International Public Law in the Cyber Era: New Norms, Actors, and Approaches

International law is undergoing major changes to its substance and structure as a result of the spread of information technology to all areas of society. A trend towards deformalization and the so-called privatization of international law-making, the increasing presence of corporations, the use of computer technology to influence and interfere in the affairs of other states, and other manifestations of the growing influence of information technology on public international law require a rethinking of the traditional approach to the application of legal rules and the role of various actors in the new cyber-reality. The impact of information technology on the fundamentals of public international law has been multifaceted. This session will look at a wide range of issues, including international legal regulation of the obligations of corporations controlling global social networks and digital platforms; individual and collective state responses to ‘cyber-operations’ or ‘cyber-attacks’; the role of regional trade agreements in the development of the digital economy; and the extraterritorial application of international human rights conventions in the digital environment.