Cryptocurrency in Russian law: Surrogates, “Other Assets” and Digital Currency

Roman Yankovsky

Опубликована Июль 25, 2020

For the last five years there has been a global boom of interest in cryptocurrencies, followed by the fall of their rates; at the same time, there was a wave of enthusiasm regarding the public offering of tokens (ICO) and disillusionment in them (due partly to the active counteraction by American and other influential regulators). Disputes on doctrine moved from suggestions of a new object of property rights to prohibitive initiatives. As these eventful years have shown, the global financial system is sufficiently stable to digest even such a decentralized phenomenon as cryptocurrency. In my opinion, it is now time …

The Challenges of Blockchain Technology to Competition Law

Christophe S. Hutchinson

Опубликована Июль 25, 2020

Blockchain is a catch-all term for a combination of three technologies: distributed ledger, cryptology and network protocols. The first enables storing the same info in different places, the second allows secure transactions to be recorded and then encrypted on the distributed ledger. The third element governs the network and verifies transactions across the network automatically and independently. Considered by many as “the biggest technological innovation since the Internet”1, blockchain is a decentralized, more secure and transparent model for transactions that operates on an encrypted peer-to-peer basis. This model makes trust between parties superfluous by instead placing trust in the underlying …

Digital State, Digital Citizen: Making Fair and Effective Rules for a Digital World

Nikolay Dmitrik

Опубликована Июль 25, 2020

The world is connected — governments, business and people are increasingly living and working in a globally connected digital space. People no longer identify themselves as belonging to spatial communities (neighborhood, town, city or country) but by subscribing to digital ecosystems like Apple or Android, Facebook or VKontakte, etc. Governments use digital platforms at the local, regional and national levels to administer certain powers and procedures (even electoral campaigns) and to get feedback from their citizens. As citizens become digital citizens — connected to a wide range of internet resources including electronic government, banking, local management systems, as well as …

Commentary on the Legal Practice of Database Protection

Maria Kolsdorf

Опубликована Июль 25, 2020

Analysis of causes and outcome of recent judicial conflict between solid database companies.

Reinventing “Magic Circle” in the Age of Internet Government Control: the Lessons of Videogame Law for Modern Practices of Legal Interpretation

Vladislav Arkhipov

Опубликована Июль 25, 2020

The restrictions for disseminating certain kinds of information that is considered publicly offensive and (or) dangerous has made topical a fundamental problem of the limits of reasonable interpretation and application of law to the contexts that could be characterized as virtual, playful or otherwise non-serious. From the standpoint of interdisciplinary approach including mostly philosophy of law and game studies, the underlying problem reflected in the representative examples above, has substantial similarities with the “magic circle” concept studied in the research direction that is conventionally called “videogame law”. However, existing theories of magic circle, both in game studies and law, are …

The Voice and Speech Processing within Language Technology Applications: Perspective of the Russian Data Protection Law

Ilya Ilin

Опубликована Июль 25, 2020

Language technology (LT) in its broad sense comprises speech technology, computational linguistics, and natural language processing technology. These technologies are expected to have great economic potential and a considerable impact on the everyday life of society. The development of LT fosters applications for artificial intelligence (AI) and broadens the horizon for its advancement. LT deals not only with written forms of linguistic expression but also extends to voice and speech. Voice excluding speech or its contents is a combination of unique physical patterns, such as vocal qualities, volume, speed, and certain other biometric data. Voice can provide medically relevant information, …