Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology

Freedom of Internet and State Control: A Case Study on Internet Shutdowns in India

Taniya Malik — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This study is necessitated by India’s abysmal record with internet shutdowns, raising human rights concerns. In the past decade, India has witnessed a surge in internet shutdowns, ostensibly justified on grounds of national security, counterterrorism efforts, maintenance of law and order, and suppression of misinformation. These actions have sparked concerns regarding the violation of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech, expression, and profession. Recognizing the pivotal role of the internet in contemporary society, this study scrutinizes the legal framework surrounding such shutdowns and the permissible grounds of governmental intervention. Through an exhaustive examination of shutdown grounds, frequency, and duration across Indian states and Union Territories (UTs) during 2021-24, this study evaluates their alignment with statutory and judicial directives. Employing both doctrinal and non-doctrinal methodologies, the study interrogates the hypothesis that internet shutdowns in India often transgress mandated guidelines. Findings underscore repeated violation of the established norms at the hands of governmental authorities and stress upon strict adherence to guidelines to curb potential abuses of state authority in implementing internet shutdowns. The study concludes that while India's approach to internet shutdowns provides valuable insights for the global community, it highlights the need for stronger enforcement of legal safeguards to prevent misuse. These lessons can help other nations balance state control with the protection of digital rights.

Aligning Iran's Legislation with Sustainable Development Goals: A Topic Modeling Approach

Zahra Hemmat, Mohammad Mehraeen, Rahmatolloah Fattahi, Farhad Shirani — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This study examines the extent to which national legislation in Iran aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the framework of Multi-Level Governance (MLG). Employing a mixed-method computational approach—combining thematic analysis and topic modeling—the research explores the argumentative and content structures of legislative texts. Findings reveal partial alignment in areas such as education, health, and environmental protection, while significant gaps remain in community empowerment, gender equality, climate action, and participatory governance. From a policy perspective, the study highlights the need to revise legislative processes to systematically integrate SDG principles, establish mechanisms for assessing legal compatibility with SDG indicators, and build the capacity of lawmakers. It also emphasizes the importance of enhancing the participation of local institutions and civil society in the legislative process and recommends developing data-driven platforms for continuous monitoring of legal alignment with the SDGs. Theoretically, the study contributes to the application of the MLG framework in legal and development studies by offering empirical insights into the interplay between governance levels and legal systems. However, the research is limited by its exclusive focus on formal legal texts, limited interpretive depth of topic modeling, and its single-country scope. Future studies should explore comparative legal assessments, critical discourse analysis, and network-based approaches in other developing countries. Additionally, analyzing sub-national laws and their implementation could provide further insights into the challenges and opportunities of SDG localization.

Oversight Board – An Effective Tool to Protect Free Speech?

Tamás Pongó, Renáta Kálmán, Réka Brigitta Szaniszló, Norbert Tribl — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Meta has more than two billion daily active users, two and a half billion posts a day, and more than a million reports of violations of policies and guidelines every day. These large numbers justify the establishment of a body that goes beyond the usual content moderation and reporting system. Recognizing that its role in online speech cannot be managed solely through algorithmic decision-making and reporting, Meta has introduced a non-judicial grievance mechanism, the Oversight Board, which delivers its decisions solely in light of Meta’s policies, values, and guidelines. The OB is committed to the Business and Human Rights regime, and in line with this commitment, the UNGPs are the governing international human rights law standard. This article cross-referenced the OB goals defined by its Charter, the UNGPs standards relevant to the goals of the OB, the statistics of the operation of the OB, and the doctrinal background of these goals, in particular, the accessibility, predictability, and transparency prongs as elements of an effective remedy. Through this in-depth analysis, we aim to explore whether the OB fulfills its predefined goals, and thus provides an effective non-judicial grievance mechanism regarding freedom of speech in the online environment.

Jurists of the Gaps: Large Language Models and the Quiet Erosion of Legal Authority

Philippe Prince Tritto, Ilsse Carolina Torres Ortega — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Large Language Models (LLMs) are not merely tools to assist legal professionals—they represent a deeper epistemic and normative challenge to the foundations of legal authority. While LLMs allow humans to produce outputs that convincingly simulate legal reasoning, they lack the embodied judgment, ethical intentionality, and contextual awareness that define legitimate legal decision-making. This paper argues that the social legitimacy of the legal profession relies on capacities that are not reproducible through computational systems. We first examine the epistemological limitations of LLMs, drawing on Kantian philosophy and complexity theory to show that their outputs are simulations, not acts of understanding. We then analyze how this technological shift risks reducing legal professionals to jurists of the gaps – filling in only where machines fall short – thereby hollowing out the humanistic mission of law. Against this backdrop, we call for a renewed professional ethic centered on interpretation, creativity, and normative judgment, rather than technical supplementation. The automation of law is not the end of the profession, but it could be the end of its authority – unless its practitioners reclaim what cannot be outsourced.

On the Possible Use of Databases to Secure Receivable Debts

Maciej Bujalski — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article assesses the possibilities of using databases to secure receivable debts, i.e. as collateral, more than ten years after the ruling in the case Your Response v. Datateam Business Media where this possibility was denied. In order to do so, it first examines why someone may wish to use a database for this purpose and what the features are, including the limited accessibility of the database and its contents, that make a database an asset that may be useful in that context. The article then addresses the scope of the sui generis database right and its limited utility from the perspective of security rights, taking into consideration the entry into force of the Data Act. It analyses databases at three different levels: semantical, syntactical and structural, exploring at which level the features resulting in the value of the database should be placed, and thus the level at which the question of establishing a security interest over a database should be dealt with. The article goes on to provide for some theoretical approaches of introducing the rules on securities over databases into the legal system. It analyses the perspective of introducing proprietary rights to the database, the possible qualification of the database as a digital asset and the question of its control, as well as the contractual schemes that may be used in order to establish and enforce the security interest over a database.

Artificial Intelligence in the Service of Parliaments: Some Arguments for the Necessity of a Normative Legal Framework at the European Level

Rudolf Berkes, Boldizsár Szentgáli-Tóth — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This contribution examines the need for European normative legal framework governing artificial intelligence implementation in parliamentary institutions. Using a three-pillar methodology—analysing soft law instruments (particularly Inter-Parliamentary Union Resolution and Guidelines), investigating European parliamentary AI use cases, and developing policy recommendations—the study reveals significant regulatory gaps. Whilst the EU AI Act provides limited coverage of parliamentary AI applications, several European legislative bodies (Estonia, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the European Parliament) have successfully implemented AI for speech recognition, document processing, and citizen engagement. Current soft law frameworks establish important principles including transparency, privacy protection, and sustainability, yet lack binding force. The research demonstrates that parliamentary AI's connection to democratic processes and national sovereignty necessitates stronger oversight. Two regulatory approaches are proposed: reclassifying parliamentary AI as high-risk under the EU AI Act, or developing dedicated European legislation addressing fundamental rights protection, national sovereignty, security concerns, and innovation promotion. The study concludes that establishing explicit European normative regulation would provide essential democratic safeguards whilst maintaining national sovereignty, parliamentary autonomy and fostering technological innovation in European democratic institutions.

Give Realistic Cyber Peace a Chance

Dan Svantesson — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The topic of Cyber peace is receiving surprisingly little attention. Having considered some characteristics of Cyberspace affecting the topic of Cyber peace and having considered whether we benefit from trying to strictly define what we mean by Cyber peace, the article proceeds to offer a defence for the role that law may play towards Cyber peace. Against this background, the article proposes a focus on the three criteria Alfred Nobel articulated for his famous Peace Prize: (1) advance fellowship among nations, (2) the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and (3) the establishment and promotion of peace congresses, as a suitable point of departure towards Cyber peace. The article concludes that to move towards Cyber peace we need specific, practical, and realistic actions rather than lofty proclamations. Thus, it calls for the establishment of a realistic "Cyber Peace Agenda" and introduces ongoing work towards such an Agenda under the custodianship of the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

Bridging the Gap: A Review of Cybersecurity für Manager

Jan Hospes — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This review considers Cybersecurity für Manager: Cybergefahren wirksam begegnen – das Kompetenzmodell für die Praxis, a recent contribution to the German-language cybersecurity literature for executives. Situated within the context of rising regulatory expectations and the EU’s NIS2 Directive, the book seeks to enhance management-level awareness and provide a structured framework for addressing cyber risks. The review situates the work in relation to comparable publications, outlines its main thematic orientation, and reflects on its significance for non-technical leadership.