LL.M.- Tech. Policy: Test Pattern and Syllabus
The LL.M.-Tech. Policy stream tests the intersection of law, regulation, and technology. The written test commonly covers data protection, the Information Technology Act, intermediary liability, cybercrime, platform regulation, competition and telecom policy, intellectual property in digital markets, and emerging governance questions such as AI and cross-border data flows. It rewards policy reasoning grounded in legal doctrine.
Core rules and concepts
- Data protection: purpose limitation, consent, data-principal rights, and the role of the Data Protection Board under India’s DPDP Act, 2023.
- Intermediary liability: safe harbour under Section 79 of the IT Act is conditional on due diligence and compliance with takedown orders; it is not absolute.
- Cybercrime: unauthorised access, identity theft, and content offences require attention to the IT Act and criminal-law provisions.
- Platform policy: competition concerns, transparency, and the distinction between ex ante regulation and ex post liability.
Worked example
A social-media platform is ordered by a court to remove a defamatory post. It ignores the order. Can it claim safe harbour? Reasoning: Section 79 protects an intermediary only if it observes due diligence and acts on actual knowledge by court order or government notification. Once a court order is received, continued hosting can attract liability. The platform cannot rely on passive hosting because the obligation is triggered by the order; the answer should mention the conditions, not merely say “intermediaries are immune.”
Traps that cost marks
Treating the GDPR as Indian law; assuming safe harbour is unconditional; confusing content blocking with intermediary liability; answering a policy question with only a statute summary; ignoring the difference between data protection and data localisation.