SMU Centre for Digital Law, 55 Armenian Street, Singapore (2026)

14/10/2026

In a 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 commentary titled 𝘪𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘰: 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦?, Prof Lim Sun Sun, SMU Vice President (Partnerships and Engagement) and Affiliated Faculty, examined how advances in smartphone design may reshape patterns of technology use, particularly by expanding device capabilities while simultaneously making disengagement more difficult.

Using Apple’s new foldable iPhone Duo as a starting point, Prof Lim examined the relationship between design, behaviour and digital well-being. She noted that as smartphones become more capable of supporting work, entertainment, communication and everyday transactions, they may also blur the boundaries between our personal and professional lives. A larger, more comfortable screen can make mobile work and content consumption easier, while potentially making disengagement more difficult.

Prof Lim described this as a form of “device intensification”. With apps already designed to sustain attention, larger screens may remove some of the friction that previously encouraged users to stop, making certain behaviours easier, more appealing and potentially more compulsive.

Her thought-provoking analysis also draws attention to a broader design question: while technological innovation often seeks to remove inconvenience, some friction may in fact be protective. As Prof Lim writes, “the most human-centred device” may not be the one that removes every obstacle, but the one that is easier to put down.

More broadly, Prof Lim’s reflections underscore the importance of critically examining how technological design shapes patterns of use, digital well-being and the boundaries between work and everyday life. This also reflects ’s broader engagement with the societal implications of emerging technologies.

Read the full article here: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/iphone-duo-twice-the-fun-or-double-trouble?ai-allowed=1

12/10/2026

Deputy Director Assoc Prof Liu Han-Wei recently published a commentary on the Oxford Business Law Blog titled 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩: 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘚 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘴, drawing on his 2026 World Trade Review article, 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵: 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘜𝘚 𝘌𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘴.

The piece examines how Singapore, as a major regional hub for semiconductor production, equipment and redistribution, is responding to growing US pressure over the diversion of advanced AI chips.

Assoc Prof Liu argues that Singapore has so far maintained what he terms “doctrinal independence” by keeping its export-control regime anchored to multilateral non-proliferation frameworks, rather than adopting unilateral US technology-denial parameters. At the same time, Singapore has used general criminal law to address diversion-related conduct, an approach he describes as “doctrinal substitution”.

Using recent enforcement actions and developments in US semiconductor policy, the commentary highlights the delicate balance Singapore faces as a hub economy: addressing diversion and enforcement concerns while preserving control over the legal categories through which external pressure becomes domestically enforceable.

The piece also considers how pending US measures, including proposals relating to remote access, chip-location verification and ownership structures, could increasingly test this balance by shifting enforcement expectations from individual shipments towards access, location and control.

Assoc Prof Liu’s work reflects ’s broader engagement with the legal and policy challenges emerging at the intersection of digital trade, technology governance and geopolitical competition.

Read the commentary here: https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/oblb/blog-post/2026/10/policing-what-passes-through-singapores-answer-us-chip-controls

08/10/2026

Faculty Member Asst Prof Dirk Hartung was recently featured in a 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 article, where he shared his views on what the European Union’s landmark online safety rules for ChatGPT and other major digital services could mean for Singapore’s approach to AI-related harms and online safety.

He noted that the EU’s approach could make it easier for Singapore lawmakers to require similar safeguards locally. Where major platforms are already expected to deploy such measures in other markets, companies may find it increasingly difficult to argue that comparable protections cannot be implemented for users in Singapore.

Asst Prof Hartung also highlighted the role of regulation in addressing risks associated with online platforms and AI-enabled services, particularly where addiction, self-harm and other harms to children’s well-being may arise. He further underscored the importance of transparency in AI chatbot interactions, including clearly informing users when they are engaging with AI rather than a real person.

As AI systems become more deeply embedded in everyday digital services, his comments highlight the broader regulatory challenge of ensuring that technological innovation is accompanied by meaningful safeguards, platform accountability and user protection.

Read the full article here: https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/eu-landmark-rules-for-chatgpt-give-singapore-the-blueprint-to-rein-in-ai-harms-experts

06/10/2026

congratulates our External Research Fellow Craig Atkinson on his appointment as a Knowledge Fellow with the Digital Watch Observatory, an initiative of the Geneva Internet Platform supported by the Swiss Confederation and the Republic and Canton of Geneva and operated by DiploFoundation.

In this role, Craig leads coverage across key areas of the digital economy, including e-commerce and digital trade; the WTO Joint Initiative on E-commerce and the Agreement on E-commerce (ECA); and taxation.

Drawing on his expertise in digital trade law and technology, Craig's insights help stakeholders, particularly diplomats and government officials, stay up to date on the evolving policies and technologies that affect the global digital economy.

We congratulate Craig on this new appointment and look forward to his continued contributions to the field. Through the work of our affiliates, continues to strengthen its thought leadership on digital law, technology governance, and the legal frameworks shaping an increasingly interconnected digital economy.

05/10/2026

On 1 October 2026, Prof Lim Sun Sun, SMU Vice President (Partnerships and Engagement) and Affiliated Faculty, moderated an insightful fireside chat 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵: 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, co-organised by Singapore Management University and BlackRock as part of the SMU Visionary Series.

The conversation brought together Mr Rob Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock; Mr Lee Chuan Teck, Chairman of Enterprise Singapore; and Mr Sam Kim, Chief Operating Officer and Director, Investment Insights Group at GIC, to examine how AI is moving beyond experimentation and becoming embedded across business, investment and organisational decision-making.

Moderating the discussion, Prof Lim guided the conversation across several key themes, including how organisations are building AI capabilities at scale, how leaders can balance innovation with trust and accountability, and what responsible AI adoption looks like in practice, particularly in highly regulated sectors.

The discussion also explored the changing nature of work as AI agents take on more analytical and ex*****on tasks. Speakers highlighted the continued importance of human judgement, experience and relationship-building, especially for young professionals navigating an increasingly AI-enabled workplace. Prof Lim shared how SMU is doubling down on experiential learning, nurturing students’ cross-cultural literacy and offering its alumni lifelong career guidance to response to these changes.

Conversations such as these underscore the importance of examining AI not only as a technological shift, but also as a governance and leadership challenge, where questions of accountability, judgement and responsible deployment remain central.

01/10/2026

Director Assoc Prof Jason Grant Allen recently published a paper in Volume 2 of the 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘐: 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, contributing to the themed issue 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. The project was supported by the Ministry of Education, Singapore Tier 1 Academic Research Fund.

The project brought together scholars and practitioners through two workshops, first at the ALSA Law & Technology Chapter Annual Conference at UNSW and later at SMU Centre for Digital Law. The workshop was followed by a public lecture by Lord Philip Sales of the UK Supreme Court, whom we welcomed to SMU as the Yong Pung How Distinguished Visiting Professor in 2025.

The project has since developed into a special issue on AI in public administration, with most articles now available open access on the 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘐: 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. The collection examines how AI is reshaping public administration, with a focus on accountability, automated decision-making and the interaction between human decision-makers and increasingly complex digital systems.

As part of the special issue, Assoc Prof Allen’s paper, 𝘒𝘢𝘧𝘬𝘢𝘎𝘗𝘛: 𝘖𝘯 𝘈𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘢𝘸’𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦, explores the risks that can arise when human decision-makers are constrained by poorly designed automated systems. Situating contemporary debates on “Responsible AI” within the longer relationship between information technology and bureaucracy, the paper argues for closer attention to the concrete realities of human-machine interaction, human factors, and the demands that public law places on decision-making processes.

We congratulate Assoc Prof Allen and the contributing authors on this timely body of work, which advances important conversations on how AI can be governed and deployed responsibly in public administration.

Read the special issue here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-forum-on-ai-law-and-governance/themed-issues/responsible-ai-in-public-administration

30/09/2026

Faculty Member Asst Prof Lim How Khang recently published an article with the Tech For Good Institute (TFGI) titled 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘌𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, as part of its six-part country spotlight series on tech governance in Southeast Asia.

Examining developments in Singapore’s technology governance landscape in the first half of 2026, Asst Prof Lim highlights how the country is increasingly moving from regulatory design towards implementation, enforcement and assurance across areas including AI, cybersecurity, data protection, digital platforms and online safety.

The article identifies three key trends:
1. Existing powers moving into enforcement: Regulatory powers are increasingly being applied in practice, particularly in relation to platform governance and online harms.
2. Stronger assurance across AI, cybersecurity and data governance: Expectations are becoming clearer around accountability, testing, certification and third-party assurance.
3. New obligations introduced progressively: Singapore continues to sequence new regulatory requirements while strengthening institutional capacity and maintaining international interoperability.

Asst Prof Lim also observes that no single law or measure defines Singapore’s recent approach. Rather, the broader picture is one of established powers being exercised, new frameworks being phased in, and regulatory institutions being strengthened as Singapore continues to balance innovation, assurance and openness in its digital economy.

29/09/2026

In a recent 𝘓𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘦 𝘡𝘢𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘰 feature examining different approaches to AI safety governance in the United States and China, External Research Fellow Prof Ching-Fu Lin argues that the divergence reflects deeper differences in political economy, regulatory institutions, and the way each system understands technological uncertainty.

As Prof Lin puts it, “different systems translate the same uncertainty into different policy languages.”

In the United States, much of the frontier AI safety debate has increasingly focused on alignment, existential risk, and the responsibilities of private frontier laboratories within a largely market-driven innovation system. China has approached AI safety more through a state-led logic of controllability and compliance, relying on technical standards, safety testing, deployment controls, and existing internet and data-governance institutions.

At the same time, geopolitical and technological competition constrains the policy space available to both countries. Both have powerful incentives to continue advancing AI capabilities, making questions of safety difficult to separate from strategic competition, industrial policy, and technological advantage.

Prof Lin also highlights a less discussed dimension of AI safety governance: who gets to shape the rules. If safety standards are developed primarily by a small number of leading frontier laboratories without sufficiently broad participation, those standards may raise barriers to entry for smaller and emerging firms and reinforce existing concentrations of technological power.

The analysis therefore extends beyond whether AI development should move faster or slower. It raises a broader governance question: how can increasingly capable AI systems be regulated in ways that address serious risks while maintaining credible oversight, meaningful competition, and room for international cooperation?

🔗 Full article linked in the comments.

28/09/2026

📢 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 | 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕 𝐈𝐋𝐀-𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐋 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚-𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦

The SMU Centre for Digital Law (CDL) is pleased to co-sponsor the 2027 ILA-ASIL Asia-Pacific Research Forum, taking place in Taipei, Taiwan, on 28–29 June 2027.

Held under the theme 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺, the Forum will examine how strategic rivalry and shifting alliances are reshaping the making, invocation and contestation of international law across the Asia-Pacific.

Submissions are invited across areas of international and transnational law relevant to the region, including international legal theory, international economic law, human rights, environmental law, security and technology. Early-career scholars and doctoral candidates are also encouraged to submit proposals.

The Forum is hosted by the Research Center for International Legal Studies at 國立政治大學 National Chengchi University (NCCU), in partnership with the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law (ILA Chinese (Taiwan) Branch) and the ASIL International Law & Technology Interest Group, with SMU CDL serving as a co-sponsor.

SMU CDL Deputy Director Assoc Prof Liu Han-Wei and CDL–UNU Hub Lead Prof Pasha L. Hsieh also serve on the Organizing Committee, contributing to the Forum’s development and its wider scholarly engagement across the region.

We welcome colleagues and researchers working in these areas to consider submitting a proposal and sharing the call within their networks.

✍️ Proposal length: up to 500 words
⏰ Submission deadline: 5 December 2026
🔗 More details: https://www.ila-asil-taiwan.org/

24/09/2026

was delighted to host our External Research Fellow and current Visiting Scholar at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law, Prof Jacques de Werra from the Université de Genève’s Digital Law Center and Faculty of Law, for a seminar on 𝘈𝘐 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, chaired by our Deputy Director Assoc Prof Liu Han-Wei.

During the seminar, Prof de Werra examined the evolving legal landscape surrounding AI and copyright law in Europe. His presentation focused on two central dimensions of the AI-copyright debate: the use of copyrighted works as training data, and the copyright status of AI-generated or AI-assisted outputs.

Prof de Werra discussed how European copyright law addresses the use of copyrighted works in AI training, with reference to the EU regulatory framework, including the EU AI Act, as well as relevant national developments across Europe. He also considered the legal questions surrounding whether, and under what conditions, AI-generated or AI-assisted outputs may attract copyright protection.

We are grateful to Prof de Werra for sharing his insights with our academic community, and for contributing to informed dialogue on the evolving relationship between AI, copyright law and digital governance.

SMU Centre for Digital Law

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