On May 9 and 16, 2025, Nagoya University had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Nicholas Gervassis (Assistant Professor in Law at School of Law, University of Nottingham) for a two-part special lecture series titled “Regulation and Governance of Digital Platforms.” The lectures attracted students, researchers, and faculty members keen to understand the evolving legal landscape of digital technologies.
In the first session, “From Information Society to Digital Economy,” Dr. Gervassis provided a historical overview of how digital infrastructure, cloud computing, and platform convergence have reshaped our society. He explored the legal implications of this transformation, focusing on how states and institutions have moved from early internet freedom ideals to more structured models of governance, such as co-regulation and cyber-paternalism.
The second session, “Latest Legal Developments,” delved into key regulations including the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the AI Act. Dr. Gervassis discussed issues such as intermediary liability, copyright in the digital single market, algorithmic governance and cybersecurity. He emphasized the EU’s growing influence in setting global standards—a phenomenon known as the “Brussels Effect.”
The series offered a rich, comparative perspective on how law can keep pace with the digital transformation. It underscored the importance of designing legal frameworks that uphold fairness, transparency, and democratic accountability in a rapidly changing world.
Following his lecture series, Dr. Nicholas Gervassis will lead a workshop, titled “Regulation of Digital Platforms and of Cross-border Data Transfers: A Research Project in Development,” at Nagoya University on  May 21, 2025.
This special lecture series are part of the “Lawyer Training Program for Globalization,” funded by a donation from the Shinnippon-Hoki Foundation.