Strategy — Digital Uncertainty and Digital Solutions (Igor Stepnov ed., 2021)2, and Post-Industrial Society: The Choice between Innovation and Tradition (Julia Kovalchuk ed., 2020).

This research article contributes to the field of digital governance as it reviews the conceptual definition and practical application of “smart cities” in the context of urban development in China. By analyzing both firsthand interview data and secondary statistical and policy reports during the period between 2009 to 2019, we contend that the emergence of smart cities in China has evolved from a disorderly process to a more standardized one. During this process, cities made efforts to use digital technology — such as 5G, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things — in social governance, infrastructure, and industrial development. However, …

This paper discusses the status and implications of the employment relations and working conditions experienced by digital platform workers; the analysis is based on a survey conducted in 2017 on 1 338 workers engaged in work-on-demand via apps (WODVA) from 25 platforms in Beijing, of whom 48.8 % are full-time WODVA workers or take WODVA as their primary job. The survey ﬁnds that nearly a half of the respondents engage in platform work due to a lack of employment opportunities in formal labor markets or their permanent jobs providing insufﬁcient income. The respondents reveal substantial decent work deﬁcits in representation, …

Shashkova Anna V.,

Agranovskaya Maria A.,

Kitsmarishvili David E.

The article examines 2020 post-crisis results and 2021 trends in FinTech regulation development. FinTech, being a relatively new term, has become a completely new industry, which combines rapidly developing technologies and financial products (including digital assets) or services. The year 2020, despite the pandemic and localization (and maybe even more so), seems as significant, if not more so, for market change and further development. The world has changed, and new technologies are vital for successful competition among financial players and even for their survival. Most of the leading international financial centers have focused on regulating FinTech and the use of …

Alexandros A. Papantoniou

This essay examines whether smart contract innovation is capable of displacing the orthodox adherence to traditional contracts. This examination is underpinned by an analysis of the legality of smart contracts, through which it is exemplified that smart contracts ought to be considered legally binding instruments. The essay proceeds to explore the superiority of smart contracting on a technical and theoretical basis. The advantages generated through smart contract automaticity and enforceability present a concrete basis for undermining reliance on traditional contracts. Blockchain Technology also enhances the benefits of smart contracts by acting as a smart contract enabler through guaranteed performance and …