PCMLP researchers explore cutting-edge issues in internet law and policy around the world. We have a strong interest in understanding internet law in states in transition- or in regions where the government is weak but where societies are experiencing tremendous innovations. Our research in this area has led us to explore alternative dispute resolution around mobile money in Eastern Africa and the role of customary law and shari’a law in regulating investments in media and new technologies.
We are also engaged in larger international comparative initiatives, including current trends in media law in Europe. One mechanism for looking at contemporary issues is through the Price Media Law Moot Court competition. Every year students around the world debate an issue of freedom of expression- from blasphemy to privacy online- and are judged by some of the leading media and human rights lawyers from around the world. Our partnerships with universities in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East that have been built on the foundations of the Price Moot Court have also flowered into opportunities for comparative research, such as a recent British Council project on media law curriculum development with the National Law University-Delhi.
PCMLP has also joined Stanford and Peking Universities in a partnership to convene an annual symposium on comparative perspectives on Internet Law and Policy, supported by Tencent. The most recent symposium was hosted by Peking University and brought together leading academics from the universities and partner institutions to explore a range of emerging and contemporary issues from intermediary liability to the right to be forgotten.