The Next Frontier: Comparative Law in Outer Space is a fictional futuristic case set in the year 2031 focusing on space mining activities. Space activities are regulated through international, regional, and domestic laws. These regulations were adopted when space activities were predominantly conducted by State actors and are thus challenged by the privatization of space activities through the development of the ‘New Space’.

The participants are invited to assess and navigate these different legal frameworks and how they apply to several incidents. This case features two main actors – Isidro Space and Zephyr Aerospace – which are involved in a series of incidents, which are articulated in two crises. The participants are expected to submit a memorandum for each of them, acting as their legal advisors, and providing them with legal and policy advice on how to address the unfolding situation and its consequences.

The story revolves around a fictional, international social media company, “LoveNow,” that acts as a matchmaker for its users through a digital app.

Students will be asked to consult for the social media company, which faces a series of legal challenges, both informal and more formal, from users of the app and third parties. In fact, students will act as external legal consultants to the company, analyzing a rich variety of information alongside the application’s terms and conditions, and privacy and security policies.

They will have to consider users’ rights under GDPR legislation and other international laws regarding cybercrime, as well as topics such as privacy, impersonation, identity theft, publicity rights, cyberbullying, defamation, and the right to be forgotten. Students will also need to consider the snowball effect of an online publicity scandal, the real emotional harm that social media can cause individuals, and comparative/cross-jurisdictional elements.